Stowers Associate Investigator Randal Halfmann, Ph.D., puts it simply: “Stowers offers an opportunity unlike any other program.”

The Stowers Graduate School thrives on the Institute’s concentration of highly creative and impassioned researchers, world-class facilities, and cutting-edge technologies. With faculty composed of both Stowers Institute Investigators and Technology Center experts, students receive mentorship through every stage of their academic journey, equipping them with the tools and experience to tackle fundamental biological questions—both during their Ph.D. and beyond.

“Science is often nonlinear,” said Halfmann. “You start with one question, but more often than not, you pivot in a new direction, uncovering answers to questions you didn’t even know existed.”

According to Halfmann, this paradigm of discovery defines the Institute’s unique approach to biology, giving students in the Graduate School the freedom to adapt, innovate, and explore scientific questions in unexpected ways. Many trainees enter the program intending to focus on one field, such as neuroscience, only to discover their research extending into other disciplines like gene regulation, evolution, or synthetic biology.

“That is really part of the joy of doing science,” Halfmann said. “That freedom to explore your curiosity wherever it leads.”

In just over a decade, the program has already produced impressive success stories, with former students leading independent scientific projects as postdoctoral fellows and several starting their own research labs as faculty members.

“I don’t think there is anywhere else that encourages this kind growth or exposes students to such a breadth of scientific questions,” said Halfmann. “To see former students advancing the field of biology brings me great pride.”

Halfmann’s research focuses on the molecular principles governing protein folding, aggregation, and phase transitions that drive gene regulation, cell signaling, and ultimately aging. The lab combines physics and cell biology to understand how proteins overcome energy barriers in the cell to form prions and amyloids. Learn more about the Halfmann Lab here.