The GWU-NIH Graduate Partnership Program

Getting Started: The First Year in the Program

All students in the Biomedical Sciences Program at GWU enter into a combined curriculum. Students are enrolled full-time in the core curriculum and take the Core Courses BMSC 210, 211, 212 in sequence.

Students are enrolled in the IBS for an entire calendar year. Their IBS or GW/NIH fellowship during the first year is a 12-month appointment. During the summer after their first year they are expected to be doing class work and to be completing their final laboratory rotation (BMSC 215) and to start working in the laboratory of the mentors they have chosen for their independent research.

Core courses are taken together in the IBS and a Ph.D. Program in the area of specialization chosen after the first two semesters of coursework. During the first year, the Academic Advisor is the Director of the Institute for Biomedical Sciences (IBS). After a Ph.D. Program is chosen, the Program Director provides academic advising for the student. Students are expected to maintain at least a 3.0 average. The IBS continues to provide support in other areas, especially as the time of dissertation defense approaches.

Research Opportunities

Students in the NIH-GWU Partnership Program perform their dissertation research in pairs of research laboratories, one on the NIH campus and one at a GWU campus. There are three GWU sites: the GWU campus at Foggy Bottom, including the Medical Center and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the Children's National Medical Center, and the Institute for Genomic Research. Pairs of investigators with current or proposed collaborative research projects are listed in an accompanying document. At least 50% of research time must be spent at the NIH. By working with two scientists instead of just one, students benefit from a broader scientific training, learn different, often contrasting approaches to a research question, and acquire invaluable professional skills for managing research collaborations. Collaboration has become the hallmark of modern science and it is critical for future scientists to learn early how to excel at working with other scientists and across disciplinary boundaries.

Research Rotations

Students in the Graduate Partnership Program are required to perform four laboratory rotations. A list of available rotation mentors is available through the IBS. Two rotations are done at NIH and two at GWU. It is recommended that the first rotation be in an NIH lab that has an existing collaboration with a GWU lab. The first rotation is done the summer before courses begin and will take place at NIH. This rotation runs from July through August. The second and third rotations are done at GWU. Exact rotation dates are announced each year, but generally run from late September through early December, and from mid- January to mid-April. The final rotation is back at the NIH, and runs from mid-April through June. At the end of June, a permanent laboratory pair should be chosen for dissertation research.

Program Choice

Students in the GWU-NIH Partnership Program may elect to earn a Ph.D. in any of the three programs offered in the Biomedical Sciences at GWU. The choice is made in the spring of the first year. A form will be distributed to all first year students stating the exact due date. Introductory courses in each program, called Program Core Courses, are taken in the spring to help guide the students in making this choice. Students must take two of the three core courses. The three Ph.D. Programs available include Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, and Molecular Medicine. The GWU faculty member in whose lab the student chooses to do research must be a member of the program the student chooses. Forms are submitted to the IBS office, who will then route them to the appropriate programs. Program Directors will notify students of acceptance into the individual Programs.

Dissertation Research Proposals

Proposals for GWU-NIH Partnership Program students are due in May of the second year. Guidelines for writing of the Proposal are provided in the IBS Handbook.

Important Links

For general information about Graduate Programs at GWU and for admissions information, please visit the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.

Please visit the IBS website for general information about our individual Graduate Programs.

For detailed information about the GWU-NIH Graduate Partnership Program, you may access the NIH GPP Graduate Student Handbook.

Contacts

If you have additional questions about the GWU-NIH Graduate Partnership Program, please contact one of the following individuals:

Stanley Lipkowitz, MD
Director, NIH Graduate Partnership Program
National Institutes of Health
Phone: (301) 402- 4276
E-mail: lipkowis@navmed.nci.nih.gov

Marc R. Wittlif
Executive Associate
Institute for Biomedical Sciences
The George Washington University
Phone: (202) 994-2142
E-mail: msdmrw@gwumc.edu

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