Graduate
Program in Cellular & Molecular Biosciences
Face Page:
Title of the project:
Student’s name:
Rotation Supervisor & Faculty Advisor names and signatures of
approval:
This proposal was written by the student, has a distinct and reachable
goal, and represents a reasonable amount of work for one rotation project
earning____ units of academic credit.
Then student will learn new techniques and approaches consistent with the
goals of the rotation program.
Rotation Supervisor’s Name________________________
Signed_______________________ Date __________
Faculty Advisor’s Name________________________
Signed_______________________ Date __________
Quarter and Year:
Background – Two
paragraphs
Briefly, describe the background to the proposed research. In this
section focus on presenting the scientific findings that have led to the status
of the field and the development of the hypothesis of your rotation project. In
two paragraphs, the literature cannot be reviewed comprehensively, so select
the facts that are most relevant to the development of your hypothesis.
Rationale and
Hypothesis – One short paragraph
Provide a statement of rationale for the rotation research. That is,
state why the project is important.
State clearly the explicit hypothesis that your rotation project is
designed to test. A hypothesis is a scientific question that can be tested by
an experimental approach. If your rotation project involves the preparation of
a reagent that is required for future studies, describe how preparation of that
reagent will enable the testing of a hypothesis in the sponsor’s lab.
Specific Aim(s) – One
short paragraph
State the experimental objectives of the rotation research and how they
relate to the stated hypothesis.
Example: To test the hypothesis that Trp266 in enzyme Q plays a central
role in catalysis, I will generate a W266A variant of enzyme Q and determine
whether mutagenesis induces loss-of-function.
Experimental Approach –
Two paragraphs
Describe the experimental plan specifically for the 10 weeks of
proposed rotation research. Be realistic and propose a tractable project.
The experimental plan does not need to be extensively detailed, but it
should be a coherent narrative of which experiments are planned. Also, this
section should comment in one or two sentences on anticipated outcomes, if
possible, and how the anticipated results will provide a test of your
hypothesis.
References
Incorporate up to 15 references using bibliographic software.
Experimental Protocols
The purpose of this section is to consider whether the techniques
required to perform the 10 week project are in-hand.
If protocol development is a component of the rotation proposal, make
that a clear component of the Experimental Approach section.
Attach specific protocols from the sponsor’s lab that apply directly to
your specific aim.
General lab protocols, e.g., for culturing cells, making media, casting
gels, etc., need not be appended. If commercial products, e.g., for
quantitative RT-PCR, cloning, affinity chromatography, will be used, attach
only the face sheet from the kit or product literature but do not include the
entire manual.