Graduate Programs in the Biomedical Sciences Saint Louis University School of Medicine

In 1998, the four Ph.D. granting programs in the biomedical sciences at the St. Louis University School of Medicine established a First-Year Core Curriculum for all entering doctoral students. All students apply to the Core Program and, upon acceptance, begin a year of multidisciplinary coursework and four formal laboratory rotations that lead to the selection of a graduate advisor and entry into one of the four, distinct Ph.D. programs. The first year courses focus on the basic biochemical, molecular, cellular and organismal aspects of the biomedical sciences. This prepares the student for more intensive, individualized instruction, unique to the discipline they choose to study further in the following years. Instructors come from all four Ph.D. programs and their charge is to introduce the students to the most recent findings in their fields including not only the current level of knowledge in the field, but also the methodologies used to study the major issues in their discipline. Our emphasis is on the preparation of technically skilled and thoughtful scientists for diverse careers in academia, industry or government. The four Ph.D. programs that the students may access upon completion of their first year of study are: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Pathology Pharmacological and Physiological SciencesBiochemistry and Molecular Biology Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Pathology Pharmacological and Physiological Sciences.

Timeline of Graduate Studies First Year Core Curriculum Including Lab Rotations Second Academic Year in a Chosen Departmental Program Application for Admission (Applicants with Advanced Degrees) Qualifying Exams at End of Year Two Completion of Original ResearchDoctorate Defense (Average time to graduation: 5 years)

CORE CURRICULUM Fall SemesterSpring Semester BBSG 501 Lecture BBSG 503 Lecture Macromolecules Fundamentals of Cell Biology DNA Cellular Neuroscience Genetics Cell Signaling RNA processing Nuclear Signaling and Cancer Bioenergetics Systems Biology Development Virology Immunobiology BBSG 502 Special Topics BBSG 504 Special TopicsSmall group discussion of classic literatureof current literature BBSG 592 Colloquium BBSG 597 Lab Rotations Summer Semester RM 610 Biostatistics BBSG 597 Bioinformatics

Edward A. Doisy Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (314) Dr. Enrico Di Cera Professor and Chair

(314) Dr. William Wold Professor and Chair Research in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology reflects the strength and diversity of its faculty through a unifying focus of the study of host-pathogen interactions, especially in the area of virology. Areas of interest include viral pathogenesis, immunology, molecular and cellular biology, vaccine development (discovery and clinical trials), biodefense, and cancer gene therapy. The virology program is one of the strongest in the USA, and it encompasses research on adenoviruses, flaviviruses, hepatitis B and C viruses, herpesviruses (herpes simplex virus, Varicella Zoster virus), HIV, and poxviruses (including model studies for smallpox). Other research addresses parasites (T. cruzi), fungi, cell cycle regulation, programmed cell death (apoptosis), and the role of mitochondrial mutations in disease.

The Department of Pathology offers a graduate program in molecular pathobiology leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree. The faculty work closely with graduate students in the department to assist them in acquiring the requisite academic background and practical laboratory skills for successful research careers in academics, industry, medicine or government. Excellent research facilities for cellular and molecular studies in pathobiology are available in the department. Facilities include fluorescence and confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, tissue culture facilities, video image analysis, and an EM lab equipped with both scanning and transmission microscopes. Departmental faculty maintain research collaborations with colleagues in the academic and industrial community which further broadens opportunities and exposure to technical skills and research expertise for graduate students. (314) Dr. Carole Vogler Professor and Chair

The Department of Pharmacological and Physiological Science is a major participant in the current excitement involving research in modern biomedical science. The faculty in the department have diversified backgrounds in the fields of biochemistry, medicine, molecular biology, neuroscience, pharmacology and physiology. A common theme involves the physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology of intracellular and intercellular communication. Major areas of specialization include: neurotransmitter biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology; molecular biology, biochemistry and pharmacology of neurotransmitter, autocoid, neurohumoral and hormone receptors; intracellular signaling and transduction mechanisms; electrophysiology and ion channels; neurochemistry; cardiovascular and circulatory control mechanisms; regulation and function of the autonomic, somatic and central nervous systems; molecular, cellular and endocrine control mechanisms; respiratory physiology; neuropharmacology and drugs of abuse. (314) Dr. Thomas Burris Professor and Chair

EXAMPLES OF WHERE OUR RECENT GRADUATES GO Postdoctoral Fellowships National Institute of Environmental HealthNorthwestern University University of CalgaryUniversity of Colorado Harvard UniversityMass Inst Tech (MIT) Washington UniversityRockefeller University Cornell UniversityMed College Georgia University of WisconsinUCLA Johns HopkinsUniversity of Arizona Academic Faculty Positions Saint Louis UniversityTexas Tech University John Jay College, NYWashington University University of Colorado Health SciOklahoma State University University of VirginiaMed College of WIsconsin Industry Positions Glaxo Smith KlineSigma Aldrich AllerganBristol Meyers Squibb OrganonMerck Patton Boggs (Law firm)Monsanto CovidienPfizer

Core Graduate Program in the Biomedical Sciences Saint Louis University School of Medicine CONTACT INFORMATION Dr. W.K. Samson Director (314) Lindsay Oliver Administrative Assistant (314) Information, Links to Departments and Application Forms are available at: