About GST
The Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology (GST) is a Life Science graduate program founded on two premises. First, whole-genome sequences and related large-scale datasets have transformed how we perform biological research, a trend that is gathering momentum and is anticipated to frame the way the biology research is accomplished for many years to come. Second, advances in technology, whether at the level of instrumentation, computation, or “wet lab” reagents, have long been a powerful driving force in biology. The GST program is home to faculty mentors from many walks of life. The virulence factors of pathogenic fungi and the engineering of photosynthetic reaction complexes for bioenergy harvesting are just two examples from the cornucopia of research projects being pursued in GST. Consequently, GST student projects are quite diverse, as indicated by the five themes spelled out below.
Themes
- Molecular Genetics and Systems Biology
- Computational Molecular Biophysics
- Structural and Nanoscale Biology
- Bioinformatics
- Analytical Technologies for Bioenergy and the Environment
While some students work on projects that are primarily computational, many other students focus their experimental work at the bench. Increasingly, both types of students are realizing the growing need for work at both the theoretical/computational level and at the practical experimental level. This is the nature of most modern interdisciplinary research. Because individual research groups are generally small, there is much opportunity for interaction between groups employing different experimental or computational strategies. A hallmark of the GST Program is its involvement of faculty from two distinct research environments—the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, (UTK) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The program is enriched by the different research philosophies encountered at a university, emphasizing autonomy, and at a National Lab, emphasizing team effort. Researchers at the two campuses have access to a wide range of research tools and facilities including:
- High-performance computing, with the NSF-sponsored Track II Supercomputer and the National Institute of Computational Science
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State-of-the-Art Facilities for macromolecular structure, including High-field NMR spectroscopy,
X-ray crystallography, electron and confocal microscopy - “Omics” capabilities with microarrays, and leading-edge mass spectrometry
- Neutron sciences, with the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux Isotope Reactor
- Systems biology enabled through a unique world-wide collaboration of mouse biologists using the Collaborative Cross.
The program is designed to educate PhD-level scientists who are equipped to tackle the complex world of biology using modern technologies. A Master’s track is also available for some students. The GST curriculum lays a firm foundation in molecular genetics, biochemistry, and bioinformatics, followed by specialization in the area of the student’s dissertation research. GST welcomes students with a solid undergraduate academic background in biological sciences, physical sciences, or computational sciences.
New NSF Fellowships Available for Students in Computational Biology. Faculty from UT/ORNL have recently been awarded a competitive IGERT (Integrated Graduate Education and Research Training) Award from NSF that provides special research and education opportunities for graduate student trainees. The fellowship program is called SCALE-IT (Scalable Computing and Leading Edge Innovative Technologies). See http://web.utk.edu/~scaleit for more information.