HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine are joining forces for an interdisciplinary graduate training program that aims to develop the next generation of scientists ready to tackle the most important questions in biomedicine.

The Cross Disciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, or XDBio, features focused, individualized, and interdisciplinary research training designed to accelerate students’ paths to independent research and produce biomedical scientists who are well-prepared for today’s multidisciplinary and collaborative research environment.

Starting in 2024, XDBio students will now have access to world-class faculty, facilities, and communities on two campuses: Janelia in Ashburn, Virginia, and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Janelia is excited to join forces with Johns Hopkins and their innovative XDBio Graduate Program. We share their commitment to delivering an exceptional research and educational experience for graduate students,” said Janelia’s Executive Director Ron Vale. “This graduate initiative will also help to foster stronger research and educational connections between our two institutions.”

Johns Hopkins launched XDBio in 2019 to address the needs of students seeking cross-disciplinary training in biomedicine. Each XDBio student designs their own personalized curriculum, guided by their individual research interests. XDBio Program Fellowships give students the freedom to pursue individualized research questions, facilitating interdisciplinary research training that bridges biology, engineering, computer science, physics, chemistry, and medicine.

The new collaboration enables students to train in laboratories at Janelia and Johns Hopkins, doing cutting-edge research across a wide range of scientific disciplines and to receive one-on-one guidance and mentoring from world-class scientists at both locations.

“As America’s first research university, Johns Hopkins is a natural leader in research and discovery, and in training the next generation of biomedical scientists,” said Theodore DeWeese, interim dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “As part of our XDBio graduate program, we are pleased to team up with HHMI Janelia to further expand the educational and research opportunities available to our students. This innovative arrangement is one more pathway to ensure they are well prepared to make the kind of discoveries that advance our understanding of human health and disease.”

The new joint XDBio graduate program builds on the success of Janelia and Hopkins’s joint graduate program in neuroscience. The joint program with the Solomon Snyder Department of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University brings graduate students to Janelia to conduct research as part of their graduate education at Hopkins.

The XDBio program expands graduate training to all four research areas at Janelia: Mechanistic Cognitive Neuroscience, 4D Cellular Physiology, Computation & Theory, and Molecular Tools & Imaging. XDBio students will have opportunities to collaborate with labs across the research campus, attend Janelia’s conferences and seminars, and participate in joint activities with XDBio students at Hopkins.  

Application portals for both XDBio and the neuroscience graduate program are now open.