A team from UCI’s Skin Biology Resource Center has received a five-year, $970,000 grant from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to launch an interdisciplinary training program in skin biology . Designed to develop the next generation of interdisciplinary research physicians and leading scientists in academia and industry, the program draws on the expertise of UCI faculty in the fields of skin biology, biology systems and imaging. “The goal is to develop skin biologists who will integrate bioengineering, imaging and computation into their work to help make new discoveries in skin biology,” said Bogi Andersen, professor of medicine. and biological chemistry at the UCI which co-leads the program with Anand Ganesan. , UCI Professor of Dermatology and Biological Chemistry. The grant will fund three graduate students and one postdoctoral fellow, who will pursue an interdisciplinary project at the intersection of skin biology and systems biology, bioengineering or imaging, guided by a biologist from the skin and a mentor from a complementary field. The program includes laboratory research, lectures, weekly data presentations, a series of seminars and an annual symposium, as well as career development activities tailored to the trainees’ specific interests and career goals. The grant will be administered by the Sue & Bill Gross Center for Stem Cell Research at UCI.