University of Texas Medical Branch

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-772-1942
Fax: 1-409-762-9382

Description:
The Cell Biology Graduate Program at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston is designed for students seeking a Ph.D. degree and cooperates with the M.D. and Ph.D. program for students seeking joint degrees. Many faculty members belong to the Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, with scientific interests primarily in neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurochemistry and neuroendocrinology, reproductive endocrinology, developmental, molecular and tumor biology as well as cancer biology. However, the program is interdisciplinary and also includes faculty members from the Departments of Neuroscience & Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Otolaryngology, Preventive Medicine & Community Health, Internal Medicine, Neurology, Psychiatry, Anesthesiology, Microbiology, Reproductive Sciences, and Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Degree(s):
Ph.D. - Biology (Cellular, Molecular); M.D./Ph.D. - Biology (Cellular, Molecular)

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-772-1942
Fax: 1-409-772-4687

Description:
The goal of the Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics Program is to train scientists who will be prepared to undertake independent research in modern cellular physiology and biophysics. The program is multidisciplinary with considerable flexibility. A variety of graduate courses designed to meet the needs of students are offered. These include courses dealing with membrane structure and biochemistry, molecular biology, cell physiology, ion transport, excitability and ion channels, computer modeling, optical techniques, electrophysiology techniques, systems analysis, and advanced study in neurotransmission, neural repair, receptor transduction, muscle excitation-contraction coupling, structural biology and membrane proteins, epithelial function and cellular homeostasis. Additional courses offered by other departments are available to the interested student. This program offers the student a unique opportunity for close interaction with nationally and internationally prominent faculty in the area of cell physiology and membrane transport.

Degree(s):
Ph.D.-Cellular Physiology

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-772-2769
Fax: 1-409-747-0552

Description:
Our program is one of the largest in Texas, with over 50 active faculty members. This allows students to participate in research of extraordinary diversity and strength in the areas of biochemistry, cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, structural biology, proteomics and bioinformatics. The faculty has exceptionally high levels of research funding, and nationally ranks 12th in NIH research funding for medical school biochemistry departments.

Degree(s):
Ph.D. - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-772-2322
Fax: 1-409-772-2295

Description:
The Microbiology and Immunology Program is a multidisciplinary, interdepartmental program with the goal of providing state-of-the-art training for careers in biomedical research. The Ph.D. Program aims to produce scientists capable of solving basic biological and health-related problems who will be competitive for leadership positions in universities, government laboratories and the private sector. The program emphasizes innovative research and versatile approaches to problem solving. Students are required to study a specialty area in depth, while also acquiring a breadth of knowledge.

Degree(s):
Ph.D.- Microbiology and Immunology

Research Areas:
Individualized research programs are available in several areas, including bacterial and viral pathogenesis, microbial genetics, molecular virology, host defenses, autoimmunity, neuroimmunology, immune regulation, structural and molecular biology. Prior to entry into the Microbiology and Immunology program, students will complete the Basic Biomedical Sciences Curriculum (BBSC). The BBSC is a one-year curriculum, consisting of Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, certain modular courses, and statistics and ethics. Students begin laboratory research in the second semester of the BBSC and rotate through up to three laboratories. First year students also complete an orientation course to become acquainted with faculty research activities. Following successful completion of the BBSC, students in Microbiology and Immunology are expected to take three program-specific courses. Students are encouraged to begin their dissertation research early in their graduate program and ideally should identify a supervisory professor by the end of the first year. Modern approaches to experimentation in biomedical science are available through graduate faculty research programs which include a broad range of molecular, genetic, cellular, microbial, and animal and human topics, and may involve techniques in structural biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, immunochemistry, immunobiology, tissue culture, and animal and human studies.

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-772-2665
Fax: 1-409-747-0772

Description:
The predoctoral BIODEFENSE TRAINING PROGRAM at UTMB capitalizes on our outstanding high containment facilities, including the only BSL-4 laboratory at a U.S. university, extensive, and our externally funded research opportunities to study the majority of NIAID Category A-C Priority Pathogens with high experienced faculty scientists. Research opportunities include several major NIH-funded programs such as the Emerging Viral Diseases Unit, the World Reference Center for Emerging Viruses and Arboviruses, the Biodefense Proteomics Collaboratory, and many regional, multidisciplinary biodefense projects through the UTMB-led Region VI Center of Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases. The program fosters the interdisciplinary training of young biodefense scientists through: 1) role-modeling by experienced faculty mentors; 2) flexible but rigorous didactic preparation in a wide variety of biomedical disciplines, through one of five different UTMB graduate programs, but united by a required, specialized biodefense curriculum and seminar series; 3) high containment laboratory training, including opportunities for animal and vector research training at BSL-3 and BSL-4; 4) pursuit of a specific biodefense-related dissertation research project under the supervision of experienced, externally funded, highly accomplished faculty members, and; 5) development of professional and ethical behavior that will promote high quality research and effective interdisciplinary interactions. Trainees are selected from a highly competitive applicant pool of students who have completed their required, first year core courses. The recruitment of underrepresented minority students is enhanced by an NIH-funded partnering program involving 7 undergraduate institutions with large minority enrollments, and through UTMB's Summer Undergraduate Research Program and Undergraduate Research Symposium, both of which specifically and successfully target minority students.

Degree(s):
Ph.D. - Experimental Pathology

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-772-9396
Fax: 1-409-772-5640

Description:
Since 1988, the Medical Humanities Graduate Program of UTMB's Institute for the Medical Humanities (IMH) has offered advanced degrees (M.A., Ph.D.) in interdisciplinary medical humanities.

Degree(s):
M.A. - Medical Humanities
Ph.D. - Medical Humanities

Research Areas:
Art and medicine; Bioethics; Clinical ethics; Health policy; History of medicine; Law and medicine; Literature and medicine; Narrative ethics; Narrative medicine; Religion and medicine; Research ethics.

Click to send E-mail to: grad.school@utmb.edu

Phone: 1-409-772-2665
Fax: 1-409-747-0772

Degree(s):
M.S. - Anatomy (Cell Biology*)
Ph.D.

Click to send E-mail to: grad.school@utmb.edu

Phone: 1-409-772-2665
Fax: 1-409-747-0772

Degree(s):
M.S. - Allied Health

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-747-3770
Fax: 1-409-747-3780

Description:
The Master of Medical Science (M.M.S.) Program is specifically designed to provide research training to residents, fellows, and faculty of UTMB clinical departments. Prior to admission, qualified applicants submit a document describing their research plan to the MMS Graduate program steering committee for evaluation. This document includes:

• a statement of the purpose of the investigation;
• the hypotheses to be tested;
• a description of the experimental approach

Degree(s):
M.M.S.-Medical Science

Inquire about this program

Phone: 1-409-772-2107
Fax: 1-409-762-9382

Description:
The objective of the Neuroscience Graduate Program (NGP) is to provide an internationally competitive educational program in neuroscience leading to the Ph.D. degree. The rich interdisciplinary program of course work and research is designed to enhance a trainee's ability to become a scholarly and productive contributor to our knowledge of nervous system function. It is anticipated that our graduates will become teachers and/or researchers in the field of neuroscience in academic institutions, industry, biotechnology or government. The program is designed to be rigorous but flexible and is explicitly multidisciplinary. Research can be done in areas ranging from molecules to excitable membranes to behavior, using preparations ranging from cell cultures to isolated ganglia to brain slices to intact nervous systems of invertebrates and vertebrates.

Degree(s):
Ph.D. - Neuroscience; M.D./Ph.D. - Neuroscience

Research Areas:
cell labeling with transported markers; immunocytochemistry; electron and confocal microscopy; nuclear magnetic resonance-based imaging; electrophysiological methods of intra- and extracellular recording; voltage and patch clamping; biochemical and pharmacological methods for isolating, identifying and characterizing the activities of important neurotransmitters, peptides, growth factors, receptors, drugs and other signaling molecules; immunological, cell culture and molecular genetics techniques; recombinant DNA technology; and behavioral research and measurement paradigms. Major areas of research strength in the program include: pain, Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegeneration, spinal cord injury and brain trauma, muscle disorders, vestibular and auditory systems, drug abuse, anxiety disorders and learning and memory. Our goal is to graduate neuroscientists who have a broad base of experience with modern experimental skills and who will seek to explore cellular and molecular mechanisms for understanding the organization and function of nervous systems.