Opportunities for PhD Research
The exposure to the rich research environment in the Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program starts as soon as students arrive on campus. As part of the orientation in August, each CMB faculty member has the opportunity to present his or her research to the incoming students. This provides the initial introduction to the variety of research available to students within the CMB Program. The annual CMB Retreat provides an outstanding secondary opportunity for new students to casually talk with all members of CMB and set up laboratory research rotations.
First year students complete a series of 2-3 laboratory rotations with different faculty members to become acquainted with a potential dissertation/research advisor, to gain experience with a variety of research techniques, and for faculty to evaluation a student’s potential in a particular laboratory. These rotations are usually 2-3 months in length and can be initiated in the summer before classes start. Students and faculty complete the rotation agreement prior to rotation to set goals and expectations for the rotation. Following each rotation, students write a rotation report including introduction, methods, results, discussion. The summary helps facilitate the student’s writing and communication skills, and is written in a similar format to those found in most professional journals.
Students will have selected their graduate research advisor and have identified their research project by the start of the second year. Students, in consultation with their advisor, will select studies committee members consisting of at least 3 additional faculty members to help guide the student in their scientific development. Research leading to the dissertation usually requires 3-4 years to complete.
View current research opportunities with faculty available to train graduate students in the upcoming academic year.
