Outcomes & Impact

For nearly three decades, the Chemistry–Biology Interface (CBI) Training Program at UMass Amherst has played a formative role in shaping interdisciplinary graduate education on campus and beyond. Founded in 1995 with support from an NIH traineeship, CBI was created with a clear purpose: to provide cutting-edge, interdisciplinary training at the intersection of chemistry and biology while extending that training culture to a much broader community of scientists.

What began as a small cohort of NIH-funded trainees has grown into a vibrant, inclusive program with lasting impact. Over the past 29 years, CBI has connected students directly with leading scientists across academia, industry, and government; fostered a highly collaborative research environment; and helped build a scientific community that continues to influence interdisciplinary training at UMass Amherst.

Today, CBI is proud of its network of more than 150 alumni who have completed the CBI curriculum and gone on to successful careers across sectors. We invite prospective trainees and community members alike to become part of this growing legacy.

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Training Reach & Program Impact

Our UMass CBI program is proud to actively support 12 NIH-funded trainees, along with 8 UMass Funded Trainees! However, our impact extends far beyond our funded cohort. Over nearly three decades, the program has consistently averaged approximately 60 CBI trainees following the curriculum at any given time, reflecting both the demand for and accessibility of interdisciplinary training.

CBI has also played a catalytic role in shaping interdisciplinary research at UMass Amherst. By seeding and influencing campus-wide initiatives—including the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) and the Biotechnology Training Program (BTP)—CBI has helped establish UMass Amherst as a leader in chemistry–biology research and training.

The CBI community is deeply collaborative. As of 2020, CBI-affiliated faculty held $1.3M in current-year direct costs for collaborative research grants, and collaborative projects among CBI faculty have resulted in more than 100 joint publications.

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Student Success & Degree Completion

CBI trainees consistently demonstrate strong academic outcomes and timely degree completion. For students graduating from CBI-affiliated laboratories between 2015–2019, the average time-to-degree was 5.8 years, comparable to or better than peer programs on campus (5.8 years in Chemistry and 6.3 years in Molecular and Cellular Biology).

Our Most recent 2025 reporting have our average time to degree down to just 5.7 years and our percentage of Trainees Entering Graduate School 10 years ago who completed the PhD is at a wonderful 82.61%!

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Career Placement

CBI alumni are well prepared for a wide range of research-intensive careers. Of the 51 training grant–eligible (TGE) students who completed PhD degrees in CBI labs between 2015–2025, 98% are employed in research-intensive or research-related positions.

These alumni have pursued diverse career paths, including:

• Postdoctoral positions in academia, industry, and government laboratories (33%)
• Industry research and development roles (50%)
• Government research positions
• Tenure-track faculty roles
• Academic teaching, scientific, and administrative positions

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Research Productivity

CBI trainees demonstrate strong research productivity during their doctoral training. Among 74 representative TGE students who completed PhDs in CBI labs between 2010–2019, graduates published an average of 5.6 total papers and 2.4 first-author papers per student.

Together, these outcomes reflect the enduring strength of the CBI Training Program and its commitment to rigorous science, quality training, and long-term career success at the chemistry–biology interface.

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