An intensive multi-disciplinary course designed for all biomedical graduate students. Each semester is divided into three-five week rotations in different research laboratories. Students are introduced to research problems currently under investigation, and to advanced techniques employed in those studies. In the fall semester, the first rotation involves introductory activities distributed between the six graduate biomedical science programs of the medical school. Faculty from the various biomedical science departments present in the fall semester, students present in the spring semester.
Emphasis is placed on styles of presentation and techniques for effective communication.
In the fall semester, a written report on one of the scientific topics is required of each student. In the spring semester, each student critically reviews and presents a topic from the current scientific literature at one of the weekly colloquia. All students are required to attend both the scientific presentation and a 10-15 minute discussion session that follows. The course is a requirement for all pre- and postdoctoral fellows. It consists of eight 2 hour sessions given in the first half of the spring semester.