Curriculum and Degree Requirements
Each student participating in the Program in Cell and Molecular Biology must satisfy the course requirements and qualifying examinations established by the student’s basic science department and the program. For the Postbachelor’s PhD degree a total of 64 course credits are required. Of these, 30-40 credits must come from formal (lecture/discussion) courses. Post-master’s PhD candidates with an MA or MS in a biomedical or cell biology field and MD/PhD candidates must complete 32 credits. Depending on the student’s background, one or more of the required courses may be waived in consultation with the instructors of those courses, subject to the approval of the CMB Committee.
The following courses are required. All the required courses except for GMS CM 765, 766 (which will be taken during the second year) form the first-year Core Curriculum (total of 20 credits).
Required Courses:
GMS MS 753 Cell Biology 4 cr
GMS BI 755 General Biochemistry 4 cr
GMS BI 756 General Biochemistry II 4 cr
BMS BI Molecular Biology 4 cr
GMS CM 761, 762 Critical Thinking in Cell and Molecular Biology
2 cr each semester
GMS CM 765, 766 Minicourses in Cell and Molecular Biology 1 cr each
Additional requirements of the student’s basic science department and the program must be completed. The list below shows the second-year programs for students in each basic science department.
Elective Courses:
Elective courses must be chosen from the following list:
GMS AN 709 (2 cr): Neural Development and Plasticity
GMS BI 787 (2 cr): Molecular Mechanisms of Growth and Development
GMS BI 783 (2 cr): Structure and Function of Proteins
GMS BI 790 (2 cr): Receptors and Signal Transduction
GMS BI 788 (2 cr): Enzyme Catalysis
GMS BI 786 (2 cr): Biochemical Mechanisms of Aging
GMS BI 776 (2 cr): Gene Targeting in Transgenic Mice
GMS BY 771 (4 cr): Biophysics of Macromolecular Assemblies
GMS BY 774 (2 cr): Metabolism and Cellular Function of Complex Lipids
GMS HG 881 (4 cr): Human Genetics I
GMS HG 882 (4 cr): Human Genetics II
GMS MI 716 (4 cr): Bacterial Physiology
GMS MI 714 (4 cr): Microbial Genetics
GMS MI 717 (4 cr): Growth Control and Cell Transformation
GMS MI 718 (4 cr): Virology
GMS MI 715 (2 cr): Advanced Immunology (cellular immunology)
GMS PA 700 (6 cr): Basic and Experimental Pathology
GMS PA 801 (2 cr): Special Topics in Pathology – Transmembrane Signaling
GMS MS 783 (2 cr): Molecular Basis of Neurologic Diseases I
GMS MS 784 (2 cr): Molecular Basis of Neurologic Diseases II
GMS PA 725 (2 cr): Molecular Immunology
GMS PM 700 (4 cr): Molecular Neurobiology and Pharmacology
GMS PM 880 (2 cr): Gene Regulation and Pharmacology
GMS PH 542 (4 cr): Human Physiology A
GMS PH 543 (4 cr): Human Physiology B
GMS PH 741 (2 cr): Experimental Methods in Physiology A
GMS PH 742 (2 cr): Experimental Methods in Physiology B
GMS PH 843 (4 cr): Cell Physiology
Seminar:
Each student is expected to fulfill the seminar requirements of the specific basic science department in which he or she is enrolled.
Research:
All students register for research credits using the course numbers for the basic science departments in which they are enrolled. The precise number of research credits depends on the student’s needs and background.
Additional PhD Requirements:
Qualifying Examinations: All students must pass the qualifying examinations of their chosen Department, with modifications described below, to be completed by the end of two years. The goal of the qualifying examinations is to permit the faculty to judge the adequacy of the students’ background knowledge in their chosen field and their facility for problem solving and for interpretation of important cell and molecular biology concepts before formally permitting them to begin their doctoral research. Students take a written examination and an oral examination, in the format of the major Department, given by a committee of at least of 5 members, 3 from the major Department and 2 from the CMB Program faculty. A student who is in good academic standing but who fails either the written or oral qualifying examinations is allowed one opportunity to remedy their failing grade. This will be done in accordance with the rules of the major Department.
Academic Student Advisor: The Student Affairs Committee assigns an advisor, who is a member of the CMB Program faculty, to each entering student. This advisor helps the student to plan curriculum, meet with potential research advisors, choose a Department and rotations, and set career goals. The CMB Program advisor will works in consultation with the chosen research advisor and Department throughout the student’s academic career at BUSM.
Research Training and Advisory Committees: An intensive period of full-time research is the central element of the Program. Each of the training faculty directs a laboratory which carries out studies in one or more central areas of cell and molecular biology. Participation in these projects is the principal mode of research training. A minimum of three laboratory rotations are required within the first year of study. They are each approximately two months long. Laboratory rotations are the prime mechanism for selection of a major Department, a general research area, and a dissertation advisor. By June 1st, each student will have been accepted by a major department. If necessary, the following summer semesters may also be used for research rotations which must be in a CMB faculty laboratory and be approved by the major Department.
Within 6 months of passing the qualifying examinations, the trainee is expected to present a research proposal to a Dissertation Advisory Committee that will monitor his/her research progress on a regular basis, meeting at least once a year. One week prior to each meeting, the student will present a written summary of research progress to the committee for review. The committee will consist of 5-6 members, including the research advisor, one other representative of the major Department, and 3 members of the CMB training faculty. At least one member of the committee must be from a department that is not the major department. The chair, who should not be the research advisor, will keep written records of the meetings. It is the committee’s responsibility to provide an objective evaluation of the project as well as contribute to the selection of specific research directions. While the committee often has useful suggestions on specific approaches to a particular protocol, a more vital function is to help focus and limit the scope of the research, so that the trainee has, as early as possible, a clear concept of the overall design of the dissertation proposal. Although this concept will change in response to specific experimental findings, it is critical for the trainee to be guided to define, both in scope and quality, an appropriate research project. Full-time research work usually will begin in the summer of the second year (upon successful completion of all required courses and the qualifying examinations). The time required for completion of the Program, including the writing and defense of the Ph.D. dissertation, averages 5 years.
Dissertation and Oral Defense: At the completion of the research project, each student will prepare a written dissertation documenting his/her original research contribution. The format must meet University guidelines. A completed final copy of the dissertation, approved and signed by the first and second readers, must be given to each member of the Dissertation Advisory Committee for review at least 2 weeks before the dissertation defense. The Dissertation Advisory Committee will serve as the Dissertation Defense Committee. A research seminar will be presented to the faculty and student members of the CMB Program, members of the major department, and other interested members of the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences prior to the dissertation defense. This will be followed by an oral defense of the dissertation.
Degree:
The basic science departments are the degree-granting entities in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. The degree for a student who is enrolled in the Program in Cell and Molecular Biology will read “PhD in (the appropriate basic sciences department), Program in Cell and Molecular Biology.”
