Best Accredited Universities for Doctoral Phd program in Structural Biology

Courses offered by the Structural Biology are listed under the subject code SBIO on the Stanford Bulletin ExploreCourses web site.

The department offers course work and opportunities for research in structural biology.

University requirements for the Ph.D. are described in the Graduate Degrees section of this bulletin.

The graduate program in Structural Biology leads to the Ph.D. degree. The department also participates in the Medical Scientists Training Program (MSTP) in which individuals are candidates for both Ph.D. and M.D. degrees.

The graduate program is intended to prepare students for careers as independent investigators in cell and molecular biology. The principal requirement of a Ph.D. degree is the completion of research constituting an original and significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge.

The requirements and recommendations for applying to the Ph.D. program in the Structural Biology include:.

Ph.D. students in the Structural Biology are required to complete all the following requirements:.

AND, at least 3 additional graduate level courses in physical or biological science, with.

Training in a major with connections to biophysics (e.g., physics, chemistry, or biology, with a quantitative background equivalent to that of an physics or chemistry major at Stanford).

The student must prepare a dissertation proposal defining the research to be undertaken including methods of procedure. This proposal should be submitted by the end of summer quarter of the second year, and it must be approved by a committee of at least three members including the principal research adviser and at least one member from the Structural Biology. The candidate must defend the dissertation proposal in an oral examination. The dissertation reading committee normally evolves from the dissertation proposal review committee.

The student must present a Ph.D. dissertation as the result of independent investigation and expressing a contribution to knowledge in the field of structural biology.

Applicants to the program should have a bachelor degree and should have completed at least a year of course work in biology, mathematics, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and physics. Application forms must be received by the department before December 15 for notification by April 15. Application to the National Science Foundation for fellowship support is also encouraged. Remission of fees and a personal stipend are available to graduate students in the department. Prospective applicants should contact the Structural Biology for further information.

The Structural Biology is committed to providing academic advising in support of graduate student scholarly and professional development. When most effective, this advising relationship entails collaborative and sustained engagement by both the adviser and the advisee. As a best practice, advising expectations should be periodically discussed and reviewed to ensure mutual understanding. Both the adviser and the advisee are expected to maintain professionalism and integrity.

Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for their graduate program.

For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the Graduate Advising section of this bulletin.

Principles of nucleic acid structure and function. Methods for investigating nucleic acid structure. Limited to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in structural biology. Prerequisite: consent of instructor.

CPT Course required for international students completing degree requirements.

Directed Reading in Structural Biology.

Structural Biology and Biophysics: PhD Admissions and Enrollment Statistics.

PhD and Masters Admissions and Enrollment Statistics.

Statistics for Coalition for Next Generation Life Science.

BCMB Allied ProgramToggle BCMB Allied Program menu options.

Physiology, Biophysics Systems BiologyToggle Physiology, Biophysics Systems Biology menu options.

Graduate programs at Weill Cornell Graduate School in BCMB are in Biochemistry, Structural Biology, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology and Molecular Biology are collectively known as the BCMB Allied program and operate as an alliance. Students may affiliate with any of the three BCMB programs, but they initially are admitted to, and remain members of, the BCMB Allied program.

The BCMB program offers opportunities for advanced training in the application of biochemical, structural, biophysical and imaging methods, to addressing questions relating to biological processes and mechanisms. Program members pursue vigorous research programs in the areas of membrane-protein structure and function, membrane trafficking and synaptic transmission, protein folding, intracellular and cell-surface signaling pathways, protein modification, membrane biochemistry and biophysics, DNA replication and repair, and RNA silencing and processing.

This includes areas such as synaptic transmission and neuronal circuitry, interaction of macrophages with lipoproteins leading to atherosclerotic lesions, interaction of cells with the proteins that form Alzheimer disease plaques, and the insulin-regulated membrane trafficking of the GLUT4 glucose transporter between the interior and surface of the cell. The methods used range from optical imaging to detailed three-dimensional structural information obtained by x-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Research tools available include digital imaging devices, confocal microscopy, multiphoton microscopy, automated microscopy systems, computational methods, theoretical models and chemical methods. In this area, in vivo imaging studies of synaptic proteins and their dynamics are aimed at understanding processes such as presynaptic vesicle traffic, transmitter-activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and synaptic transmission. X-ray crystallographic and biochemical studies are aimed at investigating the macromolecular machinery that control vesicular transport, including the mechanisms of carrier vesicle formation, cargo loading, accurate delivery, neurotransmitter release and membrane recycling.

Other structural studies are focused on the cell-surface receptors and other neuronal signaling proteins that mediate axon guidance and neuronal development. These research programs are complemented by a strong focus on the structure determination of membrane proteins such as ion channels and transmembrane transporters. The structural findings are typically extended by electrophysiological methods, spectroscopy and theoretical computational approaches.

In the area of signaling, a wide range of biochemical, structural and imaging approaches are used to investigate processes such as nitric oxide signaling in atherosclerosis and thrombosis the post-translational modification of proteins by ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitin-like (Ubl) modifiers and the roles of, in DNA-repair, and in nuclear transport, the protein-protein interactions that govern the histone epigenetics code and signaling by the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) pathways in cellular ostasis, immune response and apoptosis.

Nucleic acid structure, function and metabolism are investigated using in vitro biochemistry and structural biology, complemented by cell biology and genetics. Studies of DNA replication, both in eukaryotic and in simpler prokaryotic model systems, are focused on understanding the enzymatic activities such as polymerases, helicases, primases and topoisomerases required for replication the firing of replication origins and their coordination with the cell cycle and the processes of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Studies of DNA repair and genomic integrity are focused on the macromolecular processes that detect the wide range of lesions that affect DNA, as well as on specific repair processes. These include nucleotide excision repair, DNA-double strand break repair by homologous recombination and the related process of meiotic recombination. As many of these repair processes are associated with cancer predisposition, investigators of DNA repair and replication have a strong interest in cancer biology as well.

Ph.D. students are admitted to the Biochemistry and Structural Biology program through the BCMB Allied program. Applicants are not required to take the take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL examination.

In their first year, BCMB Allied students take the program core curriculum courses in molecular genetics, biochemistry and structural biology, cell biology, gene structure function, and logic and critical analysis. A course list and course descriptions are available at: Courses.

The choice of a mentor determines the student program assignment: Biochemistry Structural Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, or Molecular Biology. Selection of the mentor and the committee typically occurs before the student starts the second year of study.

In spring semester of the second year, the student takes the Admission to Doctoral Candidacy Examination (ACE), which includes a written component (a research proposal) and an oral examination, in which the student defends the proposal and demonstrates general knowledge.

During the second through fourth years, while working in the laboratory, the student must also complete one elective course (two quarters) and participate in in-depth focus groups, which examine topics relevant to the fields of biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology.

The culmination of the student successful progression through the program is the final examination (the defense ) and certification by the Special Committee that the thesis represents an official piece of research satisfying the requirements of the WCGS for the PhD degree.

The fellowship must be used for the final year of writing the dissertation. Applicants must have completed all course work, passed all preliminary examinations, and received approval for their research proposals or plans by the preceding November. Students holding fellowships for writing a dissertation in the year prior to the AAUW fellowships year are not eligible. Open to applicants in all fields of study. Scholars engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math fields or researching gender issues are especially encouraged to apply.

This award is to support the training of researchers who have received a doctoral degree to provide initial funding leading to an independent career in cancer research (including basic, preclinical, clinical, cancer control, psychosocial, behavioral, epidemiology, health services and health policy research).

The Irving S. Sigal Postdoctoral Fellowship provides two years of ($50K year) for a scientist who has earned or will earn a doctoral degree in chemistry during the academic year of the competition or the preceding year in a graduate chemistry department within the United States and who wishes to pursue in chemistry postdoctoral research at the biology-chemistry interface. There are no restrictions on the age or nationality of the fellow.

ASBMB Science Policy Fellowship offers recently graduated PhDs exposure to a range of activities regarding science policy and congressional and government relations.

The CF Foundation offers competitive awards to individuals interested in careers related to cystic fibrosis research and care. Studies may be carried out at the subcellular, cellular, animal, or patient levels.

National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships are awarded to applicants who will pursue a doctoral degree in, or closely related to, an area of DoD interest within one of the following disciplines: Biosciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, Cognitive Neural and Behavioral Sciences.

FRAXA grants and fellowships program aims to encourage research aimed at finding a specific treatment for fragile X syndrome.

Candidates who hold, or are in the final stages of obtaining a Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent degree and are seeking beginning postdoctoral training in basic biomedical research are eligible to apply for a fellowship. The Foundation accepts applications from candidates who have no than one year of postdoctoral research experience at the time of the deadline for submitting the application (July 15), and who have received a PhD (or D.Phil. or equivalent) degree no than two years before the deadline, or an M.D. degree no than three years before the deadline.

The mission of the Hope Funds for Cancer Research is to encourage investigation of innovative cancer treatment and detection for the most difficult-to-treat and understudied cancers. The Hope Funds for Cancer Research will support scientific and medical research programs aimed at increasing knowledge relating to both cancer care and prevention.

The Fellowship Grant is intended to enable Qualified Institutions to provide post-doctoral research fellowship training to qualified applicants in the areas of aging and diabetes.

Fellows are promising investigators with less than two years of postdoctoral research training. These grantees are encouraged to embark on an academic career involving clinical or fundamental research in, or related to, leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma under the direction of a research sponsor. Special Fellows are qualified investigators who have completed a minimum of two years of postdoctoral research training and are continuing their research under the direction of a research Sponsor. The Special Fellowship should permit the scientist to begin to transition to an independent research program.

The graduate fellowship seeks to support the development of the future STEM workforce through the increased number of graduate degrees awarded to underrepresented and underserved persons (women, minorities and persons with disabilities) in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The goal is to address the agency mission-specific workforce needs and target areas of national need in minority STEM representation. The fellowship award includes tuition offset, student stipend and NASA center research opportunities up to $45,000. Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

The mission of the NRC Research Associateship Programs (RAP) is to promote excellence in scientific and technological research conducted by the U. government through the administration of programs offering graduate, postdoctoral, and senior level research opportunities at sponsoring federal laboratories and affiliated institutions.

At the time of the activation of an award from the National Kidney Foundation, the candidate may have completed four years, but not than 4.5 years, of research training (in addition to clinical training) beyond a doctoral degree (M.D., Ph.D., D.O., or its equivalent). For those applying for a second year of a National Kidney Foundation Fellowship (competitive renewal), they may have completed 5 years, but not than 5.5 years of research training beyond the doctoral degree at the time of activation of the award. Applicant must become a member of the National Kidney Foundation.

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB). For FY 2011, these BIO programs are (1) Broadening Participation in Biology and (2) Intersections of Biology and Mathematical and Physical Sciences. These areas change periodically as new scientific and infrastructure opportunities present themselves and this solicitation will be changed as necessary to reflect the areas being funded. The fellowships are also designed to provide active mentoring of the Fellows by the sponsoring scientists who will benefit from having these talented young scientists in their research groups.

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce in the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master and doctoral degrees in fields within NSF mission. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering research.

Intended to help African American graduate students complete coursework, conduct research, and prepare the dissertation required for a doctoral degree in the biomedically relevant life or physical sciences and engineering. Also postdoctoral fellowships to provide support to African American post-graduate students to obtain postdoctoral training and to prepare for a career in biomedical research. Must be US citizen or permanent resident.

Biology: John Belote, Scott Erdman, Anthony Garza, Eleanor Maine, Melissa Pepling, Ramesh Raina, John Russell, Roy Welch.

The Ph.D. program is flexible and adaptable to individual needs. Students are admitted through one of the participating departments, (biology, chemistry, or physics) and choose their Ph.D. mentor in that department before transferring into the Program. The remainder of the student’s course of study is planned with a graduate committee composed of members of the program, one of whom will be the student’s thesis advisor.

A student wishing to do graduate work in structural biology, biochemistry, and biophysics should for admission through one of the participating departments (biology, chemistry, or physics). Applicants must meet the general requirements of the Graduate School. Students are normally expected to have an major in biology, chemistry, or physics, and a minor in one or both of the other fields. Students who do not have the appropriate minors must make up background deficiencies by taking courses or independent study.

Graduate students may qualify for scholarships or for teaching or research assistantships available through individual departments, or for University Fellowships. All awards are made on a competitive basis.

This Ph.D. program is flexible and adaptable to individual needs. Students are admitted through one of the participating departments, (biology, chemistry, or physics), choose their Ph.D. mentor in that department, and must complete at least one year in their major department before transferring into the program. Students must be in good standing in their major department prior to transferring into the program and must maintain the requirements of the Graduate School throughout their graduate career. Subsequent to transfer, the remainder of the program is planned with a graduate committee composed of members of the program, one of whom will be the student’s thesis advisor. This committee is also responsible for administering a qualifying examination and a dissertation defense, and for resolving issues that may arise during the student’s graduate career. The graduate committee may require students to acquire breadth by taking graduate-level courses in areas outside their major concentration.

SB3 is one of four areas of concentration within the Molecular and Cell Biology Field of Study, offering both PhD and MS degrees. We study the structure, function, and interactions of biological macromolecules.

May and Alder Receive Collaborative NIH Grant with Johns Hopkins University.

Nathan Alder and Eric May have been awarded an R01 grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as co-investigators on a project led by Steve Claypool at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Structural Biology is an interdepartmental graduate training program that stresses biochemical, structural, and computational approaches to solving complex biological problems.

Modern biochemistry encompasses a wide variety of molecular experimental methods. These include classical biochemical techniques ranging from organic synthesis to enzyme kinetics, modern proteomic and molecular biological techniques, cell biological techniques, such as advanced imaging with light and electron microscopes, and biophysical techniques such as fluorescence, Raman, infrared, circular dichroism, and absorption spectroscopy. Structural biology techniques include Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and computational biology. Stony Brook is recognized internationally in NMR for the development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which is widely used in medicine. The high-resolution structures derived from these approaches represent the blueprints for understanding enzyme catalysis, cell signaling and transport, gene expression and regulation, and numerous other cellular processes. Advances in instrumentation and computational analysis have laid the groundwork for structure determination of proteins discovered through genome sequencing efforts, and have opened up structural studies of membrane proteins and large complexes of proteins and nucleic acids.

Together with the Graduate Program in Molecular and Cell Biology, the Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Structural Biology broadly covers graduate research in the biochemical sciences at Stony Brook. Only candidates working toward the Ph.D. degree are admitted.

The BSB program was too new to be ranked in the 2010 National Research Council (NRC) survey, the most authoritative survey of graduate programs. Only 17 out of 85 universities rated had programs with higher average R ratings, and only 6 universities had better rankings in the Northeast.

Naturally, to prepare you for success in this field, your education will include extensive hands-on experiences in state-of-the-art methodologies, studying a wide range of biological and pathobiological processes. In fact, we're going to give you important laboratory skills to go with crucial communication techniques that are vital to presenting research in both oral or published form. By giving you access to a large pool of mentors from across UAB, all of who are renowned experts in a variety of research areas. Not only that, but with lab rotations, journal clubs, advanced writing courses, and other experiences, you'll have access to all the resources you need to become a successful researcher.

Students can take advantage of professional development programs with UAB, including opportunities with its Center for Clinical and Translational Research.

CIRTL Center for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CERT).

English as a Second Language Alternative Masters Program (MAEd).

High School Education Alternative Masters Program (MAEd).

Primary Care Physical Therapy for Underserved Populations (CERT).

Public Health and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (MPH DVM).

If this degree doesn't fit your career goals, see what else UAB offers.

BCMB Allied ProgramToggle BCMB Allied Program menu options.

Physiology, Biophysics Systems BiologyToggle Physiology, Biophysics Systems Biology menu options.

Graduate programs at Weill Cornell Graduate School in BCMB are in Biochemistry, Structural Biology, Cell Biology, Developmental Biology and Molecular Biology are collectively known as the BCMB Allied program and operate as an alliance. Students may affiliate with any of the three BCMB programs, but they initially are admitted to, and remain members of, the BCMB Allied program.

The BCMB program offers opportunities for advanced training in the application of biochemical, structural, biophysical and imaging methods, to addressing questions relating to biological processes and mechanisms. Program members pursue vigorous research programs in the areas of membrane-protein structure and function, membrane trafficking and synaptic transmission, protein folding, intracellular and cell-surface signaling pathways, protein modification, membrane biochemistry and biophysics, DNA replication and repair, and RNA silencing and processing.

This includes areas such as synaptic transmission and neuronal circuitry, interaction of macrophages with lipoproteins leading to atherosclerotic lesions, interaction of cells with the proteins that form Alzheimer disease plaques, and the insulin-regulated membrane trafficking of the GLUT4 glucose transporter between the interior and surface of the cell. The methods used range from optical imaging to detailed three-dimensional structural information obtained by x-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy. Research tools available include digital imaging devices, confocal microscopy, multiphoton microscopy, automated microscopy systems, computational methods, theoretical models and chemical methods. In this area, in vivo imaging studies of synaptic proteins and their dynamics are aimed at understanding processes such as presynaptic vesicle traffic, transmitter-activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and synaptic transmission. X-ray crystallographic and biochemical studies are aimed at investigating the macromolecular machinery that control vesicular transport, including the mechanisms of carrier vesicle formation, cargo loading, accurate delivery, neurotransmitter release and membrane recycling.

Other structural studies are focused on the cell-surface receptors and other neuronal signaling proteins that mediate axon guidance and neuronal development. These research programs are complemented by a strong focus on the structure determination of membrane proteins such as ion channels and transmembrane transporters. The structural findings are typically extended by electrophysiological methods, spectroscopy and theoretical computational approaches.

In the area of signaling, a wide range of biochemical, structural and imaging approaches are used to investigate processes such as nitric oxide signaling in atherosclerosis and thrombosis the post-translational modification of proteins by ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitin-like (Ubl) modifiers and the roles of, in DNA-repair, and in nuclear transport, the protein-protein interactions that govern the histone epigenetics code and signaling by the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) pathways in cellular ostasis, immune response and apoptosis.

Nucleic acid structure, function and metabolism are investigated using in vitro biochemistry and structural biology, complemented by cell biology and genetics. Studies of DNA replication, both in eukaryotic and in simpler prokaryotic model systems, are focused on understanding the enzymatic activities such as polymerases, helicases, primases and topoisomerases required for replication the firing of replication origins and their coordination with the cell cycle and the processes of chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Studies of DNA repair and genomic integrity are focused on the macromolecular processes that detect the wide range of lesions that affect DNA, as well as on specific repair processes. These include nucleotide excision repair, DNA-double strand break repair by homologous recombination and the related process of meiotic recombination. As many of these repair processes are associated with cancer predisposition, investigators of DNA repair and replication have a strong interest in cancer biology as well.

Ph.D. students are admitted to the Biochemistry and Structural Biology program through the BCMB Allied program. Applicants are not required to take the take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the TOEFL examination.

In their first year, BCMB Allied students take the program core curriculum courses in molecular genetics, biochemistry and structural biology, cell biology, gene structure function, and logic and critical analysis. A course list and course descriptions are available at: Courses.

The choice of a mentor determines the student program assignment: Biochemistry Structural Biology, Cell and Developmental Biology, or Molecular Biology. Selection of the mentor and the committee typically occurs before the student starts the second year of study.

In spring semester of the second year, the student takes the Admission to Doctoral Candidacy Examination (ACE), which includes a written component (a research proposal) and an oral examination, in which the student defends the proposal and demonstrates general knowledge.

During the second through fourth years, while working in the laboratory, the student must also complete one elective course (two quarters) and participate in in-depth focus groups, which examine topics relevant to the fields of biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology.

The culmination of the student successful progression through the program is the final examination (the defense ) and certification by the Special Committee that the thesis represents an official piece of research satisfying the requirements of the WCGS for the PhD degree.