Integrative Biosciences (IBIOS)

Peter Hudson, Chair, IBIOS Graduate Education
201 Life Sciences Building
University Park, PA 16802
1-866-PS-IBIOS; 1-866-77-42467 (toll-free in USA)
gradinfo@huck.psu.edu

Raj Acharya, Ph.D. (Minnesota) Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Hiroshi Akashi, Ph.D. (Chicago) Assistant Professor of Biology
Reka Albert, Ph.D. (Notre Dame) Assistant Professor of Physics
Naomi Altman, Ph.D. (Stanford) Associate Professor of Statistics
Sarah Assmann, Ph.D. (Stanford) Professor of Biology
Stephen Benkovic, Ph.D. (Cornell) Evan Pugh Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry
Piotr Berman, Ph.D. (MIT) Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Maria Bewley, Ph.D. (University of Leeds) Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Judith Bond, Ph.D. (Rutgers) Professor and Chair, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Donald Bryant, Ph.D. (California, Los Angeles) Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology, and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
John Carlson, Ph.D. (Illinois) Professor of Molecular Genetics; Director, Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics
Laura Carrel, Ph.D. (Stanford Reserve) Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Douglas Cavener, Ph.D. (Georgia) Professor of Biology
Gary Chase, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins) Professor of Health Evaluation Sciences
Francesca Chiaromonte, Ph.D. (Minnesota) Associate Professor of Statistics
Keith Cheng, M.D.; Ph.D. (NYU; U Washington) Professor of Pathology; Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Surinder Chopra, Ph.D. (Vrje U of Brussels, Belgium) Associate Professor of Maize Genetics
Michael Chorney, Ph.D. (Cornell, Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) Professor of Microbiology
Daniel Cosgrove, Ph.D. (Stanford) Professor of Biology
Claude de Pamphilis, Ph.D. (Georgia) Associate Professor of Biology
Nina Fedoroff, Ph.D. (Rockefeller) Willaman Professor of Life Sciences; Director, Biotechnology Institute
Gregory Ferry, Ph.D. (Illinois) Stanley Person Professor of Molecular Biology
John Flanagan, Ph.D. (Tennessee) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Majid R. Foolad, Ph.D. (California, Davis) Professor of Plant Genetics
David Geiser, Ph.D. (Georgia) Associate Professor of Plant Pathology
Channe Gowda, Ph.D. (Mysore, India) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Mark Guiltinan, Ph.D. (California, Irvine) Professor of Plant Molecular Biology; Director, Endowed Program in the Molecular Biology of Cocoa
Ross Hardison, Ph.D. (Iowa) Professor of Biochemistry
Terryl J. Hartman, Ph.D.; M.P.H., (Minnesota; Harvard School of Public Health) Assistant Professor of Nutrition
S. Blair Hedges, Ph.D. (Maryland) Professor of Biology
Christopher H. House, Ph.D. (California) Associate Professor of Geosciences
Leonard Jefferson, Ph.D. (Vanderbilt) Evan Pugh Professor; Chair of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Byron Jones, Ph.D. (Arizona) Professor of Biobehavioral Health and Pharmacology
Seogchan Kang, Ph.D. (Wisconsin) Associate Professor of Plant Pathology
Teh-hui Kao, Ph.D. (Yale) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Ermine Koc, Ph.D. (New Mexico State) Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Kathryn LaNoue, Ph.D. (Yale) Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Arthur Lesk, Ph.D. (Princeton) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Jia Li, Ph.D. (Stanford) Associate Professor of Statistics
Bruce G. Lindsay, Ph.D. (Washington) Willaman Professor and Head of Statistics
Hong Ma, Ph.D. (MIT) Professor of Biology
George Makhatadze, Ph.D. (Moscow Physico-Technical Institute) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Kateryna Makova, Ph.D. (Texas Tech) Assistant Professor of Biology
Costas Maranas, Ph.D. (Princeton) Professor of Chemical Engineering
Timothey McNellis, Ph.D. (Yale) Assistant Professor of Plant Pathology
Webb C. Miller, Ph.D. (Washington), Professor of Biology and Computer Science and Engineering
Kathleen Mulder, Ph.D. (SUNY, Buffalo) Professor of Pharmacology
Masatoshi Nei, Ph.D. (Kyoto University, Japan) Evan Pugh Professor of Biology
Anton Nekrutenko, Ph.D. (Texas Tech) Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Karl M. Newell, Ph.D. (Illinois) Professor of Kinesiology and Biobehavioral Health
Randen Patterson, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Biology
Anthony Pegg, Ph.D. (Cambridge) Evan Pugh Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, and Pharmacology; J. Lloyd Huck Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology
B. Franklin Pugh, Ph.D. (Wisconsin, Madison) Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Calyampudi Rao, Sc.D. (Cambridge) Eberly Professor Emeritus of Statistics
W. Brian Reeves, M.D. (Thomas Jefferson) Staff Physician
Gavin Robertson, Ph.D. (California, Riverside) Associate Professor of Pharmacology
Ira Ropson, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins) Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
James Rosenberger, Ph.D. (Cornell) Professor of Statistics
Stephen Schaeffer, Ph.D. (Georgia) Associate PRoefessor of Biology
Cara-Lynne Schengrund, Ph.D. (Seton Hall) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Stephan Schuster, Ph.D. (University of Munich, Germany) Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Cooduvalli Shashikaut, Ph.D. (Osmania University, India) Associate Professor of Molecular and Developmental Biology
Mark Shriver, Ph.D. (U of Texas Health Science Center) Associate Professor of Anthropology
Thomas Spratt, Ph.D. (Chicago) Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Jack Vanden Heuvel, Ph.D. (Wisconsin) Professor of Molecular Toxicology
David J. Vandenbergh, Ph.D. (Penn State) Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health
George Vogler, Ph.D. (Colorado, Boulder) Professor of Biobehavioral Health
Kent Vrana, Ph.D. (Louisiana State) Medical Center Professor and Chair of Pharmacology
James Wang, Ph.D. (Stanford) Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technology
Kenneth Weiss, Ph.D. (Michigan) Evan Pugh Professor of Anthropology and Genetics

Calling upon the expertise of more than 70 faculty members representing 27 different departments among 8 different colleges between 2 different campuses, the Integrative Biosciences (IBIOS) Graduate Program offers a unique opportunity to learn about and work in multiple disciplines. This graduate education component of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences is supported by modern telecommunications facilities and equipment. Doctoral students not only explore new conceptual connections, but also engage in active group learning experiences and explore a variety of potential career opportunities before graduation. Two unique aspects are (1) dual mentors who will expose students to complementary viewpoints and encourage students to pursue problems at the interface between traditional disciplines, and (2) an optional internship that provides a mechanism for students to obtain “real world” experience in future professional settings.

The program offers the following areas of research emphasis (called options): Bioinformatics and Genomics, and Chemical Biology.

1. Completed official Penn State Graduate School application
2. Paid nonrefundable application fee ($45 U.S.)
3. Two official transcripts from each institution attended
4. Completed Integrative Biosciences Graduate Degree Program application
5. Application for a U.S. visa (International applicants only)
6. Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) general test
7. Three letters of recommendation
8. Statement of goals that pertains to the life sciences
9. All international applicants whose first language is not English or who have not received baccalaureate or master’s degrees from an institution in which the language of instruction is English must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) examination. A minimum TOEFL score of 600 on the paper test, 250 on the computer-based test, or 100 (including 23 on the speaking component) on the Internet-based test is required.
10. Students must have completed a bachelor’s degree at an accredited college or university and have a minimum of a 3.0/4.0 junior/senior undergraduate grade-point average.

Foundation of basic knowledge in molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, and computational methods in the life sciences. The IBIOS Graduate Program expects at least 6 credits (or the equivalent) in one or more of these disciplines, taken either as an undergraduate or as a part of the graduate curriculum. The specific courses are left to the discretion of each option.
IBIOS 590 COLLOQUIUM (4 credits, 2 per semester during any of the first four semesters in residence), a monthly colloquium that will present life science topics of general interest to all faculty and graduate students in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
IBIOS 591 ETHICS IN LIFE SCIENCES (1 credit), an examination of integrity and misconduct in life sciences research, including issues of data collection, publication, authorship, and peer review.
IBIOS 595 INTERNSHIP (optional, 1 credit), an external work assignment relevant to individual research or career goals. (Register for IBIOS 595 in 520 Thomas Building)
IBIOS 596 INDIVIDUAL STUDIES: Laboratory Rotations (1-3 credits per semester, depending upon option)
IBIOS 600 THESIS RESEARCH (variable credits)
IBIOS 601 Ph.D. DISSERTATION FULL-TIME (0 credits)
IBIOS 602 SUPERVISED EXPERIENCE IN COLLEGE TEACHING (1 credit each semester), two semesters or the equivalent is required after the first year in residence. International Fellows must pass an English proficiency exam before teaching.

The Graduate School requires all graduate students to maintain a 3.0 grade-point average. Individual options may require a higher GPA.

Students must present their thesis in accordance with the Penn State guidelines as described in the THESIS GUIDE Requirements for the Preparation of Master's and Doctoral Theses. Current copies may be obtained from the web site www.gradsch.psu.edu/current/thesisguide or the Thesis Office, 115 Kern Building, University Park, PA 16802; 814-865-5448.

Elective courses. Studenst may select any 400-500 level courses pending approval by the Faculty Mentor and the Option Director - available elective courses vary from year to year.

IBIOS stable number Genomics (3 credits), currently offered as 598B, a special topics course. Videoconferenced between UP and COM
GEN 520. Genetics (Offered at COM and now planned to be videoconferenced between COM and UP.)
BCHEM 502. Biological Chemistry (3 credits)
IBIOS 591. Ethics (1 credit)
IBIOS 590. Colloquium (1 credit)
HES 615. Statistical Genetics
CMBIO 520. Genetic Analysis (3 credits)
Electives: Choose at least three credits from courses that support the chosen thesis research.

IBIOS stable number Genomics (3 credits), currently offered as 598B, Bioinformatics I - BIOL 597F, CSE/STAT 598 (3 credits)
IBIOS 591. Ethics (1 credit)
IBIOS 590. Colloquium (1 credit)
Electives. Choose at least three credits from the following courses.
- BIOL 597F, CSE 598F, STAT 597F Bioinformatics II
- GEN 520. Genetics (Offered at COM and now planned to be videoconferenced between COM and UP.)
- STAT 597D. Genometrics
- BIOL 497D. Practical Bioinformatics
- BIOL 497G/597G. Computer Programming in C: Biological Applications
- BIOL 505. Statistical Methods in Evolutionary Genetics
- B M B 597C. Computers for biochemists and molecular biologists
- CSE 598E, STAT 597E. Data Mining
- IBIOS 597G, HORT 597A, and AGRO 597G. Plant Genomics
- BMMB 597A or BMMB 501. Core Concepts in Biomolecular Science

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.

Integrative Biosciences Graduate Program (IBIOS)