NIH Protein Biotechnology Training Program

State of the Art Graduate Training in Protein Biotechnology

The mission of the Washington State University (WSU) Protein Biotechnology Training Program (BTP) is to expand access to research and research-related careers by helping trainees attain essential experiences, skills, and knowledge, particularly in protein research and creation of biotechnology, and by promoting research-informed graduate education and inclusive research ecosystems.

This mission and our specific objectives are shaped by (1) recommendations from Graduate STEM Education for the 21^st Century from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS, 2018), (2) overarching NIGMS’s T32 objectives, and (3) experience training over 120 doctoral graduates since our founding in 1989.

Why Protein Biotechnology?

Our protein research emphasis draws on WSU strengths and is broad enough to build an umbrella coalition with five graduate programs and four colleges (figure below), however, it is also sufficiently constrained to motivate participant interactions that have yielded transdisciplinary research papers and intellectual property.
Trainees develop skills by completing mentored, project-based learning opportunities in courses, monthly professional development meetings, annual symposia, and individualized biotech internships, with an emphasis on biotechnology and the biotech industry. The technical, operational, and professional skills that are developed are applicable to a wide range of research and research-related biomedical careers.

Five WSU graduate programs united by the Biotech Training Program

Our Structure and Partners

Trainees participate in our value-added, skill-building professional development while earning degrees in one of five partner doctoral programs:

Trainee positions are supported by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, and contributions by Washington State University.

National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Washington State University

See what Jennifer Adair, NIH Protein Biotech Graduate, is up to!

Jennifer Adair received her Ph.D. through WSU’s National Institute of Health Protein Biotechnology Training Program in the School of Molecular Biosciences. Adair is now a faculty member in the Clinical Research Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. See what Jennifer Adair, NIH Protein Biotech Graduate, is up to!

Recent Updates

Trainee Christi Webster featured in the Insider

Christi’s role is featured in this article about the Beyenal lab’s participation in a project on soil signaling with the Friesen lab and other collaborators. Fun, quick read:
Insider Article

New Internship Supports

A revised “Concrete Steps” curriculum and forms for communicating and developing internship plans have been added to the internships page.

Training guidelines

The Guidelines for Trainees and the Trainee Checklist have both been updated. Prospective and existing members are encouraged to look at the documents to get more information about our training program. They can be found on the Current Member Resources page.

Individual Development Plan (IDP)

Members of the Biotech Program use the AAAS myIDP Individual Development Plan (IDP) to explore careers and establish training goals with their mentors. Members are encouraged to look at this MyIDP page for advice on making the most of this valuable tool, which is now introduced and used in the program’s Protein Biotechnology course.