PhD and PhD/MD in Cell & Molecular Biology

Please see the BUSM part of this Bulletin for a general description of the PhD/MD program.

The mission of the Cell & Molecular Biology (CMB) program is to expose first-year graduate students to a wide repertoire of research disciplines and provide them with a fundamental didactic education. This is accompanied by a very strong advisory and mentoring program. It is expected that the students will learn to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of biological processes, particularly those that relate broadly to human disease. The students are admitted in their first year to the CMB program and after coursework and rotations throughout a number of the participating departments, choose a mentor, which dictates the department the students join. In addition to full integration and participation in student activities in the primary advisor’s department, students continue to be mentored by the CMB program and participate in monthly student seminars.

Students are exposed to cutting-edge technologies and experimental systems in a number of research themes—including but not limited to: (1) microbiology, (2) neuroscience and aging, (3) signal transduction and cancer, (4) extracellular matrix/cellular injury, (5) metabolism, obesity/diabetes, (6) proteomics, glycomics, and lipidomics, (7) development, (8) immunology, and (9) structural biology—through laboratory rotations in their first year. The graduate program comprises a highly interactive group of faculty and graduate students committed to providing an environment that fosters excellence in research and teaching. In addition, availability of core facilities (e.g., FACS cell sorter, confocal microscope, microscopic imaging, transgenic mouse colony, University-wide computer network) allows for the state-of-the-art technological approaches to address critical research issues.

The educational mission of the program is to provide research training as well as classroom instruction in biochemical, molecular, development and protein structure to students on the Boston University Medical Campus. These are supplemented by Critical Thinking courses, and a Methods course in the field of cell and molecular biology. In addition, students learn oral and written skills through two CMB-specific courses. The faculty come from many of the departments at the BUSM campus and participate in the administration, advising, and teaching within the CMB program. The program faculty are primary participants in the design and teaching of graduate courses within the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS).

Students who are admitted to the program spend the first year developing an advanced understanding of cell and molecular biology. Emphasis is placed on the historical development of conceptual and technological advances, which have led to the current approaches and solutions to questions in cell and molecular biology. After one year of study, students enter a participating basic science department. Each student, in consultation with his or her thesis advisor and advisory committee, designs an individual program of specialized coursework built upon a core program of molecular and cellular biology. Students graduate with a PhD in a basic science department, distinguished by the phrase, “Program in Cell & Molecular Biology.”

This guide is intended to provide all graduate students within the Cell & Molecular Biology program with a list of faculty and requirements. Students must also adhere to the guidelines of the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences at Boston University School of Medicine as well as Boston University at large. Students are advised to consult the appropriate personnel if they have further questions regarding policies concerning graduate study at Boston University.

Academic Advisors

Advising is a strong component of the CMB program. Each student is assigned one of the three advisory faculty members in September in the fall in which they enter. The first meeting occurs at orientation. This faculty member functions as the student’s advisor until a permanent research (thesis) advisor is chosen at the end of the first academic year. The role of the faculty advisor is to provide assistance and advice on all academic issues (classes, rotations, etc.). The Director and Assistant Director of the Graduate Program are also available to advise students. The faculty advisor maintains a close relationship with the student over their entire graduate career.

After performing laboratory rotations during the first year in the program, students select a mentor or thesis advisor in whose lab their research work is performed. This advisor becomes the primary mentor for the student’s progress throughout the rest of their graduate school tenure. The Director and Assistant Director of CMB continue to advise the students on coursework, preparation for Thesis Advisory Committee meetings, thesis writing, etc.

In addition, there is a student mentoring/advising program. At the beginning of each year, the selected senior students meet and are assigned first-year students. We have found that student mentoring helps in transitions and is the student voice on how to prepare for courses, meetings, etc. In addition, the students relay information on other aspects of the graduate education.

Academic Requirements

The post-bachelor’s PhD program requires 64 credits. The MD/PhD and post-master’s PhD programs require 32 credits. The number of lecture credits will vary with requirements for each department. Each student will need to check the requirements for Cell & Molecular Biology program students in the department of their choice as the number of required courses differs.

First-Year CMB Core Classes

The curriculum is set up as one major course that runs the full academic year called Foundations in Biomedical Sciences (FIBS). This innovative and interdisciplinary core course will encompass material that has been traditionally taught in courses of biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and genomics, and molecular biology. These four major topics will be taught as sequential modules. A fifth module will be available as well with a choice of topics, from development and stem cells, physiology, and metabolism. This should be a particularly exciting student experience across the graduate school at BUSM.

• FIBS FC 701 Protein Catalysis and Energetics
• FIBS FC 702 Structure and Function of the Genome
• FIBS FC 703 Architecture and Dynamics of the Cell
• GMS CM 761 Critical Thinking—Topics in Cell Biology
• GMS CM 764 Cell and Molecular Biology Presentation Skills
• GMS BI 777 Methods in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
• FIBS FC 704 Cell Signaling
• (Monthly meetings on Thursdays at noon—Rotation talks or senior graduate student presentations)

Two of the following courses for second semester

• FIBS 705A Cellular Physiology
• FIBS 705B Molecular Metabolism
• FIBS 705C Translational Genomics
• PA801 Protein Modification and Molecular Basis of Human Diseases

Second Year

In addition, to fulfill the requirements of the Cell & Molecular Biology program, there is a 2-credit course required, and attendance at monthly graduate student talks.

• A GMS-wide statistics course, which will be required for CMB students, is being developed for Fall 2012. This course will have a strong critical analysis component.
• GMS CM 765/766 Proposal Writing

Both of the courses are given in the second academic year, and after the completion of both courses, the student will be given 2 credits.

The course of graduate study is designed so that the PhD student can complete the required coursework during the first two years of graduate work. In addition to taking all courses required by the department in which the student will complete his/her studies, each student must take the qualifying examination of the chosen department/program. The qualifying examinations are specific for each department/program and may differ in format. In addition, the timing for taking the examination depends on the department/program.

When working in the laboratory, students will register for research credits (research credits in cell & molecular biology are available), until the student has taken the required total number of credits required for his/her degree. Those students, who wish to join the laboratory of a faculty member in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology in the Dental School, please see the list of requirements below under qualifying exams and thesis committee.

Qualifying Exams

The student must pass a qualifying examination, which is administered by each department, except for students in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology. The latter group of students will take a qualifying examination after their first or second year. The specifics on the examination will require agreement between the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology and the Cell & Molecular Biology Program Executive Committee. The Qualifying Exam Committee will include five faculty members, including two members from the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology and three members from the Executive Committee in the Cell & Molecular Biology Program. Students will have two chances to pass this examination.

Research Training and Dissertation Advisory Committees

The Dissertation Advisory Committee is set up by each department and will include members of the Cell & Molecular Biology Program, except for students in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology. The latter group of students will be assigned an Advisory Committee once the student has passed his/her qualifying examination. The Advisory Committee will consist of five members, one of whom will be the research advisor, three of whom must be members of the Cell & Molecular Biology Program and one of whom must be outside of the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology but a member of the Cell & Molecular Biology Program.

Within six months of passing the qualifying examination, the trainee is expected to present a research proposal to a Dissertation Advisory Committee that will monitor his/her research progress on a regular basis, meeting at least once a year. One week prior to each meeting, the student will present a written summary of research progress to the committee for review.

The committee will consist of five or six members, including the research advisor, one other representative of the major department, and three members of the Cell & Molecular Biology Program faculty. At least one member of the committee must be from a department that is not the major department. The chair, who should not be the research advisor, will keep written records of the meetings. It is the committee’s responsibility to provide an objective evaluation of the project as well as to contribute to the research direction. A vital function of the committee is to help focus and limit the scope of the research so that the trainee has a clear concept of the overall design of the dissertation proposal. It is expected that this design will change in response to experimental findings; however, it is critical that the trainee be guided to define scope and quality. Research in the advisor’s lab will commence in the summer after the first year of courses. Full-time research is expected to begin the summer of the second year (after successful completion of all required courses and the qualifying examinations). Failure to maintain an acceptable research program will result in termination of PhD candidacy.

Academic Policies

Academic policies and procedures dictated by the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences are described in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences Bulletin. Briefly, all students are required to maintain a minimum grade point average of B (3.0) or better. Any student receiving a grade of C or below will be placed on academic probation and must repeat the course and must attain a grade of B (not B–) or above in the course. Students who have received 4 credits of a grade(s) of B– will be placed on academic probation. Any students placed on academic probation will receive a letter detailing the expectations for remediation.

Financial Support

A number of full fellowships (tuition plus stipend) for the first year of graduate school are offered to incoming students who have been accepted into the PhD program in Cell & Molecular Biology at Boston University. PhD students who complete the first year of graduate work in Cell & Molecular Biology in good standing typically obtain full fellowship support (tuition plus stipend) for subsequent graduate coursework and dissertation research through grants and training programs available within the individual department and laboratory of chosen PhD thesis advisors.

Admission Requirements

Applicants for PhD training in molecular and cellular biology should have a bachelor’s degree with emphasis in the biochemical, biological, or chemical sciences. Post-master’s graduate students and MD/PhD students also qualify for admission. Students in the first year of a degree program in one of the academic departments at Boston University School of Medicine may also apply. The CMB program is also available to students who may have chosen alternate career paths, such as biotechnology and education.

Students are admitted in September for the Fall Semester. The general requirements for the program are the standard requirements for admission to the graduate school.