The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill proposes to continue the training program in Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB). This program will train outstanding students in a broad interdisciplinary program focused on four major and related areas of research: 1) Nucleic acid biology, 2) dynamics of cell structure, 3) Signal Transduction, and 4) Regulation of Cell Growth and Differentiation. Preceptors come from eight departments in the School of Medicine or College of Arts and Sciences. The students will receive their Ph.D. degree in one of the participating departments or in one of three interdepartmental programs (Neurobiology, Toxicology, or Genetics). Students will take required courses in cell biology and molecular biology and a seminar course focusing on the evaluation of RO1 applications addressing questions consistent with the themes of the program. Students will also participate in CMB Discussion Group, a CMB Seminar Series and an annual research retreat. In addition to our focus on research and problem solving, we will provide career guidance and foster the development of excellent communication, mentoring and teaching skills. We will provide students with travel funds and a small research allowance to encourage and promote collaborative research. The overall goal is to help students view problems in cell and molecular biology from a broad perspective and to encourage them to apply a creative, multidisciplinary approach to solving these problems. Graduates of the CMB program at UNC-Chapel Hill will be prepared for careers in biomedical research and teaching and will be ready to tackle complex biological problems in the post-genome era.