Cell and Molecular Biology (CMBIO)

Cell and Molecular Biology (CMBIO)

HENRY J. DONAHUE , Director of the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program
College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hershey, PA 17033
717-531-1045

Degrees Conferred: Ph.D., M.S.

The Graduate Faculty

David A. Antonetti, Ph.D. (Penn State) Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, and Ophthalmology
Alistair J. Barber, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, and Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Melvin L. Billingsley, Ph.D. (George Washington) Professor of Pharmacology
Judith S. Bond, Ph.D. (Rutgers) Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Robert H. Bonneau, Ph.D. (Penn State) Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Sarah K. Bronson, Ph.D. (Washington) Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Vincent Chau, Ph.D. (Virginia) Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Keith C. Cheng, M.D., Ph.D. (NYU/Washington) Associate Professor of Pathology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Hui-Ling Chiang, Ph.D. (Harvard) Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Neil D. Christensen, Ph.D. (Auckland, New Zealand) Associate Professor of Pathology, and Microbiology and Immunology
Gary A. Clawson, M.D., Ph.D. (Miami/Michigan State) Professor of Pathology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
James R. Connor, Ph.D. (California, Berkeley) Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Neurosurgery
Richard J. Courtney, Ph.D. (Syracuse) Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology
Rebecca C. Craven, Ph.D. (Tennessee) Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Henry J. Donahue, Ph.D. (California, Santa Barbara) Baker Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation; Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Kristin A. Eckert, Ph.D. (Wisconsin) Associate Professor of Pathology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
James M. Flanagan, Ph.D. Professor of Biochemistry and molecular Biology
Joanna Floros, Ph.D.(Temple) Evan Pugh Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology
Thomas W. Gardner, M.D., M.S. (Jefferson Medical College) Professor of Ophthalmology, and Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Channe D. Gowda, Ph.D. (U of Mysore, India) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Sergei A. Grigoryev, Ph.D. (Moscow State U) Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Edward J. Gunther, Ph.D. (Yale) Assistant Professor of Medicine
James M. Hammond, M.D. (Washington, St. Louis) Professor of Medicine, and Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Mary K. Howett, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania) Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Jianming Hu, M.D., Associate Professor of Micriobiology and Immunology
Rosalyn B. Irby, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine
Harriet C. Isom, Ph.D. (Illinois) Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Professor of Pathology
Leonard S. Jefferson, Jr., Ph.D. (Vanderbilt) Evan Pugh Professor and Chair of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Michael Katzman, M.D. (Columbia) Associate Professor of Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology
Ralph L. Keil, Ph.D. (Cornell) Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mark Kester, Ph.D. (SUNY, Buffalo) Professor of Pharmacology
Charles H. Lang, Ph.D. (Hahnemann) Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, and Surgery
Kathryn F. LaNoue, Ph.D. (Yale) Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Philip Lazarus, Ph.D. (McGill, Montreal) Professor of Pharmacology and Health Evaluation Sciences
Robert Levenson, Ph.D. (SUNY, Stony Brook) Professor of Pharmacology
Steven W. Levison, Ph.D. (North Carolina, Chapel Hill) Associate Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
Thomas P. Loughran, Jr., M.D. Professor of Medicine
Christopher J. Lynch, Ph.D. (Northeastern) Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
George I. Makhatadze, Ph.D. (Institute of Protein Research, Moscow) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Jan M. McAllister, Ph.D. (California, San Diego) Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Patricia J. McLaughlin, D.Ed. (Penn State) Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
Craig M. Meyers, Ph.D. (California, Los Angeles) Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Kathleen M. Mulder, Ph.D. (SUNY, Buffalo) Professor of Pharmacology
Yuk-Chow Ng, Ph.D. (Michigan) Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Christopher Niyibizi, Ph.D. (McGill, Montreal) Associate Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation
Christopher Norbury, Ph.D. (U Dundee, Scotland) Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Leslie Parent, M.D. (Duke) Associate Professor of Medicine, and Microbiology and Immunology
Anthony E. Pegg, Ph.D. (Cambridge) Evan Pugh Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, and Pharmacology; J. Lloyd Huck Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology
Blaise Z. Peterson, Ph.D. (Washington) Assistant Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
David S. Phelps, Ph.D. (Temple) Professor of Pediatrics
Maricamen D. Planas-Silva (Baylor College of Medicine) Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
John P. Richie, Jr., Ph.D. Professor of Health Evaluation Sciences
Timothy M. Ritty, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation
Gavin P. Robertson, Ph.D. (California, Riverside) Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, Pathology, and Dermatology
Ira J. Ropson, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins) Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cara-Lynne Schengrund, Ph.D. (Seton Hall) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Ian A. Simpson, Ph.D. (University College, London) Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
Lawrence Il Sinoway, M.D. Professor of Medicine
Jill P. Smith, Ph.D. (Florida) Professor of Medicine
David J. Spector, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania) Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Shao-Cong Sun, Ph.D. (Stockholm, Sweden) Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Mary J. Tevethia, Ph.D. (Michigan State) Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Satvir S. Tevethia, Ph.D. (Michigan State) Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Thomas C. Vary, Ph.D. (Penn State) Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Michael F. Verderame, Ph.D. (Columbia) Associate Professor of Medicine; Assistant Professor of
Microbiology and Immunology
Kent E. Vrana, Ph.D. Elliot S. Vesell Professor and Chair of Pharmacology
John W. Wills, Ph.D. (Tennessee) Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Teresa L. Wood, Ph.D. (California, Los Angeles) Associate Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
Jun You, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation
Ian S. Zagon, Ph.D. (Colorado) Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
Jiyue Zhu, Ph.D. (Dartmouth) Assistant Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology

The graduate program in Cell and Molecular Biology (CMBIO) is designed to prepare students for careers in basic or applied research. Two hallmarks of the program are its interdisciplinary nature and the close contact that is maintained between faculty and students. The seventy-plus members of the program represent a cross-section of research from twelve departments: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Health Evaluation Sciences, Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Medicine, Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, and Surgery. Graduate students benefit from the diverse base of training and research opportunities provided by the faculty. All courses are available at the College of Medicine.

Research carried out by participating faculty encompasses all subfields of cell and molecular biology, including membrane structure, receptors, and modulators; the role of extracellular matrix in cellular function; organelle assembly, structure, and function; cell division, differentiation, adhesion, communication, and movement; recombination, organization, and expression of genes; gene mapping and recombinant DNA; and regulation of gene expression. Modern, well-equipped laboratories are available for graduate students from the molecular to tissue level.

Admission Requirements

Qualified students with undergraduate preparation in the biological, biochemical, or physical sciences and an overall grade-point average of 3.00 or better will be considered for admission. The best-qualified applicants will be accepted on a space-available basis. Applications must include transcripts, three letters of recommendation, Graduate Record Examination scores (or scores from a comparable examination accepted by the graduate program, e.g., MCAT exam), and a brief personal essay summarizing the background and professional goals of the applicant.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Ph.D. candidates in the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate program take The College of Medicine Core Curriculum (BMS 501 Regulation of Cellular and Systemic Energy Metabolism, BMS 502 Cell and Systems Biology, and BMS 503 Flow of Cellular Information) in the Fall semester to provide a strong foundation. Additional required courses include the complete Anatomy Selective (ANAT/PHARM 584 Human Anatomy and Development A: Human Development, ANAT/PHARM 585 Human Anatomy and Development B: general Human Anatomy, ANAT/PHARM 586 Human Anatomy and Development C: Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine for a total of 3 credits), as well as CMBIO (MICRO) 554 Principles of Immunology, HES 515 Biostatistics, and IBIOS 591 Ethics in the Life Sciences. An additional 7 credits of electives will be chosen based upon the individual student's career goals. Each student will be required to complete the following successfully: (1) A candidacy examination covering the general course material that will consist of a written portion and an oral portion designed to explore in depth an area of research in cell and molecular biology. The examination will be given after completion of the spring semester of the first year. (2) A comprehensive examination consisting of a written research proposal and an oral defense of that proposal will be required after completion of the spring semester of the second year. (3) An original research project under the supervision of a Cell and Molecular Biology faculty adviser. (4) A thesis. (5) A final oral defense of the thesis. The program is designed for completion within four years, but this can vary depending on the individual progress of the student.

Student Aid

Graduate assistantships and other forms of student aid are described in the STUDENT AID section of the Graduate Bulletin. Graduate assistantships in the program are awarded by the Cell and Molecular Biology Program Committee. After the second year, Cell and Molecular Biology students are eligible for departmental teaching or research assistantships and other assistantships supported by grant funds of individual faculty members. The program encourages all Ph.D. candidates to apply for fellowships, scholarships, and stipend support from outside sources. For students obtaining outside fellowships, scholarships, and stipend support, supplementation to the level of the assistantships will be provided.

Graduate courses carry numbers from 500 to 599 and 800 to 899. Advanced undergraduate courses numbered between 400 and 499 may be used to meet some graduate degree requirements when taken by graduate students. Courses below the 400 level may not. A graduate student may register for or audit these courses in order to make up deficiencies or to fill in gaps in previous education but not to meet requirements for an advanced degree.

CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CMBIO) course list

The University reserves the right to change the requirements and regulations listed here and to determine whether a student has satisfactorily met its requirements for admission or graduation, and to reject any applicant for any reason the University determines to be material to the applicant's qualifications to pursue higher education. Nothing in this material should be considered a guarantee that completion of a program and graduation from the University will result in employment.

This electronic Graduate Bulletin is a version of the official bulletin of The Pennsylvania State University. It is suggested that users refer to this electronic bulletin when seeking the latest information about the University's academic programs and courses. Printed versions of the Bulletin are also official copies of the programs, courses, and policies in effect at the time of printing.

DATE LAST REVIEWED BY GRADUATE SCHOOL: 5/26/04

DATE LAST REVIEWED BY PUBLICATIONS: 10/17/06

Last Revised by the Department: Fall Semester 2007

Blue Sheet Item #: 35-07-429

Review Date: 6/12/07