Molecular Pathology
OFFICE: 1108 Basic Science Building,
School of Medicine
http://medicine.ucsd.edu/molpath
Professors
Courses
The Graduate Program
The goal of the molecular pathology program is to produce outstanding
researchers focused on the molecular basis of human disease who
also understand disease at levels of histology and pathology. The
molecular pathology graduate program in an interdepartmental and
interinstitutional program administered by the UCSD Department
of Pathology in affiliation with The Burnham Institute. The program
provides a comprehensive knowledge of normal and abnormal biological
processes, with a particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms
of human diseases. Faculty research focuses on determining how
normal cellular processes are altered in human disease. Research
falls within six areas: cancer cell biology; stem cell and developmental
biology; neurobiology and neurologic disease; structural biology
and signal transduction; microbiology and immunology; and cardiovascular,
muscle, and organ development/disease. Most program faculty reside
in the Departments of Pathology, Medicine, and Pediatrics at the
UCSD School of Medicine, in The Burnham Institute, and in The Scripps
Research Institute.
Course Work
The core science curriculum includes classes in Molecular Biology
of the Cell, Methods in Cellular and Molecular Pathology, The Molecular
Pathology of Cancer, and Neurologic and Muscle Disease. Learning
is focused on reading and evaluating current scientific literature,
with special attention to identifying the major open questions
within a field and designing an effective experimental plan to
answer these questions. Two elective classes (6 units total) are
required. Electives taught by program faculty are offered in Microbial
Pathogenesis (4 units) and Mouse Models for Human Disease (2 units).
Electives may also be selected from graduate-level courses offered
by other medical school programs or by other campus departments
(e.g., Division of Biological Sciences, Department of Chemistry
and Biochemistry, and Department of Bioengineering). This option
allows students the opportunity to acquire advanced training in
areas they have selected for graduate research. Popular electives
are Molecular Modeling, Macromolecular Recognition, Molecular Biology
of the Cardiovascular System, and graduate-level courses in Signal
Transduction, Immunology, Animal Virology, Developmental Biology,
Genetics, and Neurobiology. An education in histology and pathology
is acquired by taking the School of Medicine course in Histology
and an overview course in human pathology developed by pathology
faculty for molecular pathology and pharmacy students. Students
may elect to take in-depth pathology training in their particular
disease(s) of interest by attending a set of comprehensive lectures
(8 to 12) taught as part of the comprehensive medical school pathology
curriculum. Concurrent with their thesis research, third-year students
can acquire a practical consideration of the clinical treatment
of disease by attending pathology conferences: Breast Pathology
Conference, Tumor Board, Pediatric Autopsy, Neuropathology “Brain-Cutting” Conference,
Infectious Disease Rounds, or Hematology Conference. In such conferences,
students learn how disease presents and progresses, how physicians
currently treat disease, what the practical obstacles are in disease
treatment, and where opportunities are for development of molecular
therapeutics.
Examinations
First Qualifying Examination (Minor Proposition)
The purpose of this examination is to test the student’s
ability to choose a research problem in molecular pathology and
to propose an experimental approach to its solution. The problem
should be unrelated to the student’s thesis project. The
student is expected to demonstrate knowledge in molecular biology
and basic pathology. The first qualifying examination will be taken
by the end of the fall quarter of the second year.
Second Qualifying Examination (Major Proposition)
The second qualifying examination, a university requirement, consists
of an oral report by the student about research accomplished and
the goals to be achieved for completion of the examination, the
student will advance to candidacy. The second qualifying examination
should be complete by the end of the third year and must be completed
by the end of the fourth year.
Departmental Ph.D. Time Limit Policies
Students must be advanced to candidacy by the end of four years.
Total university support cannot exceed six years. Total registered
time at UCSD cannot exceed seven years. |