Genetics and Developmental Biology Graduate Program

Program Description

• Program of Study
• Major Advisor and the Advisory (Thesis) Committee
• Course of Study
• Laboratory Rotations/Independent Studies
• Summary of the Course of Study
• Preliminary (General) Exam
• Thesis Prospectus
• Oral Defense/Final Exam and the Dissertation
• Summary of Major Events
  

Program of Study

The Genetics and Developmental Biology program provides qualified students with fundamental interdisciplinary training in modern molecular genetics and developmental biology, emphasizing cellular and molecular aspects as well as tissue interactions. Areas of research include the mapping and cloning of human genes responsible for disease, RNA processing (including RNA editing, alternative splicing, antisense regulation, and RNA interference), the molecular mechanisms of aging, signal transduction pathways, microbial pathogenesis, developmental neurobiology, cell differentiation, musculoskeletal development, morphogenesis and pattern formation, reproductive biology and endocrinology. Faculty members are from several basic science and clinical departments and study a wide range of organisms including yeast, worms, fruit flies, mice, and humans. Students are encouraged to obtain in-depth training in molecular genetics and developmental biology. The program prepares students to compete for job opportunities in traditional medical and dental school departments as well as a productive research career in either academia or industry.

Major Advisor and the Advisory (Thesis) Committee

Upon entering the Biomedical Sciences program, student's will be assigned an advisory committee to assist in the selection of suitable courses and rotation laboratories. At the end of the first year of study, students will select a major advisor who will be responsible for both the course work and research components of the student's doctoral program. The major advisor will work with the student to formulate an advisory committee. This committee will be composed of at least two other members of the Genetics and Developmental Biology graduate program. Together with the major advisor, the committee will monitor the student's progress, organize a plan of study (i.e., select courses to be taken) and serve in a general advisory capacity. The committee, with the major advisor, will construct and administer the preliminary (general) examination. After completion of the preliminary examination, the advisory committee will serve as a Ph.D. thesis advisory committee. This committee may be expanded to up to five members. The additional advisor may be a member of the graduate faculty of either another program here at the Health Center or another university who is considered to be an expert in the area of the student's dissertation research.

Course of Study

With the guidance of the major advisor and the advisory committee, the student will develop an individualized course of study. This course of study must be submitted as a formal plan of study. This plan of study must be submitted and approved by the Graduate School before the end of the second year of graduate study. This plan consists of a list and sequence of courses that the student will need to complete as part of his/her Ph.D. program. The Ph.D. course work will consist of 44 credit hours beyond the BS degree or 24 hours beyond the MS degree. Detailed information regarding the plan of study as well as the numerous ways to fulfill the language requirement are outlined in the Graduate School Student Handbook. In general the student will take formal course work during the first two years. Note that a student is required to register for the Genetics and Developmental Biology Journal Club every semester with a one semester exemption for a student writing his/her dissertation. A generalized plan for the first year is outlined below:

During the second year, the student's plan of study should include course work which can be selected from graduate-level courses that are offered at the Health Center. To remain eligible for continued assistantship support, second year students must complete at least 8 credits of regularly-graded courses/year. A generalized course of study for the second year is presented below.

*Electives may be taken from any of the course offerings. The following is a list of some of the recommended elective courses:

• MEDS 369 - Advanced Genetics, 3 credits
• MEDS 376 - Developmental Neurobiology, 3 credits
• MEDS 322+ - Special Topics in Genetics and Developmental Biology, 3 credits
• MEDS 325 - Practical Applications of Sequence Analysis, 2 credits
• MEDS 351 - Biochemistry II, 3 credits
• MEDS 329 - Core Immunology, 2 credits
• MEDS 467 - Biostatistics, 3 credits

+To insure that the Genetics and Developmental Biology students are exposed to the most up-to-date information, a series of Special Topics Courses in Genetics and Developmental Biology (MEDS 322) have been developed. These courses are offered in the Fall and Spring semesters and meet for 3 hours/week for 7 weeks. Two special topics courses are offered successively each semester. A list of some of the topics covered in MEDS 322 recently is below:

• Human Genetics
• Developmental Drosophila Genetics
• Cell and Tissue Interaction
• Fertilization and Early Development
• Signal Transduction in Development
• Hormones in Development
• The Regulation of Gene Expression in the Nervous System
• Genomic Imprinting

The major focus of the third, fourth and if necessary the fifth year of graduate study will be on the completion of the thesis.

Laboratory Rotations/Independent Studies

Students are encouraged to set up their lab rotations as soon as possible. Students will perform rotations in three different laboratories during the first year. Ideally, the first rotation will occur during the first summer. During each rotation, the student will spend one full time semester, or summer, in a laboratory learning research procedures. These rotations are designed to allow the student to get a detailed exposure to the research interest of different laboratories before selecting a major advisor under whom the student will do his/her dissertation research.

Summary of the Course of Study

As outline above, there are three ways to earn the 44 credits required for a Ph.D.: regular courses, journal clubs and lab rotations/independent studies. It is suggested that the 44 credit hours be distributed in the following manner. Regular course work should comprise 21 credit hours with 15 of these credits taken in the first year. Special topics courses may account for 9 credit hours and at least 8 credit hours be from the Genetics and Developmental Biology journal clubs. Additional credit hours should be taken as lab rotations/independent study. Fifteen credits must be of Graduate Research, typically GRAD 495.

Preliminary (General) Exam

In general, the student will take most all of the formal course work during the first two years of study. However, the students are encouraged to take their preliminary examination after their third semester of course work. All students are expected to take the preliminary examination by the end of the second academic year. Passing this exam is important in that it formally admits the student to doctoral candidacy. The purpose of this examination is for the student to demonstrate his/her readiness to pursue independent research leading to the Ph.D. degree. The format of the preliminary examination includes both written and oral components as required by regulations of the Graduate School. The written component takes the form of a NIH-style grant proposal based on the subject of the student's thesis research. To initiate the examination process, the student will meet with their advisory committee to approve a set of specific aims that will be the basis for the grant proposal. The student will be given 4 weeks from the date of this meeting to complete the written proposal, at which time they will hand it out to no fewer than five faculty members, including all of the member of the advisory committee, who will participate in the oral examination of the student. Typically 1 week after completing the written component, the student will take an oral examination administered by the five faculty members who reviewed the written proposal. The oral examination will mainly focus on the content of the grant proposal, but the student is expected to be prepared to answer questions on any aspect of Genetics and Developmental Biology which flow out of the grant/questions. This allows the examiners to explore the ability of the candidate to relate basic science knowledge and principles to problem solving and scientific thinking. Both the written and oral exams will be graded on a pass-fail basis. The final decision on the candidates performance will be made by the advisory committee, unless the advisory committee have voted to include the two additional examiners in the decision-making process. In the event that the advisory committee determines that the student's performance is unsatisfactory, the committee shall either recommend dismissal or prescribe the specific course of action that the student must satisfactorily complete to remedy the unsatisfactory performance. The amount of time available for completion must be specified at this time.

Thesis Prospectus

An outline of the student's proposed research project must be completed within 12 months of passing the preliminary exam. This prospectus must be filed on specific forms obtained at the Graduate School Office.

Oral Defense/Final Exam and the Dissertation

The final exam will be an oral exam that will deal mainly with the subject matter of the student's dissertation. Details regarding the preparation of a dissertation can be found in the Graduate School Student Handbook.

Summary of Major Events