Program Requirements

Coursework

Core Principles in Cell and Molecular Biology (Chem250): this 4-unit course (two 2-hour classes/week) is taken in the Fall quarter of the first year in the CMB Program. It’s goal is to provide students with broad foundational knowledge and skills for rigorous research in emerging areas of cell and molecular biology. 

Skills Development for Cell and Molecular Biologists (Chem204): this 2-unit (one 2-hour class/week) course is taken in the Winter quarter of the first year in the CMB Program. It’s goal is to train students to develop the skills necessary to persist and thrive as researchers in cell and molecular biology. 

Advanced Topics and Approaches in Cell and Molecular Biology Research (Chem205): this 2-unit (one 2-hour class/week) course is taken in the Spring quarter of the first year in the CMB Program. It’s goal is to is to provide students with knowledge and skills related to advanced topics in emerging areas of cell and molecular biology. 

Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research (MIMG C234): this 2-unit (one 2-hour class/week) course is taken in the Spring quarter of the first year in the CMB Program by those who have not taken it previously. This course, taught by the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics, satisfies the requirements for training in Responsible Conduct of Research for predoctoral trainees supported by federal training grants. It covers mentor/mentee responsibilities, authorship and collaborative research, conflicts of interest, managing data and intellectual property, research misconduct, and other topics.

Career Development for Cell and Molecular Biologists (Chem206): this 2-unit (one 2-hour class/week) course is taken in the Winter quarter of the second year in the CMB Program. It’s goal is to provide hands-on career development training that will prepare trainees for biomedical careers. 

Required CMB-Specific Activities

In addition to the CMB courses described above, the CMB provides the following student-centered activities that promote cohesion among trainees, enable students to develop leadership and teamwork skills, and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations among students from the life and physical sciences. All CMB trainees in their 2nd to 5th year of graduate school are required to participate in these activities.

1. The CMB retreat
CMB students will be required to attend an annual CMB training program retreat. The goal of the retreat is to foster CMB cohort cohesiveness and cross-disciplinary collaborations among trainees. In addition, students will have the opportunity to develop leadership and teamwork skills by participating in the CMB retreat planning committee, which will plan and implement the retreat. The retreat will be held in the spring every year and will offer a full day of team building and academic activities aimed at building stronger connections between CMB students and developing big science ideas.

2. CMB special seminars
CMB students will be required to attend CMB-sponsored special seminars (typically two per year). CMB seminar topics will be selected by students through a vote and will relate to issues affecting CMB trainees. Seminar topics will include mental health in graduate school, work-life balance, and diversity in science. These seminars will be open to the entire UCLA bioscience community, so students and faculty across campus will benefit.

3. CMB student presentation luncheons
CMB students will be required to attend the CMB luncheon seminar series, where trainees in their fourth year of graduate school will present their research to all other CMB trainees (those in their second-fifth year of graduate school). Lunch will be provided and trainees will have the opportunity to socialize, network, establish collaborations, and gain exposure to exciting interdisciplinary cell and molecular biology research. Additionally, presenters hone their science communication skills and receive feedback for improvement through written evaluations from trainees and the CMB directors.

4. Mentoring an undergraduate student
CMB students will be required to mentor an undergraduate student, with emphasis on training students from underrepresented groups in science. This will allow trainees to gain critical mentoring and leadership skills. This requirement is flexible in that trainees can choose to mentor a student any time when they are in their second-fifth year of graduate school.

5. Meeting with CMB directors
All CMB students will be required to meet with the CMB Directors annually to receive feedback on course performance, discuss their IDPs and career goals, and identify and address any barriers to their success. At this meeting, if a CMB trainee is going through personal, academic, or research difficulties, they will be referred to on-campus resources that can further support them. For more senior CMB students, this meeting will focus on discussions of trainee research progress, publications, timeline to graduation, and career plans.

Mentoring Undergraduates

All trainees are required to participate in the mentoring of one UCLA undergraduate from an underrepresented minority or socioeconomically disadvantaged background during their tenure on the C&MB training grant.  The experience affords a good opportunity to meet and recruit these undergraduates to laboratory research.  This requirement may be satisfied in several ways.  For example, a trainee may mentor a summer student in one of the following programs:

  • UCLA CARE (Center for Academic Research Excellence)
  • MARC (Minority Access to Research Careers)
  • PEERS (Program for Excellence in Education & Research in Sciences)

C&MB trainees may also mentor a UCLA underrepresented undergraduate student during the academic year in one of the following courses:

  • SRP (99) (Student Research Program) – three quarters
  • Upper Division Research Tutorials (199) – two quarters (see individual studies listings for each department)

The mentored undergraduate student will be asked to write a one page report as to what was learned, to be signed by both the mentored student and the C&MB trainee and submitted to the C&MB Program Office.

Annual Report

Trainees must submit a brief yearly report, prepared by the student in consultation with their research mentor. The report highlights progress in the thesis project and other activities relevant to the goals of the program, including courses taken, seminars and meetings attended, publications, etc.  Instructions for this report are given to the trainee in early May.

Publication Acknowledgement

Any publications resulting from research done while in the C&MB Training Program must acknowledge support from the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award GM007185.