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“My graduate experience has been more diverse than a lot of my peers … The CLP training program and community has really been like my home base where I feel most connected to the people within it. It’s nice to know there is this CLP community that supports me.”

Feedback from a CLP Trainee 

The Chemistry of Life Processes Institute trains and inspires the next generation of biomedical innovators to address the pressing health needs of the 21st century.  Tackling the complexities of human disease requires a broad skill set and the ability to work at the interface of multiple disciplines and lead teams with a diverse range of expertise. The next generation of researchers must be able to think and communicate in a common language that spans chemistry, biology and engineering.

CLP trains students to use the tools and perspectives of many disciplines—speaking multiple scientific “languages” through innovative new courses, spending time in labs outside of their discipline, and participating in communal cross-disciplinary activities. The Institute’s transdisciplinary training programs for undergraduates and graduate students provide foundational research experiences that include various training mechanisms and hands-on opportunities to learn new approaches to detect and treat cancer, neuro-degenerative diseases, heart disease and other disorders. 

Throughout the year, CLP hosts a series of seminars, symposia, and research forums exposing students to new biomedical research and insights into the translation of their innovations. Workshops support career development skills, such as networking and resume development. Three custom-designed CLP courses expose students to the broadest possible research tool kit and emphasize skills development, rigor, reproducibility, and hands-on training across a broad spectrum of instruments and methods. These program enable students to master the divergent languages of drug discovery and development.  In addition, trainees receive one-on-one career guidance through extensive interactions with CLP Executive Advisory Board members who are leaders in their fields. 

CLP’s immersive cross-disciplinary lab experiences, unique mentoring structure, and strong shared training environment offer students one of the strongest educational foundations in biomedical research available at Northwestern.

Chemistry of Life Processes NIH Graduate Training Program

An NIH-funded institutional chemistry-biology interface training program, led by Neil Kelleher and Regan Thomson, trains graduate students to work across disciplinary boundaries to address big problems in biomedical research. The program supports graduate students as they participate in cutting edge research, learn new tools and transdisciplinary problem-solving approaches, and gain the experience, contacts, and skill sets needed to advance to the next phase of their professional development and careers.

Undergraduate Research Programs

CLP encourages students who are interested in working on biomedical research problems across disciplinary boundaries to participate in the Institute’s undergraduate research programs. Students quickly become part of research teams and form relationships with peers and faculty mentors.  CLP undergraduate researchers have the opportunity to showcase their work at the annual CLP Undergraduate Research Forum. More than 80% of CLP undergraduate programs alumni are pursuing doctoral, medical, or joint degrees at leading graduate programs and medical schools.

CLP Lambert Fellows Program (Academic Year & Summer Funding)

Applications are posted in February for an April 15 deadline for submission. 

Multi-year support for hands-on laboratory research for rising sophomores and juniors majoring in Chemistry under the guidance of CLP faculty members.

Click here to learn more.

CLP Summer Scholars Program (Summer Funding)

Applications are posted in February for an April 15 deadline for submission. 

Participants engage in full-time research in a CLP faculty member’s research laboratory for a 10-week period during the summer. Participants will be paired with an Institute faculty member based on mutual research interests, and each summer scholar will work closely with a graduate student or postdoctoral associate mentor.

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CLP Undergraduate Research Award (Academic Year Funding)

The overall goal of this program is to create a cohort of enthusiastic, well-trained undergraduates who will be entrepreneurial in their approach to scientific research. The program is designed to provide a student or team of students with support for multi-disciplinary scientific research during the academic year.

Click here to learn more.