Biomedical Sciences (Ph.D.) Program Details
Degree Requirements
❱ Required coursework
❱ Research tool requirement
❱ Qualifying or comprehensive examination (As part of candidacy requirements, oral and/or written comprehensive candidacy examination depending on the chosen track)
❱ Graduate School expository writing requirement
❱ Graduate School Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement
❱ Dissertation
❱ Final oral examination/Dissertation defense
Research Specializations
Click below to view program of study details and faculty areas of interest for each research track*
❱ Anatomy, Organismal & Cell Biology Research Track
❱ Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Research Track
❱ Microbiology & Immunology Research Track
❱ Pharmacology & Therapeutics Research Track
❱ Physiology Research Track
The Research Track includes courses required for each student once they choose a track/specialty. The courses comprise a total of 12 credits in year two and will be governed by the jurisdiction of each research track specialization. Electives are added to the Fall and Spring semesters of Year 3 to provide students with the opportunity to take courses that expand their academic and research proficiency. In Year 3, students must select their elective courses in consultation with their research track advisor.
Research Areas & Interests
Faculty Areas of Expertise
| First Name | Last Name | Research Area & Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Kholood | Ahmad | Translational medicine, molecular oncology |
| Antonie | Csoka | Aging, Epigenetics, Iatrogenesis, Post-Exposure Syndromes |
| Rui | Diogo | Evolutionary Biology, Developmental Biology, Functional Morphology |
| Byron | Ford | Stroke, neuroinflammation and neurogenomics |
| Marjorie | Gondre-Lewis | Addiction, Neurodevelopment, NeuroHIV |
| Thomas | Heinbockel | Neuroscience, Translational Medicine, Drug Discovery |
| Lindsey | Koper | Paleontology of mammalian carnivorans, functional morphology |
| Sayan | Nandi | Neuroimmune interactions, Microglia, Neurodevelopmental and Neuropsychiatric disorders, Stroke |
| Vance | Powell | Paleoanthropology, functional morphology |
| Sulman | Rahmat | Neuroscience, Evolutionary Biology, Developmental Biology, Functional Morphology |
| Janine | Ziermann-Canabarro | Muscle evolution and development, Tissue interactions |
| First Name | Last Name | Research Area & Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Malcolm | Byrnes | Enzymology |
| Yayin | Fang | Computational biology and bioinformatics |
| Bernard | Kwabi-Addo | Cancer biology- genetic and epigenetic studies/ translational studies/ health equity |
| George | Matthew | Mitochondrial DNA - gene expression, genetics and evolutionary biology |
| Sudha | Sharma | Genome Maintenance Mechanisms, DNA Damage Response Pathways, Genetic Predisposition to Cancer and pre-mature aging |
| Zaki | Sherif | Cancer Genetics, Molecular/Translational Medicine |
| William | Southerland | Applying data science to chronic disease disparities, gene variations, molecular interactions, protein design |
| Eric | Walters | Developmental morphogenesis, antioxidant signaling |
| First Name | Last Name | Research Area & Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Muneer | Abbas | Human Genetics, Immunology, Cancer Biology |
| Najealika | Armstrong | Virology, Cell Biology, and Molecular Biology |
| Moses | Bility | Virology, Immunology, Cancer Biology, and Cell Biology |
| Marina | Jerebtsova | Virology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry |
| Yasmine | Kanaan | Immunology, Cancer Biology, Microbiology, and Human Genetics |
| Kunle | Kassim | Microbial pathogenesis, immunology, epidemiology, drug development |
| Namita | Kumari | Microbiology, Virology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry |
| Sergei | Nekhai | Virology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Hematology |
| Christian | Parry | Bioinorganic chemistry, Immunology, Biophysics, Structural biology |
| Philip | Roane | Virology, Cell Biology, and Molecular Biology |
| Delisha | Stewart | Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Nutrition |
| John | Stubbs | Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Mycology, and Molecular Genetics |
| Qiyi | Tang | Virology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Viral Genetics and RNA Biology |
| Karl | Thompson | Microbial Genetics, Microbial Pathogenesis, Molecular Genetics, Cellular Microbiology, RNA Science, Nutrition |
| First Name | Last Name | Research Area & Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Joanne | Allard | Interaction of exercise, genetics, and diet on brain function and age-related neurodegenerative disease |
| Stanley | Andrisse | Insulin resistance, liver-specific signaling pathways, and metabolic disease |
| Mark | Burke | Neurodevelopmental impact of fetal alcohol exposure, post-natal Zika infection and pediatric HIV infection |
| Haijun | Gao | Pregnancy-related disorders including gestational diabetes mellitus, maternal obesity, and developmental origin of adult metabolic and cardiovascular diseases |
| Werner | Graf | Neuronal basis of self-motion perception and spatial orientation |
| Georges | Haddad | Mechanisms of alcohol induced cardiomyopathy, Effect of cART on the heart |
| Dawit | Kidane-Mulat | DNA rapair deficiency, tumor immunology in gastrointestinal cancer including stomach, colon, and pancreatic cancer |
| Syed | Khundmiri | Sodium homeostasis and the role of kidneys in regulation of blood pressure |
| Dexter | Lee | Inflammatory mediators on renal function and blood pressure regulation in acute and chronic models of hypertension |
| Kebreten | Manaye | Mechanisms underlying neurological and neurodegenerative diseases associated with brain aging |
| Magdalena | Misiak | Animal and cellular models of olfactory aging. gene perturbations, mitochondrial biology and olfactory pathogenesis |
| Prosper | N'Gouemo | Mechanisms of prenatal alcohol exposure-related seizures |
| Jahn | O'Neil | Intersection of hypertension and alzheimer's risk with genetic risk factors |
| Sima | Tarzami | Inflamatory Chemokines/Cytokines and their role in development and progression of heart failure |
Program of Study*
Required Coursework
Foundations in Biomedical Sciences I (6 CR)
Foundations in Biomedical Sciences II (6 CR)
Methods in Biomedical Science (4 CR)
Experimental Design/Intro to Biostatistics (2 CR)
Journal Club/Critique of Scientific Literature (2 CR)
Biostatistics & Bioinformatics (3 CR)
Lab Rotation 1 (2 CR)
Lab Rotation 2 (2 CR)
Lab Rotation 3 (2 CR)
Manuscript Writing/ Presentation Skills (2 CR)
Grant Writing (2 CR)
Research Track Coursework (6 CR)
Seminar/Journal Club (4 CR)
Directed Research (1-9 CR)
Admission to Candidacy
Students are admitted to formal candidacy by the Graduate School when they have completed the required coursework, have passed the comprehensive/qualifying exam requirement, submitted an approved topic for research, and been recommended by the Department. The dissertation proposal and an oral defense of the proposal are mandatory components of the comprehensive/qualifying exam requirement for each track. Additionally, some tracks may include an extra component of the comprehensive candidacy examination. Candidates must also have satisfied the Graduate School expository writing requirement and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement.
Graduate Funding
Graduate research or teaching assistantships are available to qualified students at the department level. Additionally, admitted students may be eligible to compete for Graduate School competitive awards, which provide tuition remission and a stipend during the academic year. Research assistants and teaching assistants work no more than 20 hours a week under the program's direction, usually in support of faculty research (research assistants) or in support of assigned courses (teaching assistants). Please see the Funding website for more detailed information.