Six weeks of research: The laboratory research is undoubtedly the most exciting and valuable experience for the students. Research topics include cell motility, cell division, signaling, and protein mechanisms. Students will rotate with a course faculty member and the teaching assistant(s) (an advanced graduate student or postdoctoral fellow from that laboratory) for a 2 week period. During that time, teams of two-three students will work on an original research question formulated by the faculty (although students also can develop projects and are encouraged to come up with their own ideas or redirect the project after experimental feedback). Often, the faculty and their TAs have prepared many of the critical reagents (e.g. clones, protein preparations, cell lines) in advance so that the students can begin at an interesting point in the project. The projects also are chosen to be experimentally tractable in the two week period (although success or completion is not guaranteed- this is real research after all). With regard to experimental methodology, the course places a heavy emphasis in microscopy, biochemistry, and computational analysis of images and modeling. Students are strongly encouraged to try computational approaches to analyze or model their data (and there is plenty of help if this is unfamiliar). Students work on their research during the day and night. It is a common sight to see students and their faculty advisor working side-by-side in the laboratory after midnight (or having a drink at the Captain Kidd, the local bar, to discuss their data or life in general).

The goal of the research section is to provide an exciting and highly collaborative environment where students and faculty work together, trouble-shooting experiments and try to advance a research question (or formulate new questions along the way). Physical science/computation students are often paired with biology students, so that both can learn from one another. The course faculty members communicate in advance to discuss opportunities for collaborative research. The purpose of this program is to learn and have fun doing science, not to generate results. However, in this lively setting, exciting new scientific ideas and results emerge (see section on Publications from the Physiology Course). Last year, 9 student-led course projects led to submitted abstracts to the American Society of Cell Biology meeting. Other papers have been published in major journals or are prepared for publication. In addition, many new research projects were born in the course that will be continued in host laboratory or will be continued next year.

At the end of the two week research session, students and faculty gather for an afternoon research symposium where they present their data in a relaxed setting, followed by an evening barbeque and party.

• Many of the experimental faculty incorporate computation or physics as a component of their research projects. However, in addition, we will have 3 computational/physics faculty who will be in residence for 1-2 week time periods. These individuals lecture, provide demonstrations and work one-on-one with students on computational projects. Students can take time off from an experimental section to work full time on a computational project.
  
  
• Lecture program: A morning lecture will be given by one of the Course faculty, a Visiting Scholar, or one of the many visiting lecturers. In some cases, Scholars or visiting lecturer will deliver two lectures over two days: one on his/her current research work (a traditional seminar) and a second that will be more general and directed towards discussing issues major unsolved issues in the field and how the field might tackle them by developing new technologies or new ways of by thinking about the problem. These 1-1.5 hr lectures are more free and open than universities seminars. After the main lecture, students meet with the lecturer in a classroom (no faculty allowed) to ask questions in a more informal manner. Lecturers are available for discussion with students over coffee and at lunch. Experimental faculty also sometimes organize journal clubs for their group of 9 students.
  
  
• We initiated a visiting scholars program that will augment the intellectual atmosphere of the Course. These individuals will stay for a week, talk with students in the Course and discuss (perhaps participate) in experiments, deliver lectures to the Course and the MBL community, and present their philosophies of science and discovery. You can learn more about our 2008 scholars in the Meet the Faculty section.
  
  
• Methods/Techniques/Organisms: As described above, the Course will emphasize methods that are not generally taught in a hands-on manner in most graduate schools. We will emphasize the theory and practice of light microscopy, and students will be able to use a number of advanced microscopes. We also will teach protein biochemistry, emphasizing how to purify and perform assays with proteins. Student also will be exposed to computational analyses, including modeling of reactions or complex cell behavior, image analysis, and data mining. Molecular biology techniques will not be prominently featured in the Course, as students can gain experience in these methods in their university laboratories. In addition to working with popular experimental systems such as mammalian and Drosophila cells, yeast, and C. elegans, we also will introduce students to experiments that can be performed with the interesting local marine organisms (e.g. clams, squid, starfish).
  
  
• We will expose students to on-going research in the MBL community. We will select certain MBL scientists (such as the distinguished microscopist Shinya Inoue and Ed Taylor) as Physiology Course Liaisons. Like the Visiting Scholars, they will be introduced to the students, participate in course activities and aid in some of the experimentation.
  
  
• The Course will provide a framework for close scientific and social interactions. Personal connections made in the Course frequently influence the scientific careers of students and sometimes lead to collaborations with Course faculty or students long after the 7 week Course is completed (see student quotes on this www site). To foster these interactions, the Course hosts several parties and dinners (we have some great parties!). Students generally organize their own activities on Sundays, such as kayaking, trips to Martha’s Vineyard, etc. We all get to know one another very well! We become a close-knit family, and it is with element of sadness that we leave this great environment that we have created and return to our universities across the world.