Achievement

Fostering productive collaborations between fellows and faculty in distinct disciplines. Each fellow has two faculty mentors: a major professor and a collaborating professor from an outside discipline. These interactions are formalized in a research proposal written at end of Year 1. The proposal is evaluated by anonymous reviewers from two disciplines, revised, and approved by the fellow’s two professors. Typically, fellows must enhance their objectives in the second discipline before the proposal is accepted. To cement collaborations, each fellow performs an extra-disciplinary rotation for 10 weeks, with the collaborator, before or after the project proposal is submitted. Flexibility exists because of variation in the backgrounds and needs of the fellows. The requirement for a project proposal and rotation results in active membership in two laboratories. This tremendous training activity rewards interacting faculty and has resulted in collaborative grant awards and publications.