BCM graduate program awarded Howard Hughes grant renewal

HOUSTON -- (November 17, 2009) -- The Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program at Baylor College of Medicine has received a renewed grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Med Into Grad Initiative.

In total, 23 institutions were awarded grants up to $700,000. The Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Graduate program was one of 11 renewals and will receive $700,000 over a four-year period.

The program is led by co-directors Dr. Mary K. Estes, professor of molecular virology and microbiology, and Dr. Ignatia Van den Veyver, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

"The translational biology and molecular medicine program and the students in it have more than met our expectations for innovative research and scholarship," Estes said.

Van den Veyver added, "This renewal of funding from HHMI allows sustained program growth and maturation to ensure that we will continue to train tomorrow's biomedical scientific leaders."

These awards are given out with the purpose to enhance existing graduate training programs or initiate new programs to develop a group of researchers who will investigate biomedical science and clinical medicine.