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Tumor Biology Training Program

Doctorate of Science

The formal requirements for a doctoral degree in the Tumor Biology Program are completion of 33 credit hours, with at least a B average (including the designated core courses), three (3) different laboratory rotations, satisfactory completion of a comprehensive examination, a thesis proposal, a written dissertation, and a final oral defense. It is anticipated that following completion of the first two years of formal course work (or one year for MD/PhD students with approximately 30 hours of credit from the medical school) that completion of the final phases of the PhD will require approximately three additional years.

Comprehensive Examination: All students will follow a uniform format for this examination, which typically comes after 3 to 4 semesters of class work (2 semesters for MD/PhD students). Students will choose a major topic and two minor topics (which may focus on research methodology). Major and minor paper topics must be approved by the Tumor Biology Oversight Committee. For the major topic, a critically written paper on an area of cancer research will be prepared. Examination of major and minor topics will be by a committee of four (4) faculty members, plus the chosen dissertation advisor. The examination will contain an oral component consisting of a presentation and a defense of the papers.

Thesis Proposal: All students in their third year (second year for MD/PhD students) will write and defend a thesis proposal before a committee consisting of their dissertation mentor, three (3) program faculty members, and an outside reader. The Tumor Biology Oversight Committee must approve the Thesis Committee.

Written Dissertation: Upon completion of a thesis project, a written dissertation must be approved by the student's Thesis Committee.

Final Oral Defense: The final stage of graduate training involves an oral presentation of the thesis. In attendance will be the Thesis Committee, program members, and interested Medical Center personnel.

Typical Curriculum for Ph.D. Students (33 credits)

Summer Before Enrollment - Cancer Research Techniques (not for credit) (optional)

Year 1

Semester 1

BCHB 501 - Biochemical and Cellular Sciences I (3)
BCHB 528 - Modern Methods in Molecular Biology (3)
TBIO 508 - Cellular & Molecular Aspects of the Transformed Cell (4)
TBIO 701/703 - Current Topics in Cancer Research (not for credit)
TBIO 711/713 - Student Seminar (not for credit)
TBIO 546 - Resources for Cancer Research (not for credit)

Semester 2

BIST 502 - Applied Biostatistics (3)
CBIO 539 - Biochemical and Cellular Sciences II (3)
TBIO 520 - Cancer Prevention, Control, & Epidemiology (2)
TBIO 535 - Cancer Pharmacology I & II (4)
PHAR 534 - Ethical Issues in Scientific Research (2)
TBIO 702/704 - Current Topics in Cancer Research (not for credit)
TBIO 712/714 - Student Seminar (not for credit)
Electives

Summer After First Year - Cancer Research Techniques (not for credit)

Year 2

Semester 1

TBIO 591 Signal Transduction Journal Club (either Fall or Spring) (not for credit)
Electives (0-3)
Current Topics in Cancer Research (not for credit)
Student Seminars (not for credit)
Thesis Research (not for credit)

Semester 2

TBIO 588 - Preparing a Scientific Paper (2)
Current Topics in Cancer Research (not for credit)
Student Seminar (not for credit)
Thesis Research (not for credit)
Electives

Years 3 - 5

Thesis Research

A single page of all course descriptions is available here.