Attached to this Description Program of Study Students are admitted to a program that leads to a Ph.D. degree in molecular biology and genetics. The program emphasizes research training in eukaryotic molecular and cellular biology with applications to molecular medicine and genetics.
Students are prepared for research careers in either academic or industrial settings.
Ph.D. students spend the first year taking the core curriculum and doing laboratory rotations to sample the research environment in laboratories of potential interest to them. The core curriculum provides students with a solid foundation in the areas of molecular and cellular biology and genetics. By the end of the first year, students begin thesis research, and during the second year they complete additional course work that is tailored to each student's background and area of research. Faculty laboratories provide opportunities for research in many areas of molecular biology, medicine, and genetics that are relevant to the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of human diseases. Multidisciplinary approaches include the use of model organisms for the study of developmental and reproductive biology, cancer, neurobiology, and other areas.