Welcome to the Web site of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Reproductive Biology Training Program (RBTG).
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Dr. Ann Nardulli, Director |
Research in reproductive biology at the University of Illinois has a long and rich history. The Society for the Study of Reproduction was founded on this campus and many leaders in the field were trained here. But rather than rest on its laurels, the RBTG is expanding and growing by adding faculty and research breadth. If you are looking for a graduate program in which to prepare for a career in reproductive biology, we urge you to give the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign strong consideration for four important reasons. First, we have a large faculty whose diverse research interests permit training that is broad in scope. Students may conduct research on either female or male reproductive biology and do so at the organism, tissue, cell and molecular levels. Second, we have a highly successful faculty who provide the opportunity to conduct research at the forefront of knowledge in their area of interest. Third, our training program faculty has a sustained commitment to provide each trainee with the financial and intellectual support required to prepare for a career as a reproductive biologist. Finally, the University of Illinois provides excellent facilities to support the broad range of research the students and staff associated with the program engages in.
The University of Illinois Reproductive Biology Training Program does not itself award degrees. To participate in the program you must apply to one of the four departments/schools at the University of Illinois with which the training faculty are affiliated: the departments of Animal Sciences, Biochemistry, and Veterinary Biosciences and the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology. You may obtain information concerning these units and the faculty associated with them on their Web sites, which are linked to this Reproductive Biology Training Program Web site. Generally, graduate students select their faculty mentor during the first year of graduate training. If you have made that decision, you may contact the faculty member with whom you wish to work. |
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If the Reproductive Biology Training Program is of interest, you are encouraged to call or e-mail directly one of the faculty members whose addresses are in the Faculty section of this Web site in order to obtain additional information, application materials or other assistance you may need.
We hope you decide to pursue further the possibility of training for a career in reproductive biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. If you have questions or we could be of assistance in any way on this matter, please contact Ann Nardulli (anardull@life.uiuc.edu, phone 217 244-5679) or Jodi Flaws (jflaws@uiuc.edu, phone 217 333-7933).
Yours sincerely,
Ann Nardulli, Director
Jodi Flaws, Associate Director
Reproductive Biology Training Program
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Dr. Jodi Flaws, Associate Director |
Introduction
The purpose of this established interdisciplinary program is to train postdoctoral and predoctoral fellows in the physiology, endocrinology and molecular biology of reproduction. Typically our postdoctoral and predoctoral trainees have background experience in one or more biological disciplines such as endocrinology, reproductive biology, neurobiology and molecular biology. Seventeen training program research faculty members, who are appointed in five discipline-related departments, provide great breadth and depth in research training opportunities. Current projects on all classes of reproductive hormones cover many aspects of both male and female reproductive biology. Studies are conducted on both small and large animals at the molecular, cellular, organ, and whole-animal levels. Ongoing research projects relate directly to major national health-related objectives such as regulating male and female fertility, arresting the growth of hormone-dependent mammary and prostate cancer, providing postmenopausal protection from bone demineralization, preventing prolonged and difficult delivery, characterizing substances within the environment that disrupt the reproductive system, and understanding the regulation of stem cells during gametogenesis.
The core of the training program is independent research. Predoctoral trainees also take courses in endocrinology and physiology of reproduction as well as related topics such as biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, and statistics before beginning independent research. Trainees and staff participate in weekly research conferences
to discuss research proposals and progress. They also gain a solid understanding of research areas
beyond that in which they are engaged by participating weekly in an advanced
endocrinology seminar. Trainees attend and present papers at national scientific meetings. Scientists from other institutions visit our laboratories to consult with students and faculty and to present seminars. Faculty laboratories are capable of supporting a diverse training program because they are large, modern and well equipped. The University also provides the following modern research facilities that support biomedical research: Immunological Resource
Center, Protein Sciences Facility
(sequence determination, peptide synthesis and mass spectrometry), Flow
Cytometry Facility, W. M. Keck Center for Comparative
and Functional Genomics (microarray technologies, DNA sequencing, oligonucleotide synthesis, functional
genomics, high throughput sequencing, and bioinformatics), Biomedical
Imaging Center and the Center for Microscopic Imaging.
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The Faculty | The Departments
and How To Apply
Seminars, Lectures and Conferences | News
and Announcements | Current Trainees
