Program Description

The diverse nature of the department’s research provides a unique environment for graduate study. The overall goal of our program is to prepare students to investigate complex physiological and biophysical problems that often bridge traditional academic boundaries. This requires sound training in a broad range of biological disciplines, plus experience in using the latest techniques in biochemistry, molecular biology, physics, applied mathematics, and computing. To accomplish this goal, we recruit a relatively small number of students with diverse undergraduate training in the physical and biological sciences. Individual courses of study are then designed that reflect the background and goals of each student. Consequently, our students pursue graduate studies that range from the strictly biochemical to the strictly biophysical.

First Year and Beyond
During the first year, all students take courses in cellular and organ systems physiology, graduate biochemistry, and biophysical chemistry. During the second year, students select from a variety of advanced courses that suit their scientific interests, goals, and background. Students rotate through at least three faculty laboratories to gain research experience in the first two years. Students also participate, under faculty supervision, in the teaching of physiology. Upon completion of the qualifying examination and the selection of a faculty advisor for their research, the students then devote essentially all of their time to dissertation research. There are two research concentrations available to graduate students: Cellular and Molecular Physiology or Biophysics.

Cellular and Molecular Physiology Program
The goal of the Cellular and Molecular Physiology Program is to train students to investigate significant problems in human physiology using modern techniques of molecular and cellular biology. Students who choose this option generally have undergraduate degrees in biochemistry or biology, and will take advanced graduate classes in cellular and molecular biology and molecular genetics during their second year.

To increase the training and research opportunities available to our students, this program is affiliated with an interdepartmental program in Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB). The MCB Program consists of approximately 100 faculty from 11 departments, as well as investigators at Cold Spring Harbor and Brookhaven National Laboratories. The program offers several core courses taken by all graduate students in the biological sciences. Students admitted into Physiology and Biophysics are permitted, with prior approval of the advisory committee, to do laboratory rotations and/or conduct their dissertation research with any MCB member.
During the first two years, students usually rotate through three laboratories in the department. The duration of these rotations may vary, but do not exceed six months. At the end of each rotation, students will submit a written report of the aims and results, as well as the difficulties with the project.

Biophysics Studies Program
The goal of the Biophysics Studies Program is to train students with strong backgrounds in physics and/or chemistry in modern biophysics. The program is an interdepartmental effort, which consists of 42 Stony Brook faculty, as well as scientists at Cold Spring Harbor and Brookhaven National Laboratories. Students who choose this option generally take advanced courses in biophysical chemistry, electrophysiology, or advanced biochemistry. Biophysics students can do rotations and dissertation research in the lab of any faculty member affiliated with the Biophysics Program. The Biophysics Studies Program is supported by a Training Grant in Molecular Biophysics from the National Institutes of Health.

Systems Physiology
The primary goal of the systems physiology concentration is to provide an education framework that focuses on preparing students to attack the complex integrative problems using interdisciplinary approaches and too work effectively as a part of a multidisciplinary team. Areas of specialization in the department include systems neurophysiology, cardiovascular and microvascular physiology concentration is a central element in the BioSystems Group, which is and interdepartmental consortium of faculty members drawn from six departments, including Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Neurobiology and Behavior, Pharmacology Sciences, Medicine and Applied Mathematics and Statistics, as well as members from Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The campus-wide nature of the BioSystems Group provides educational and research opportunities of exceptional depth and diversity and the ability to accommodate students with a broad spectrum of interests and backgrounds. This diversity is reflected in the areas of specialization within the graduate programs. These include the general areas of system physiology, cellular/molecular physiology, biophysics, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, pharmacology, computational biology and signal processing.

Teaching Experience
Students are required to serve as teaching assistants for two semesters in course(s) offered by the Department. This will fulfill the Teaching Practicum required for doctoral degrees awarded by the State University of New York.

Seminars and Journal Club
The department hosts an extensive series of seminars on topics of direct and indirect relevance to research interests of the faculty. Seminars are given by faculty and visiting scientists, as well as by postdoctoral fellows and students. Students are required to attend all departmental seminars unless there is a conflict with a class. Students are also required to participate in the student journal club, which meets weekly with a member of the faculty. Each week a current scientific publication will be presented by an individual student and discussed.

New Master of Science Degree Program
The overall goals of the new Master of Science degree program in Physiology and Biophysics are to prepare students for a research staff scientist career in industry (without a focus on R & D), a teaching career at the undergraduate college level, or further graduate study leading to the Ph.D degree in the Biomedical Sciences. For students interested in attending medical school, the M.S. degree program can complement and enhance your background in the physiological sciences, including biomedical research. To accomplish these goals, the program of study provides training in cellular and systems-level physiology, membrane biophysics, experimental design, data analysis, and commonly used laboratory techniques in integrative physiology. Elective courses in Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Pharmacological Sciences are then selected to complement and expand on the above core training, and meet the individual needs of each student. For more information, please contact Dr.Solomon at irene.solomon@stonybrook.edu.

 

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