Integrating Research and Careers on the Phenotype
A National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT)
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Predicting an organism’s phenotype remains one of the central challenges of modern life science. Understanding how different scales of biological organization from the genome to the environment determine phenotypes and their consequences is a critical step in solving societal problems of human health, food security, and response to global climate change. The next generation of scientists, whether they work in academic careers or other settings, must be able to integrate and communicate their research across these scales and bring modern computational and quantitative approaches to bear on big data.
EXPAND seeks to address these central challenges by recruiting, training, and mentoring a diverse community of life sciences students with a broad intellectual platform to break down historic disciplinary silos. Broad scientific training is complemented with stage-specific professional development and exposure to a wide range of non-academic career opportunities.
Life Science Graduate Programs at UVA include:
Pillars to EXPAND...
The conceptual breadth of science
Career options for graduates
The diversity of scientists in the life sciences
Opportunities to Join EXPAND
EXPAND Graduate Student Travel Awards
Are you planning on attending a conference to present your research or for professional development?
Have you received other travel awards that do not cover the full cost of attending?
EXPAND is pleased to announce that we will be offering travel awards on a rolling basis throughout the year!
The application form will require an abstract of the student’s presentation (if presenting), an up-to-date CV, a short explanation of how their research is interdisciplinary in nature, and an itemized budget for the meeting. Award amounts will typically range from $500-$1,000 per student.
While awards will only be made to support future travel (not to reimburse past travel), we will take considerations for reimbursement of conference expenses if the meeting is/was in January 2023.
More information can be found within the application form.
EXPAND is proud to present our Page-Barbour Symposium: Breakthroughs through Integration on Friday, January 13, 2023! One of the fundamental goals of our program is to advocate for integration across the life sciences. Whether it is through interdisciplinary research and co-mentoring or collaborating with other departments to understand new techniques, science thrives when we come together to better understand and solve problems. We have invited 4 renowned scientists - Dr. Kenneth Catania, Dr. Catherine Limperopoulos, Dr. Sheila Patek, and Dr. Peter Reich - within the fields of biology, neuroscience, and ecology to discuss the ways that have used integration in their own research. Please join us for a day of engaging talks and discussions about the benefits and challenges of employing integration within the life sciences. The symposium will be from 9:30 to 5 pm. Coffee, lunch, and light hors d'oeuvres will be served. Please register for this free event using the following link.
EXPAND Courses, Spring 2023
Interested in developing your professional skills? Want to expand your quantitative expertise? Check out the EXPAND Program's Spring offerings listed below, and click here to learn more about each.
Professional Skills Courses
Internship Bootcamp in Partnership with PhD Plus
Quantitative Courses
EVSC 5030: Applied Statistics for Environmental Scientists
PSYC 7720: Quantitative Methods II: Experimental Design
BIMS 8380: Basic Study Design and Practical Statistics
BIMS 8382: Introduction to Biomedical Data Science
GCOM 7240: Advanced Quantitative Analysis
PHS 7001: Introduction to Biostatistics II
PSYC 5323: RM: R in Psychology
PSYC 7760: Introduction to Applied Multivariate Methods
PSYC 5710: Machine Learning and Data Mining
Open House - Tuesday, September 13, 2022, 3:30 - 5 pm in Gilmer 490
Interested in learning more about our program and course offerings? Then drop by our Open House on Tuesday, September 13th, from 3:30 - 5 pm in Gilmer 490! Our 2021-2022 fellows will present what they learned during their summer internships and will be available for a Q&A afterwards. We will also have poster presentations from laboratories conducting interdisciplinary research. We will be serving light refreshments and would love to answer any of your questions!
If you wish to present a poster highlighting your integrative research, please submit your abstract (250-word max) to expand@virginia.edu by 11:59 pm on September 1st. There will be a $250 prize for the best poster!
EXPAND is Recruiting at SACNAS and ABRCMS Conferences
The EXPAND Program will have recruiting tables at SACNAS and ABRCMS Conferences! SACNAS' National Diversity in STEM Conference (NDiSTEM) will take place October 27-29th, 2022 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ABRCMS Conference will take place November 9-12, 2022 in Anaheim, California. Please stop by to say hello!
Reintegrating the Phenotype
This research cluster realigns doctoral training to respond to complex societal questions regarding the phenotype by bringing together faculty and students in cell and developmental biology, neuroscience, evolution, ecology, psychology and environmental sciences. Participants will have the opportunity to explore a variety of topics, such as forecasting how changing environments will impact the biodiversity of phenotypes and species and understanding how the production and variation of disease and resistance phenotypes affect the development of effective management and treatment strategies. Alongside their disciplinary focus, doctoral fellows will be mentored as creative thinkers and productive collaborators across lab groups.
