LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE 3MT IGERT PROGRAM AT STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY

The Minerals, Metals, Metalloids and Toxicity (3MT) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training program was initiated in 2006 with funding from NSF. The 3MT program focuses on the processes that govern the interaction of metals and metalloids associated with earth materials with biological systems, either within organisms in the food chain or in model systems recapitulating the direct exposure of humans via ingestion and inhalation. The 3MT program leverages the institution’s strength and infrastructure in specific disciplines as well as the investments at the National Synchrotron Light Source at nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory. In addition, the 3MT program collaborates with a team of USGS scientists leading the agency’s nation-wide initiative to assess the interaction between humans and their surficial environment. Through this collaboration students conduct their research in the context of a nation-wide USGS-led environmental program.

Students are recruited from the Geosciences, Pharmacological sciences, Marine science, and Chemistry graduate programs. As an example of the interdisciplinary nature of the training, participating Geosciences students complete the Ph.D. requirements in Geoscience, but can conduct a significant fraction of their research within a biomedical research group, which is an important need for the advancement of the emerging field of medical geology. The program also offers career and leadership training in the form of workshops.

In the process of directing the program, we have learned several lessons that may be useful to others embarking on similar programs. We found that to bridge the gap between the disciplines it is effective to have regular meetings where the students present informal, yet well prepared, chalk talks. Chalk talks are presentation without the aid of any electronic media (e.g. presentation software or animations). Chalk talks force students to develop concepts carefully and slowly so that others from different backgrounds can better understand it. To encourage interaction among mentors and trainees, we organize each semester a symposium titled “Bridging the Gap”. We find that a focused, half-day symposium promotes more interaction than a weekly seminar series, as participants look forward to the talks presented and the progress made.