Curriculum for CMB Students
The curriculum for the CMB Program is designed to provide students with the fundamental and applied skills to prepare them for future positions in research and science-related fields. The core curriculum includes coursework in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, ethics, data analysis and presentation. Students also enhance their writing skills through a grant-writing course and improve their presentation skills by attending and participating in the CMB Seminar Series and serving as Teaching Assistants.
Research starts immediately in the context of lab rotations during the first year, after which students choose a lab and advisor for their dissertation research, which culminates in the writing, presentation and defense of a dissertation.
Students must complete a total of 75 credits to obtain their PhD. This includes a minimum of 30 course credits, a minimum of 20 research credits and 25 additional course or research credits.
Required Core Courses
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Required Core Courses
| Course | Offered |
|---|---|
| BIOC 6001: General Biochemistry (3 Credits) Survey for science majors. Proteins, enzymes, and information transfer. | Fall (Year 1) |
| BIOC 7990: Critical Reading & Analysis (2 Credits) Runs concurrently with BIOC 301 | Fall (Year 1) |
| CLBI 6010: Cell Biology (3 Credits) Advanced survey of cell organelles, their composition, origin, and the relationship between their structure and function. Emphasis on recent literature and current controversies. | Spring (Year1) |
| CLBI 7010: Critical Reading & Analysis (2 Credits) Runs concurrently with CLBI 301 and utilizes primary literature and an active, discussion-based approach to provide intensive study in the logic, critical thinking, and experimental design & interpretation. | Spring (Year 1) |
| CLBI 7020: Biomedical Data Analysis (2 Credits) Introduction to qualitative, quantitative and statistical analysis for cell, molecular, and biomedical sciences. The practical philosophy underlying data presentation and interpretation will be emphasized via problem solving in and outside of class time. | Fall (Year 2) |
| CLBI 6020: Science Communication (2 Credits) Develop effective oral and written communication skills for a range of audiences from academia to industry, organizations, news, policymakers, and the general public. | Spring (Year 2) |
| CLBI 7491: Doctoral Dissertation Research (Variable Credit) | Fall/Spring |
| MPBP 6300: Biomedical Grantsmanship (2 Credits) Introduces graduate students in the biomedical life sciences to process of writing competitive research proposals for funding from federal and private agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). | Spring (Year 2) |
Genetics: Must take one of the following courses. MMG 6990C: Grad Genetics and Genomics (3 Credits) MMG 6990: Advanced Special Topics - Cancer Genetics (Variable Credit) BME 5990: Computational Immunogenetics (3 Credits) |
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| Ethics: Must take one of the following courses. MMG 6990A/PBIO 6990: Ethics in Graduate Research (1 Credit) (Fall) NSCI 6270: Responsible Conduct in Biomedical Research (1 Credit) Topics in Scientific Integrity surrounding responsible conduct and practices in biomedical research. (Spring) |
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Approved Elective Courses
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| Course | Offered |
|---|---|
| BIOC 6002: General Biochemistry (3 Credits) Amino acids, nucleic acids, protein synthesis, cellular and physiological control mechanism. | Spring |
| BIOC 6051: Proteins I - Structure & Function (3 Credits) Introduction to concepts in protein structure and chemistry as well as exploration of ideas in a "hands on" fashion using computational resources. | Spring |
| BIOC 6072: Cancer Biology (3 Credits) Overview of cancer biology for health science students. Foundation for cancer research. Lecture format; interdisciplinary viewpoint; outside lectures. | Fall |
| BIOL 4635: Advanced Genetics & Proteomics Lab (4 Credits) Laboratory experiments to provide experience with modern genetic and proteomics techniques. Bench work and data analysis are emphasized. | Spring |
| BIOL 5590: Viral Oncogenesis (1 Credit) This course will study several oncogenic viruses and for each will cover the history and discovery of the viral oncogene, the molecular mechanisms & cellular biochemistry of the product of the viral oncogene, and the cellular and organismal functions of the products of both the oncogene and the protooncogene. | Spring |
| BIOL 5590: Genetic Tools in Neuroscience (1 Credit) This seminar-based course will discuss various genetic tools in cell biology and explore their application to neuroscience through primary scientific literature | Spring |
| BIOL 6100, Computational Biology (4 credits) Basic programming methods in R, including functions, data types, graphics, file input and output; computational tools for reproducible research, including regular expressions, markdown, git, github, and shell commands; and advanced topics, including batch processing, structured programming, functional programming, and randomization tests. | Spring |
| BIOL 6072: Cell Signaling and Development (2 Credits) Graduate students will explore cutting edge topics in depth. Students will cross disciplinary lines and learn collaboratively to solve problems. Students will present the outcomes in a talk appropriate for a lay audience. | Spring |
| BME 5990: Computational Immunogenetics (3 Credits) An interdisciplinary course that combines the fields of genetics, immunology, and computational biology. This course covers the foundational genetic principles in order to permit exploration of methods and tools used to analyze and predict inflammatory responses. | Fall |
| BSAD 3330: Technology Entrepreneurship & Commercialization (3 Credits) Provides future business and technology professionals with insights into the processes of transferring research from the university to the marketplace, and transforming new technologies into sustainable products or services that create new economic, social and environmental value. | Spring |
| CLBI 6080: CMB Seminar (3 Credit) A weekly seminar for CMB students to present their current dissertation research to the UVM community. CMB students in their second year and beyond present an annual formal seminar that describes their research, including background, methods, results, and discussion. | Spring & Fall |
| CLBI 6990: CMB Advanced Special Topics (Variable Credits) Facilitated lectures and paper discussions in areas of relevance to cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences. | Spring, Summer, or Fall |
| CLBI 6993: CMB Independent Study (variable Credits) Supervised investigations in areas of relevance to cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences. | Spring, Summer, or Fall |
| CS 5870: Data Science I - Experience (3 Credits) Data harvesting, cleaning, and summarizing; working with non-traditional, non-numeric data (social network, natural language textual data, etc.); scientific visualization; advanced data pipelines with a practical focus on real datasets and developing good habits for rigorous and reproducible computational science; Project-based. | Spring and Fall |
| CS 6020: Modeling Complex Systems (3 Credits) Integrative breadth-first introduction to computational methods for modeling complex systems; numerical methods, cellular automata, agent-based computing, game theory, genetic algorithms, artificial neural networks, and complex networks. Semester team-based project. | Fall |
| CTS 6100: Conducting Clinical and Translational Research (3 Credits) Seminar emphasizing the ethics and mechanics of clinical and translational research. | Spring |
| MLS 6100: Advanced Immunobiology (3 Credits) Advanced survey of key current topics in immunology. Focus on understanding the key concepts and experimental approaches in the major areas in immunology, with an emphasis on applications to human disease. | Fall |
| MMG 5230: Immunology (2 Credits) Analysis of the immune response with respect to structure and function of immunoglobulins and the T-cell receptor, tolerance, innate and adaptive immunity, the Major Histocompatibility Complex, hypersensitivity states, transplantation, cancer, and AIDS. | Spring |
| MMG 5320: Advanced Bioinformatics (3 Credits) Advanced data processing and genome assembly analysis, data integration, and machine learning. Python, R, and Linux-scripting are used to assemble genomes, integrate large data sets, and build complex biological models. Topics include genomics, meta-data management, and multi-omics analyses at systems biology levels. Alternate Years. | Spring |
| MMG 6220: Cellular Microbiology (4 Credits) Utilizes primary literature to explore the cellular and molecular basis of microbial pathogenesis caused by viruses, pathogenic bacteria and protozoan parasites. Alternate years. | Spring |
| MMG 6990: Grad Genetics and Genomics (3 Credits) Integrated entry into both genome science and modern genetic analysis. Students will develop skills needed to access, organize and interpret emerging genomic information. | Fall |
| MMG 6990D: Advanced Bacterial Genetics (3 Credits) Current concepts and experimental applications of classical and modern bacterial genetics. | Fall |
| MMG 6990: Advanced Special Topics - Cancer Genetics (3 Credits) Supervised investigations in microbiology or molecular genetics. | Spring |
| MMG 6990: Adv. Special Topics – Adv. Medical Microbiology (3 Credits) Supervised investigations in microbiology or molecular genetics. | Spring |
| MPBP 6010: Human Physiology & Pharmacology I (4 Credits) An integrated examination of the physiology and pharmacology of the peripheral nervous, muscle and cardiovascular systems in the human body. | Fall |
| MPBP 6020: Human Physiology & Pharmacology II (4 Credits) An integrated examination of the physiology and pharmacology of the peripheral nervous, muscle and cardiovascular systems in the human body. | Spring |
| MPBP 6030: Critical Reading (1 Credit) Critical reading of the current literature, team taught by the faculty in the Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics, giving broad exposure to the expertise present in the department. | Spring |
| MPBP 6100: Molecular Control of the Cell (3 Credits) Examines the fundamental molecular mechanisms that control dynamic cellular processes. Advanced topics in cell biology will be explored from the single molecule to the whole tissue level with an emphasis on the coordination of complex molecular systems. | Fall |
| NSCI 5230, Neurochemistry (3 credits) Biochemistry of the nervous system. Topics include ion channels, synaptic function, neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, signal transduction, and hormones in brain function. Prerequisite: Instructor permission. | Fall |
| NSCI/PATH 6280: Techniques in Microscopy (3 Credits) Topics shall include practical background in microscopy, including brightfield, epifluorescence, confocal, multi-photon, deconvolution, atomic force and electron microscopy. | Fall |
| PATH 6070: Molecular Pathology (3 Credits) This course covers mechanisms of disease, molecular biology and genetics, diagnostic molecular pathology, as well as principles, tools, and applications in research of molecular pathogenesis. The basic concepts, research exploration, and clinical application of pathology are organically tied together at the molecular level. | Spring |
| PH 6010, Public Health & Health Policy (3 credits) Course focuses on current public health issues, barriers to improving population health, and policy tensions between science, economics, education, politics, government, media, and public health. | Fall & Spring |
| PHRM 5400: Molecules & Medicine (3 Credits) This course conveys an understanding about drug design and the molecular mechanisms by which drugs act in the body. It highlights the importance of medicinal chemistry as it overlaps with the disciplines of chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, cell biology, and pharmacology. | Fall |
| PHRM 5720: Graduate Toxicology (3 Credits) This course is intended to provide an understanding of the chemical, biochemical and physiological factors that determine the pathological effects of chemicals in living systems. | Spring |
| PHRM 5900: Graduate Advanced Pharmacology Topics (3 Credits) Focuses on basic principles, drug interactions with receptors, membranes, synapses, neurotransmitters, macromolecules, cytoskeleton, ion channels and pumps, and mechanisms of drug resistance. | Spring |
| PHRM 6050: Milestones in Pharmacology (2 Credits) A critical readings class where students read and present landmark pharmacology papers and link them to modern experiments and clinical applications. | Fall |
| STAT/CS 5870, Data Science I – Experience (Fall and Spring, 3 credits) Data harvesting, cleaning, and summarizing; working with non-traditional, non-numeric data (social network, natural language textual data, etc.); scientific visualization; advanced data pipelines with a practical focus on real datasets and developing good habits for rigorous and reproducible computational science; Project-based. | Fall & Spring |
| SURG 6020: Introduction to Flow Cytometry (2 Credits) Provides basic knowledge in the theoretical and practical aspects of flow cytometry technology; combination of lecture and training in the practical use of instrumentation and analysis software. | Fall |
Sample Student Schedule
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| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Spring | Summer |
| BIOC 6001 (3 cr) | CLBI 6010 (3 cr) | CLBI 7491 (5 cr) |
| BIOC 7990 (2 cr) | CLBI 7010 (2 cr) | Phase I Comprehensive Exam by June 30th |
| Genetics (3 cr) or Ethics (1 cr) | CLBI 7491 | Choose Dissertation Advisor |
| CLBI 7491 | ||
| Teaching Assignment I* | ||
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | Spring | Summer |
| CLBI 7020 (2 cr) | MPBP 6300 (2 cr) | CLBI 7491 (5 cr) |
| Ethics (1 cr) | CLBI 6020 (3 cr) | Phase II Comprehensive Exam by August 31 |
| Elective | CLBI 7491 | |
| CLBI 7491 | Elective | |
| Teaching Assignment II* | ||
| Fall | Spring | Summer |
| Elective | Elective | CLBI 7491 (5 cr) |
| CLBI 7491 | CLBI 7491 | |
| Fall | Spring | Summer |
| CLBI 7491 (6 cr) | GRAD 9030 (9 cr) | GRAD 9002 (5 cr) |
| GRAD 9010 (3 cr) | ||
| Fall | Spring | Summer |
| GRAD 9030 (9 cr) | GRAD 9030 (9 cr) | GRAD 9020 (5 cr) |
*Students are assigned to reach one semester in their first year and one semester in their second year. The TA Committee will determine the semester in which you teach.
For questions about these courses, please contact Delphine Quenet, chair of Education Committee
You may register for classes at the Registrar’s website or through MyUVM.
Interested in this curriculum? Consider applying today to earn your PhD with CMB!