Biomedical Sciences
OFFICE: 5008 Basic Science Building, School of Medicine
http://biomedsci.ucsd.edu
Professors
Courses
The Graduate Program
The graduate program offered by the Group in Biomedical Sciences
is designed to lead to the Ph.D. degree through a combination of didactic
study, laboratory rotations, and thesis research in basic biomedical
sciences. Research experiences are wide and varied, permitting students
the options of selecting molecular, cellular, or organ and integrated
systems approaches in their research programs. Students are encouraged
to design and execute investigation in a self-critical and independent
manner. Undergraduate preparation must include courses in mathematics
(through calculus), chemistry (including organic, physical, and biochemistry),
and if possible, participation in undergraduate research. Students
whose
undergraduate backgrounds are significantly different will be considered
provided there is sufficient evidence of interest in cell and molecular
biology, physiology, pharmacology, or eukaryotic regulatory biology,
and a desire to enter a field of active research and academic excellence.
Doctoral Degree Program
During the first year, the students take basic courses in cell biology,
molecular biology, pharmacology, physiology, genetics, and microbiology/immunology.
In a required laboratory rotation program, students develop laboratory
skills and the ability to formulate scientific hypotheses and become
familiar with the research activities of the faculty. Students may
differentiate into one of five advanced training tracks: genetics,
microbiology/immunology, molecular cell biology, molecular pharmacology,
or physiology. Required advanced courses and electives in subsequent
years are chosen to develop the students’ interest and specialized
knowledge in the thesis research area and chosen training tracks. The
thesis laboratory is usually selected by the end of the first year
of graduate study.
The graduate program is interdepartmental and interdisciplinary;
it involves faculty of the Departments of Medicine, Pharmacology,
Neurosciences, Reproductive Medicine, Chemistry, Pathology, Bioengineering,
Cellular
and Molecular Medicine, Psychiatry, Orthopedics, Anesthesiology,
and the Cancer Center. Pharmacologic studies of drug action at the
molecular
and biochemical levels include studies of receptor structure and
function, genetic and recombinant DNA methods to analyze ligand-receptor
interactions,
regulation of gene expression and signal transduction, and biophysical
approaches to defining neurotransmitter and hormone action. Molecular
and cell biological approaches are being applied to the study of
major issues in cell biology, including the regulation of protein targeting
and intracellular membrane traffic, hormone and growth factor receptors,
endothelial cell biology, molecular motors, RNA splicing, and mitosis,
among others. Physiological studies include molecular to whole animal
approaches to cardiovascular, microcirculatory, respiratory, renal,
gastrointestinal and fetal physiology and their neural and hormonal
control. Genetic and genomic studies include experimental and statistical
approaches to existing variations in both human and model organism
populations as well as mutagenesis, gene targeting, gene silencing,
gene profiling, and gene therapy approaches to manipulating genomes.
Studies in microbiology and immunology are focused on the fundamental
basis of innate and adaptive immunity, elucidation of inflammatory
response pathways, and understanding those virulence mechanisms of
pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can subvert host
and
contribute to infectious disease pathogenesis. Faculty within the
program are the directors of four specialized centers of research at
the university
focusing on cancer, myocardial ischemia, hypertension, and atherosclerosis.
Other faculty are directors of training grants for programs in pulmonary
physiology, oncogenes, cardiovascular physiology, cellular and molecular
pharmacology, hypertension, metabolic diseases, cell and molecular
biology, genetics, digestive diseases, and cancer cell biology.
The
graduate program in biomedical sciences is also designed to educated
physician-scientists through the School of Medicine’s Medical Scientist
Training Program. Students already admitted to the School of Medicine
are eligible for admission to our program for Ph.D. training. Such
students generally apply in the first or second year of their medical
studies and enter graduate studies following completion of their
second year of medical school. Normative time for M.D./Ph.D. students
is seven
years.
Examinations
Students obtain letter grades in the programs basic courses.
Candidacy for the Ph.D. Degree is determined by a two-part examination.
The first part, the minor proposition examination, tests the students
competence and ability to design the approach to a pertinent research
problem in an area unrelated to his or her major interest. The second
part, the major proposition examination, deals with the dissertation
problem and should be completed during the third year of residence in
the program. After the preparation of the dissertation, an oral defense
of the thesis completes the requirement for the Ph.D. Degree
Biomedical Sciences
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