Coriell Institute for Medical Research and Rutgers University Sign Experiential Learning Agreement

Dear Rutgers University in Camden Family,

I am pleased to announce the signing of an agreement between the Camden-based Coriell Institute for Medical Research and Rutgers University in Camden. This important contract, signed in late May, will allow for Ph.D. students who are conducting research at our Center for Computational and Integrative Biology (CCIB) to benefit from experiential learning opportunities at the Coriell Institute.

Thanks to the leadership of CCIB Director Grace Brannigan, participating Ph.D. students will be fully funded by the Coriell Institute. This valuable agreement will increase our enrollment and our research expenditures without requiring a corresponding increase in infrastructure. This agreement is an honor for Rutgers–Camden because it will provide qualified students with an experiential training experience in a prestigious, work-based setting that will supplement the students’ education.

You may not be aware of the level of renown these students will be benefiting from. The Coriell Institute for Medical Research was founded by the eminent virologist Dr. Lewis L. Coriell in 1953. This scientific pioneer made invaluable and lasting contributions to biomedical research that empowered the scientists who were developing the polio vaccine. However, his lasting legacy is reflected in the spirit of this new partnership with Rutgers–Camden because Dr. Coriell was celebrated for his ability to bring scientists together to explore research questions and collaborate on solutions.

This agreement is a great outcome for the CCIB, which is our interdisciplinary research center bridging experimental and computational approaches in quantitative biology, a field that considers the whole organism—from the molecular level to the population level.

Join me in congratulating CCIB Director Brannigan, her colleagues, and the Ph.D. students who will be working in an atmosphere of collegiality and excellence provided by the Coriell Institute for Medical Research.

Sincerely,
 
Antonio D. Tillis, Ph.D.
Chancellor, Rutgers University in Camden