Cellular Physiology and Biophysics Track within the Graduate Program in Mechanisms of Health and Disease
The graduate track of "Cellular Physiology and Biophysics" is administered by the
Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics. It is part of the “Coordinated Doctoral
Program in the Basic Sciences” at Columbia University Medical Center and is within the
Program entitled Mechanisms of Health and Disease. The objective of our graduate program is to provide a stimulating and supportive environment that enables graduate students to acquire fundamental training in physiology, cellular and molecular biology and biophysics while participating in the rich intellectual life of Columbia University. The centerpiece of our program is the close interaction between graduate students and faculty that occurs in graduate courses, laboratory rotations and thesis research. We make special efforts to tailor each student's educational program to his or her professional and personal goals.
Columbia University provides a superb intellectual and physical environment in which to work and learn. Research in the Department is lead by many outstanding faculty members and includes major themes in cellular physiology, immunology, cardiovascular biology and neuroscience and computational biology. Thus students have a wide range of topics to choose from as a focus for their research. Select the links below to find faculty within each area.
Admission
Previous training should include courses in differential and integral calculus, statistics, physics,
chemistry and biology. A candidate may make up minor deficiencies by taking appropriate courses after admission to the Graduate Program.
Applicants are required to submit a college transcript, three letters of recommendation, a personal statement and the results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Results from an advanced GRE test (e.g. in Biology or Chemistry) are also highly desirable. Applicants from non-English- speaking countries are also required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
Applications should be submitted by December 15th for admission in the fall semester, although applications submitted after that date will be evaluated.
To apply on-line go to https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=COL-GMED
PROGRAM OF STUDY
Course Work:
Many graduate courses within a variety of disciplines are available to Physiology students. Most are conducted in small groups, providing excellent opportunities for close interactions between students and faculty. Incoming students must take six required courses and two electives. The required courses include two semesters of physiology; Principles of Physiology (Physiology G6001) and Molecular Pathophysiology of the Cardiovascular System (Physiology G6002); two semester of advanced biochemistry and molecular biology (Biochemistry/Molecular Biology I and II (Biochemistry G6300); a one semester Ethics course; and a one semester statistics course. In addition to these required courses, students are expected take at least 2 elective graduate level courses. Elective courses will depend on the area in which each student is focusing their research interests. Most students complete their course work by the end of their third year.
Rotations:
Each first year graduate student will undertake three laboratory rotations, preferably with faculty members within the Department of Physiology. This provides an opportunity for each student to actively participate in ongoing research projects, allowing the student to become familiar with techniques, literature and problems in a variety of research areas. It also gives each student a chance to find the optimal working environment and mentor with whom to pursue their thesis work. Each laboratory rotation should last approximately three to four months duration such that all rotations will be completed by the beginning of the second year. At this time, each student should have chosen a research mentor and begun making preliminary plans for a thesis topic.
Qualifying Exam
After a thesis mentor has been chosen, each student will take the Qualifying Exam. This should take place by January of the second year. The overall goal of the Qualifying Exam is to assess each student’s ability to develop a written research plan and to orally defend it in front of a faculty committee. For the exam, the student should identify two topics of interest that are not the same as their thesis topic and develop them into two, one page proposals. In consultation with their thesis mentor, the student should then identify three additional faculty members to serve as the Qualifying Exam committee. The student should then give the two topic proposals to the committee members for approval. The written portion of the exam will then be developed based on one of the topics acceptable to all committee members. The Qualifying Exam document should be arranged similar to an NIH grant with Specific Aims, Background/Significance, Experimental Design, and references sections. It should be no longer than 15 pages double spaced, not including references. The document should be submitted to the committee one week prior to the scheduled exam date. At the time of the Qualifying Exam, the student will present and defend their proposal. Passing the Qualifying Exam is a requirement of the program.
Financial Support
All students making adequate progress toward the degree receive full financial support including tuition and fess plus a stipend for living expenses throughout their entire graduate career.
Seminars and Journal Club
Students are strongly encouraged to attend the weekly Physiology Department seminar series. In addition to the Physiology Department seminars, many other departments at Columbia University Medical Center have weekly seminars that students are welcome to attend.
The Physiology Department sponsors a graduate student-led Journal Club. This journal club meets approximately once a month. It provides students with a forum for informal discussion of the literature and of one another's work.
Advising
The Graduate Studies Director will meet with each first year student and help them to consider coursework and possible laboratory rotations for the first year. In addition, each student will have an advisory committee consisting of 2 members of the Graduate Studies Committee and their laboratory mentor. This committee will meet with each student at the end of each year until the student has formed their own Thesis Committee. The advisory committee will provide input to the student as they develop their plans for the subsequent year. Following successful completion of the Qualifying Exam, each student, together with their thesis mentor, will form a thesis committee. This committee can be called together to provide advise and input to each student. It should meet at least once a year.
The Time Line
A typical time course of graduate studies would proceed as follows:
First year: Students take two courses each semester, complete 3 rotations and choose thesis mentor.
Second year: Students prepare and defend Qualifying exam, begin thesis work, form thesis committee, continue course work.
Third and subsequent years: Continue and complete thesis work, defend thesis.
Students should take 4-6 years to complete all of the work towards their PhD.
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