Virus Imaging Curriculum

For predoctoral students, required graduate program coursework should be completed at their home institution before Virus Imaging Training Program support begins. Postdoctoral fellows will begin specialized training immediately. Training in virology will take place in the laboratories of qualified mentors, including specialized training to work safely in high containment facilities.

Training in cryoEM

Training in cryoEM will be offered either

• at Baylor College of Medicine through Dr. Wah Chiu, Director of the National Center for Macromolecular Imaging (NCMI)
• or at UTMB through Dr. Michael Sherman, Director of the Advanced Electron Microscopy Imaging Center.

A new course in structural virology will be developed jointly by the UTMB and Baylor groups and taught on both campuses using remote two-way videoconferencing capabilities.

Following completion of cryoEM training, Virus Imaging fellows will utilize their expertise in the UTMB facility by implementing projects under the joint mentorship of Dr. Chiu and their UTMB mentors. In collaboration with the Gulf Coast Consortia and the W. M. Keck Center in Computational and Structural Biology, the training program will network students in computational and cryoelectron microscopy research with other faculty in a wide range of virology research. For example, trainees in the program will work alongside established researchers to develop new techniques and applications for structural determination of biological complexes and viruses, including novel uses of three-dimensional electron cryomicroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and magnetic resonance methods. For instance, Drs. Chiu (BCM) and H. Zhou (UTHSC-H) will work with Dr. Lennart Johnsson (UH), Dr. Dan Sorenson (RU), and Dr. David Scott (RU) to design new algorithms needed for atomic structure determination of single macromolecular assembly such as herpesvirus (without crystals) from electron images. Drs. David Gorenstein (UTMB), Bruce Luxon (UTMB), and Werner Braun (UTMB) will work with Dr. Ed Nikonowicz (RU) to develop new algorithms for biomolecular structure determination by NMR.

Training in Confocal Microscopy

Training in confocal microscopy will take place at UTMB under the direction of Dr. Juan Olano, Asst. Professor of Pathology and an expert on confocal microscopy as well as in high containment research. The facilities and personnel of two UTMB BSL-2 confocal core labs are also available for consultation and training.

High Containment Laboratory Training
Trainees will receive appropriate training for BSL-3 or BSL-4 laboratory training. This will provide training for students to carry out cryoEM, multi-photon microscopy, animal MRI in unique BSL-3 (and later in the Galveston National Laboratory) and BSL-4 environments. The Office of Health and Safety Services also participates in these training activities, which are overseen by the UTMB Biological Safety Committee

Other requirements include interdisciplinary, collaborative programs supported by the Gulf Coast Consortia/Keck Center, such as research retreats, seminars, journal clubs and course work to maximize the benefits of the program to all trainees.

Keck Center Seminar Series 
Held weekly at Rice University and teleconferenced to UTMB, these seminars offer presentations by renowned local and national bioscientists. Trainees (Keck Fellows) and faculty from the eight Keck Center training programs attend, and there is informal discussion and networking afterwards.

Keck Annual Research Conference
All Keck Fellows supported by Keck Center training programs are required to present posters at this local one-day conference, which includes presentations by top researchers in bioscience.