Graduate Program
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Curriculum Each student must complete a total of nine (9) course credits. Each student is expected to complete a core of coursework including one course in each of the three central areas of the program:
Students are
required to complete
two lab rotations, which together will receive a total of one course
credit. Additional rotations may be taken, but will not receive credit. The remaining five credits may be chosen from
throughout the offerings of the Biological Sciences Division to create
an individualized curriculum. Applications to
the Cell Physiology program are accepted through the Division of
Biological Sciences. An online application may be activated through https://grad-application-e.uchicago.edu/intro/bsd/intro1.cfm.
Core requirements: A typical student might fulfill the core requirements with the following courses: Cell Biology. (MGCB
31600). Eukaryotic
protein traffic and
related topics, including molecular motors and cytoskeletal dynamics,
organelle architecture and biogenesis, protein translocation and
sorting, compartmentalization in the secretory pathway, endocytosis and
exocytosis, and mechanisms and regulation of membrane fusion. Turkewitz, Glick, Miller. Autumn
A review of the voltage-gated and ligand-gated channels, including the functional role(s) of the channels in cell behavior and biophysical aspects of ion transport through channels. Correlation is made between known channel protein structure and channel functional characteristics, including gating, block and drug-related changes in channel current kinetics. Hanck,Nelson. Winter.
Cells in the body communicate with each other by a variety of extracellular signals (e.g., hormones, neurotransmitters) and processes such as vision and olfaction, as well as diseases such as cancer, all involve aspects of such signaling processes. The subject matter of this course considers molecular mechanism of the wide variety of intracellular mechanisms that, when activated, change cell behavior. Both general and specific aspects of intracellular signaling are covered in the course, with an emphasis on the structural basis of cell signaling. Tang. Spring.
Students are required to complete two laboratory rotations. (CPHY 40001. Research in Cell Physiology.) During the first year of study, the student focuses on taking courses and doing rotations through faculty laboratories. Lab rotations familiarize the student with work ongoing in faculty laboratories and aid in the selection of a lab for the thesis work. Electives: The student may complete his total of nine required units by selecting from among an extensive variety of courses offered throughout the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine. Some of the many potential choices include: Biochemistry MBIO 30100. Introduction to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. BCMB 30400. Protein Fundamentals. BCMB 30500. Fundamentals of Structural Biology BCMB 30600. Nucleic Acid Structure and Function Cell Biology MGCB 31700. Advanced Cell Biology. NPHP 31800. Cellular Neurobiology Molecular Biology MGCB 31200. Molecular Biology I. MGCB 31300. Molecular Biology II. Physiology CPHY 30300. Cell and Organ Physiology CPHY 30400. Organ Physiology and Endocrinology CPHY 30016. Systems Neurobiology Genetics MGCB 31400. General Principles of Genetic Analysis. HGEN 47000. HGEN 46900. Human Genetics II. Human Variation and Disease.
By the beginning of the third
year, a student and his thesis advisor
choose an advisory committee which meets with the student on a regular
basis (approximately bi-annually) to provide guidance as the student
performs the thesis work.
The program does not have a
distinct Preliminary Examination. Rather,
the student will advance to candidacy
after completion of his/her thesis proposal. By the end of the third
year, a student is expected to have successfully presented a thesis
proposal to his/her thesis committee.
When this advisory committee decides the student has produced sufficient original observations that are judged suitable for publication, then the student writes the dissertation. A final public oral presentation of the thesis results and an oral examination by the thesis committee will be conducted as the final step in the process.
The
division
requires all graduate students to serve two quarters as a teaching
assistant. This position is to be completed without payment from the
instructor. This requirement was put in place to help ensure that the
large number of students who earn a Ph.D. at the |