skip to main content
Caltech
Division of Biology and
Biological Engineering
Home  /  Academics  /  Biotechnology Leadership Program

Biotechnology Leadership Program

Established in 2015, the Biotechnology Leadership Program (BLP) in Pre-doctoral Training brings together 21 outstanding Caltech faculty members from multiple graduate options to conduct interdisciplinary biomedical research at the micro- and nano-scales. The BLP provides trainees unique opportunities to participate in industry-relevant research and exposes trainees to the wide variety of careers available to biomedical leaders.

New BLP trainees join the program after their first graduate year at Caltech. Sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences in the National Institutes of Health (1T32GM112592) with additional financial support provided by the Donna and Benjamin M. Rosen Bioengineering Center at Caltech, BLP trainees will participate in a 2-3 month industry internship. The BLP Annual Retreat offers trainees a chance to connect with faculty and students from across the Caltech campus, other Caltech resources like the Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnership, and with invited industry scientists.

Program Activities:

  • Completion of a 2-3 month industry internship (may be waived for students who have recently completed a comparable internship)
  • 4 interdisciplinary courses (see Course Requirements page)
  • Seminar series in Biotechnology Leadership, once per term
  • BLP Annual Retreat, one full day during Fall term
  • Quarterly progress presentations with the other trainees & the BLP Director
  • Submission of at least one first-author paper before completion of the PhD
  • Responsible Conduct of Research course with a refresher course 4 years later

We encourage you to learn more about our program by visiting our website: trainingbiotechleaders.caltech.edu

To join, apply to one of the graduate options affiliated with the 21 BLP faculty listed below.

Frances Arnold, CCE
Viviana Gradinaru, BBE
Lulu Qian, BBE
Jacqueline Barton, CCE
Robert H. Grubbs, CCE
Mikhail Shapiro, CCE
Joel Burdick, EAS
Ali Hajimiri, EAS
Axel Scherer, EAS
Hyuck Choo, EAS
James Heath, CCE
Yu Chong Tai, EAS
Mark Davis, CCE
Rustem Ismagilov, CCE
David Tirrell, CCE
Azita Emami, EAS
Julia Kornfield, CCE
Zhen-Gang Wang, CCE
Morteza Gharib, EAS
Niles Pierce, EAS
Changhuei Yang, EAS