Dear Students,
Welcome to the IBS Graduate
Program. The IBS handbook is designed to give you an
overview of the IBS Graduate Program and information that will help you get
started as a UAB graduate student.
IBS Graduate Program began in 1999
as a multidisciplinary graduate training
program. The main
objective of the program is to expose students to a diverse faculty with
research interests that range from molecules to whole organisms to disease
processes. Our premise is that
students, when trained in basic principles of molecular biology and genetics, in
addition to organ-based physiology, pharmacology and pathology, will be prepared
to study biological processes at any level of organization. The important biomedical issues of today
are sufficiently complex that the successful investigator must be able to tackle
these issues using integrated, multi-faceted
approaches.
The program is a joint effort
of four departments in two schools: Environmental Health
Sciences
(School of Public
Health), Pathology
(School of
Medicine), Pharmacology and
Toxicology (School
of Medicine), and Physiology and
Biophysics (School
of Medicine).
During the first year, each IBS
student takes a series of three rigorous courses:
IBS 700
(Biological Chemistry and Cellular Physiology)
IBS 701 (Cell,
Tissue and Organ Physiology, and Pathophysiology)
IBS 702 (Genetics
and Genomics)
and then have the option to
take one of the following three courses offered in the summer:
IBS 706
(Mitochondria)
IBS 707 (Cancer
Biology)
IBS 708 (Modern
Drug Discovery)
In addition to course
work, each student attends research seminars, participates in a classic
paper forum, and performs 3-4 laboratory rotations. The laboratory rotations are
designed to give the student a practical introduction to bench science and to
help the student choose a faculty mentor. At the end of the first year, the
student will select a mentor and then join the graduate program of the
department in which that faculty member holds an appointment.
In the IBS Program, students will
gain competence in the application of the principles of cellular and molecular
biology to the understanding of organ-based physiology and pathophysiology
through a program of didactic and laboratory research
experience designed to meet the needs of the individual.
Graduates will be prepared to enter postdoctoral research positions and to
become independent investigators in academic, private, or industrial
institutions. Training in the participating departments of the IBS Graduate
Program is generally completed within four to six years, depending on background
and training goals.
Once again, welcome to the IBS
Graduate Program. If you have any questions about our program, do not
hesitate to contact me at 934-4578 or Randy Seay, IBS Program Manager, at
934-7810.
Best of luck with your
future endeavors with IBS,
Coral
A. Lamartiniere, Ph.D.
IBS Graduate Program
Director
