Program Outcomes

The current CBITG grant began in 2018, as such there are only a small number of trainees that have received their PhD (6 with a 5.6 year average for graduation, a seventh defend their thesis at end of June at 3.8 years; Fig A). Our CBITG has been continuously funded since 1999, and so we also include the last 15 years of trainees in our outcome analysis. From this cohort, the average time to degree remains similar, (5.7 years, derived from faculty tabulated data for the current grant funding period and historical data including the month and year trainees entered their graduate program until the date their degree was conferred). A graduation time of 5.6 years favorably compares to the average time to graduate for each of the individual departments, 5.3, 5.5 and 6.0 years for BMBB, Chemistry, and Medicinal Chemistry respectively, and is close to the national average of 5.5 for (bio)chemistry departments at large research universities. Our CBITG trainees are more likely to graduate with a PhD (93% over 15 years; 100% in the last 10 years) versus students in any of the three departments (66-70%, Fig B). For the six CBITG trainees that have completed their PhD since the start of this grant, all are pursuing research-related careers, three in industry (Takeda, and two at Bio-Techne), and three are completing academic postdocs/research 5 positions (UC Berkeley, Oregon Health Science University’s Vollum Institute, UMN). Our 7th trainee will start a postdoc at St. Jude. The rest remain in the program. 

Over the last 15 years, we have had 37 CBITG trainees graduate with a PhD and 3 with an MS.  The majority of trainees with a PhD stayed in academic careers (65%) for their first position, while two students pursued an alternative career outside of research in patent law and high school science, Fig C. In their current positions, the majority of trainees are in research careers in industry (46%), while six former trainees are pursuing alternative careers outside of research but are still using their science education. These positions include two in medical school, three in patent law, and one high school science teacher (Fig D). Given the emphasis placed on career training in our current training program (including discussion of alternate career paths, career panels, and seminar series with a breadth of industrial and academic speakers), we believe that our program is and will continue to be highly successful in preparing students for a diverse array of occupations that meet their own personal aspirations including careers in biomedical research.