The goal of these interdisciplinary programs is to provide a bridge between basic science discoveries and the development of biotechnology transfer or clinical innovation. The objective of this department is to train scientists who will make original, significant contributions to biomedical science. The department offers a general training program in cellular and molecular biology and pursues diverse research goals. Fields of specialization include animal virology, microbial genetics, molecular and cellular immunology, gene transduction, control of protein synthesis, transcription, and chemical carcinogenesis. The Department of Pathology offers a program leading to a Ph.D. in pathobiology.
Emphasis is placed in interdisciplinary approaches to the study of human disease.
Areas currently under investigation include viral and chemical carcinogenesis, tumor biology, cell biology, liver and pulmonary diseases, environmental pathology, immunology and immunopathology, circulatory diseases, diseases of the endocrine system, molecular basis of diseases of the nervous system, genetic diseases, and toxicologic pathology. The Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine offers graduate training in several areas of contemporary physiology and biophysics. The objective of the graduate program is to prepare students for careers in research and teaching in the biomedical sciences. This goal is accomplished in a training program that integrates knowledge about physiological systems at several levels of organization. The training program represents a thematically unified approach to the investigation of homeostatic mechanisms utilizing studies at the molecular, cellular and whole animal levels.