MD/PhD Training in the BMG Program
Program Overview:
Students accepted into the MD / PhD Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine may choose
to complete their PhD training in the Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Program. Completion
of the PhD degree in the BMG program typically takes 4 years. The table below outlines the timetable for MD/PhD students in the BMG program.
|
GS - S1
Summer |
MS1
Fall / Spring |
GS - S2
Summer |
MS2
Fall / Spring |
MS2.5
Summer |
GS - S3
Summer |
GS1
Fall |
. . .
|
GS4
|
MS3
|
MS4
|
| |
| First lab rotation |
Medical school courses |
Second lab rotation if needed |
Medical school courses |
8 wk clinical clerkship |
Third lab rotation |
PhD program in BMG |
. . . |
Graduate from PhD program |
|
|
| |
| The summer before starting at the medical school, students who wish to pursue the MD / PhD are highly encouraged to do a lab rotation at that time. Ideally, this is the lab in which the PhD research will take place. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact program faculty according to their areas of interest or the BMG Director for advice on lab selections. |
First year of medical school. |
Second lab rotation. Discussion of the thesis topic with the future graduate advisor is highly encouraged. |
Second year of medical school. |
First 8 week long clinical clerkship. |
By the third lab rotation, the research conducted during the third rotation should be related to the Ph.D. thesis topic selected with the thesis advisor. |
MD/PhD students enter the BMG program with an academic standing of second year PhD students. The class work from medical school years one and two are accepted as equivalent to the first year PhD curriculum. Other requirements (rotations, comprehensive exams, thesis committees)are the same for MD/PhD students as they are for the PhD students and are described in more detail in the BMG handbook To remain in the MD / PhD program, it is critical to defend the thesis by October of the sixth year (e.g. if you start your PhD program in August 2010, you must defend before October 2015). During the PhD program, students are required to complete three longitudinal clinical clerkships. |
The third and fourth years of medical school include 60 weeks of required clerkships. Elective rotations may include additional research or clinical experiences. |
| |
For more information, contact Dr. Martin Schmidt, Director of the BMG
Program (mcs2@pitt.edu).
|
| Participating Faculty and their Research Interests: |
| Chaillet, Richard |
Genomic imprinting, the etiology of ovarian teratomas, and the biology of mouse embryonic stem cells. |
| Cheng, Tao |
Cell cycle regulators; leukemic stem cells; Stem cell protection in transplant recipients. |
| Clemens, Paula |
Adenoviral vector gene transfer to muscle; Gene therapy for the treatment of muscle diseases |
| DeLuca, Neal |
Processes involved in the repression and reactivation of the Herpes Simplex Virus genome |
| Glorioso, Joseph |
Herpes Simplex Virus latency and neurovirulence; HSV viral envelope glycoprotein-receptor interactions; to develop HSV as a gene transfer vector |
| Hukriede, Neil |
Identify the progenitors that give rise to the pronephric kidney; understand the molecular events that initiate and regulate kidney development during embryogenesis. |
| Khan, Saleem |
Role of chromatin structure and DNA methylation in the regulation of Human Papiloma Virus gene expression; DNA helicases, replication of drug resistance and virulence plasmids, and bacterial pathogenesis. |
| Lowe, Mark |
Role of pancreatic lipases in dietary fat digestion; function of pancreatic procolipase in the regulation of body weight and of appetite; mechanisms of gastroprotection and of attenuation of pancreatitis by integral membrane associated protein 1. |
| Niedernhofer, Laura |
DNA damage and repair and their role in cancer and aging |
| O'Doherty, Robert |
Biochemical and molecular mechanisms that link obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and inflammation in the metabolic syndrome |
| Robbins, Paul |
Gene therapy to facilitate pancreatic islet transplantation; gene therapy for arthritis |
| Roodman, David |
Characterize a new member of the RANK ligand (RANKL) signaling pathway; development of a new model of myeloma bone disease; examine the potential of PTHrP compared to parathyroid hormone (PTH) to increase bone formation in murine models of myeloma. |
Schmidt, Martin
(Program Director) |
Identify and characterize the components of the glucose signaling pathway in yeast with particular interest in the regulation of the AMP-activated protein kinase signalling pathway |
| Smithgall, Tom |
Src-related tyrosine kinases as molecular targets for HIV Nef; c-Fes tyrosine kinase in hematopoietic growth regulation; Cytoplasmic tyrosine kinases and chronic myelogenous leukemia |
| Steinman, Richard |
Mechanisms of white blood cell differentiation and its inhibition in leukemias; Mechanisms of stem cell differentiation and growth control; Functional analysis of the p27Kip1 cell cycle modulator |
