Through coursework, personal interactions, and yearly seminars, students will be exposed to all six research thrust areas that involve collaboration among training faculty. These thrust areas and their collaborating faculty are listed below. These areas are by no means the only research selections available, but they are generalized subject areas to demonstrate major research interests. Certainly, non-SIO students who enter this program will focus their research interests on topics more specialized to those other departments and degree programs. The thrust areas are designed to create maximum collaboration and to expose the trainees to a diversity of contributing faculty. The students will be introduced to these subject areas in their year-long survey course Perspectives in Marine Biotechnology. Integration of students into research areas will be fostered through rotations in multiple subject areas, through advisory committee composition and by participation in the research retreat.