The newly established joint program between the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and the University of Chicago (UChicago) leverages the unique partnership between two leading research institutions and combines the best of both worlds – access to a collaborative and expansive research environment that spans the scales of biological discovery at the MBL in Woods Hole, MA and the first-class resources, faculty, and staff from the University of Chicago. The formal affiliation and collaboration between these institutions was established in 2013 and has resulted in synergies in research and teaching that now expand to the graduate community.
Current MBL/UChicago graduate student opportunities are available through the UChicago’s Integrative Biology (IB) Program and the Committee on Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology (DRSB) Program with additional options available in the near future. Candidates should apply directly to the IB or DRSB Program. If accepted, students spend their first year at the University of Chicago before joining the MBL for summer research rotations in laboratories of affiliated MBL researchers. Students may then elect to remain on site and complete their graduate program at the MBL. Additional course work and teaching in year two will be completed remotely or at the MBL with committee meetings, retreat participation and other activities accommodated by intermittent visits to Chicago throughout the graduate program.
Students will be guaranteed full tuition, health insurance and generous stipend support. In addition, room and board will be provided during the first summer rotation at the MBL. After joining an MBL lab, students will be provided with funds to travel to Chicago (up to $3,000/year) for committee meetings and other events required by the IB and/or DRSB Programs. Finally, all students will be eligible for an additional research allowance ($9,000/year) to be used at their discretion for research support or to attend meetings.
Joint MBL UChicago faculty include MBL Director, Dr. Nipam Patel, Dr. Karen Echeverri, Dr. Andrew Gillis (PhD 2009, IB), and Dr. Joshua Rosenthal.