The students are first-rate, coming from the best undergraduate institutions in the country. We function in an environment of cooperation and mutual support, rather than competion. The Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Research Foundation teaches students to do independent research and apply the scientific method to specific biological questions. To get an overview of possibilities, first-year students complete two to four laboratory rotations with faculty members, pursuing research in areas of their interest.
Students then select a faculty advisor and develop a dissertation project.
They have no teaching or outside requirements in addition to their dissertation research, although teaching opportunities are available. It is expected that students will make significant and novel scientific contributions that result in publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Graduate Student Research Forum Students have an opportunity to participate in a university-wide poster presentation contest. Students present their work and are evaluated based on strength of research and overall presentation skills. During the past several years, students from the Molecular and Developmental Biology Graduate Program have consistently won top awards in this annual competition.