Getting your MA in Pathology at BUSM
Trainees who complete the Master of Arts (MA) degree in Pathology from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) will be eligible for a faculty position in the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences in the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University in Kampala (MUK).
They will have ongoing structured research collaborations with Ugandan and expatriate scientists and mentors and access to advanced instrumentation in and out of Uganda. A major factor in the selection of the research project for each trainee will be availability of continuing mentorship relationships, to required instrumentation, and collaboration upon returning to Uganda.
Selected trainees will complete rigorous coursework and preparation and defense of a thesis. The MA in Pathology Program focuses on the basic science and laboratory techniques of pathology and related disciplines. Graduates will be prepared to develop basic and translational research laboratories at MUK. The program will provide rigorous training in basic research approaches and methodology comparable to that of US trainees.
Once trained in a scientific discipline, the trainee may choose a disease focus (TB or other emerging infectious diseases) or remain basic in orientation (immunology, bioinformatics) depending on their interest, the needs of MU at the faculty level, access to required research infrastructure and instrumentation and opportunities for ongoing mentorship and collaboration upon their return to Uganda.
The program consists of 2 years of training for Ugandan medical school graduates with either a post-graduate PhD degree or Masters Degree in a laboratory-based discipline.
Over the course of 2 years, trainees will complete the 2 year core curriculum for graduate students at BUSM and 1 year of basic research training.
The areas of programmatic focus are:
- Innate and adaptive immunity
- Inflammation
- Microbiology
- Pathogenesis
- Biomarker discovery
- Bioinformatics
Candidates for the MA degree are required to complete a minimum of 8 semester courses (32 credit hours) at the graduate level, including an original laboratory-based thesis. The degree program is typically completed within two years.
Training will consist of relevant course work, regularly scheduled seminars and journal clubs, and rigorous laboratory training with the goal of preparing for a career in research. The selection of mentors is based on scientific discipline, as well as potential relevance to emerging infectious diseases and TB.
