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Detailed Information

Program of Study

The Graduate Program in Developmental Biology (DB Program) awards a Ph.D. degree and is designed to prepare students both intellectually and technologically to pursue a successful career in biological and/or biomedical research. The program also cooperates in the Medical Scientist Training Program, which leads to a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree.

The DB Program provides a wide spectrum of exciting research possibilities and a broad cross-disciplinary training. In order to understand how a single cell develops into a complex organism, the program laboratories use molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, imaging, physiology, genetics, and genomics. Studies of organisms as diverse as social molds, worms, flies, frogs, chickens, fish, mice, and humans are conducted using a wide variety of approaches, instruments, and techniques of modern biological research. Members of the DB Program study basic biological mechanisms of direct and fundamental relevance to human development, disease, and stem cell therapy. This allows students to unravel the principles and mechanisms that guide embryonic development, the differentiation of adult cell types, regeneration, and aging. The major research interests are neurobiology; cancer biology; cell death; aging; neurodegenerative and other human diseases; stem cell biology; gene therapy; reproductive development; oogenesis; skin, muscle, heart, blood, kidney, bone, limb, and eye development; cell lineage specification; X chromosome dosage compensation; and plant differentiation.

During their first year, students take core courses in biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular and classical genetics as well as several courses and seminars in developmental biology. They also sample several areas of research by doing rotations in the program’s laboratories. Before the end of the first year, students take a qualifying exam and select a laboratory in which they carry out their dissertation research. Subsequently, students meet every six months with their thesis committee to evaluate the research accomplished and redefine goals necessary to complete the thesis project. In the final year, students defend their theses in a public seminar. Study for the Ph.D. degree generally requires five years of graduate work, most of which is spent on the dissertation research. The program is supported by a competitive NIH training grant, the March of Dimes, Texas Children’s Hospital, and the College.

Research Facilities

DB Program faculty members are well-funded and drawn from eleven departments and four institutions, including Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, the University of Texas Health Science Center, and Rice University, all within easy walking distance of the Texas Medical Center. They occupy extensive research space with state-of-the-art instrumentation and computing equipment. Cooperative and collaborative interactions among program laboratories and institutions enable students to take full advantage of the facilities of the Texas Medical Center.

Financial Aid

Students enrolled in the program receive a competitive stipend of $26,000 per year plus health insurance at no extra cost. Tuition scholarships are awarded to all students admitted to the program. Separate offices provide assistance to international students and students with financial hardships.

Cost of Study

Tuition is fully covered by the program, the College, or training grants.

Living and Housing Costs

Numerous affordable housing options are available within a few miles of the medical center. Some students rent a nearby house while others rent or buy their own apartment. The cost of living in Houston is below that of most large U.S. cities, and there are ample opportunities for employment of spouses in the Texas Medical Center.

Student Group

The DB Program currently has 51 full-time graduate students, including 26 women and 15 international students. About 8 students join the program each year. The program is committed to excellence and favors a low student-faculty ratio. In addition to the laboratories in the program, students have contact with students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members in other programs and departments throughout the school and the medical center. The BCM graduate school has approximately 550 students, the medical school about 700 students.

Student Outcomes

The Career Resource Center of the graduate school provides career information and counseling for all BCM graduate and postdoctoral students in biomedical sciences. DB students typically graduate with an excellent-to-outstanding publication record and go on to successful careers. The average number of publications per graduate student is above 4.5, with an average of more than 2.5 first-author papers. The average impact factor per graduate student publication is more than 10. The DB graduates have subsequently pursued postdoctoral training in excellent laboratories and high-quality institutions.

Location

Houston is a dynamic city with an exciting cultural and metropolitan center. Ballet, opera, symphony, theater, and art museums are excellent and accessible to the general population. In addition, there are more than a thousand bars and restaurants, which are moderately priced. Recreation opportunities abound, with facilities for a wide range of professional and amateur sports. The climate offers very pleasant weather from fall through spring and permits participation in a wide variety of outdoor activities. Gulf Coast beaches are a short drive from the city.

The College

Baylor College of Medicine is an independent, private institution dedicated to training in basic and medical sciences. It is located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, one of the largest medical centers in the world. It has promoted the development of interdisciplinary, interdepartmental, and interinstitutional programs and has consistently identified and encouraged outstanding investigators. Considered one of the top research institutions in the nation, the College continues to develop programs and services that meet new needs and trends, making higher education one of the most exciting and rewarding of human experiences.

Applying

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree, preferably with course work in biology and biochemistry. GRE General Test scores less than three years old at the time of application must be provided. Applications should be accompanied by transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and a statement of research interest and career goals; they must be complete by January 1, with a preferred deadline of December 15. Successful candidates are invited to meet with the participating faculty members and students to have a firsthand look at the DB Program. Expenses for travel and accommodations during the visit are provided. Admission policies at BCM offer equal opportunity to all, without regard to race, sex, age, religion, country of origin, or handicap. Questions regarding the application process can be directed to cat@bcm.edu.

The Faculty and Their Research

• Richard R. Behringer, Professor of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; Ph.D., Columbia (South Carolina), 1986. Molecular genetics of female reproductive tract development.
• Hugo J. Bellen, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics and Neuroscience; Director, Program in Developmental Biology; and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; D.V.M./Ph.D., California, Davis, 1986. Nervous system development and neurotransmitter release in Drosophila.
• John W. Belmont, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics and Immunology; M.D./Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1981. Hematopoietic and immune development and cardiovascular genetics.
• Andreas Bergmann, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; Ph.D., Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology (Germany), 1996. Genetic control of programmed cell death (apoptosis) in Drosophila.
• Janet Braam, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University; Ph.D., Cornell, 1985. Molecular and developmental responses of plants to environmental stresses: roles of calmodulin-related proteins and cell wall modifying enzymes.
• Rui Chen, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics, Human Genome Sequencing Center; Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1999. System biology; genetics network controlling retinal development in Drosophila.
• Thomas A. Cooper, Professor of Pathology and Molecular and Cellular Biology; M.D., Temple, 1982. Alternative splicing regulation in development and disease.
• Francesco J. DeMayo, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Ph.D., Michigan, 1983. Molecular and developmental biology of the lung and uterus; cancer; reproductive biology.
• Benjamin Deneen, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center; Ph.D., UCLA, 2002. Glial cell development and disease.
• Mary E. Dickinson, Associate Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics; Ph.D., Columbia, 1996. Vascular remodeling and heart morphogenesis in early vertebrate embryos.
• Margaret A. Goodell, Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Immunology, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center; Ph.D., Cambridge, 1991. Adult and embryonic stem cell biology.
• Andy K. Groves, Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (United Kingdom), 1992. Development and regeneration of the inner ear.
• Georg Halder, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; Ph.D., Basel (Switzerland), 1996. Tumor suppressor genes and organ size control; Drosophila genetics.
• Karen K. Hirschi, Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center; Ph.D., Arizona, 1990. Vascular development and vascular progenitors in adult tissues.
• Hamed Jafar-Nejad, Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center; M.D., Tehran (Iran), 1994. Cell biological regulation of developmental signaling pathways.
• Milan Jamrich, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology; Ph.D., Heidelberg (Germany), 1978. Molecular basis of embryonic pattern formation.
• Randy L. Johnson, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; Ph.D., Columbia, 1991. Mouse developmental genetics.
• Monica J. Justice, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Kansas, 1987. Genetic analysis of mouse development and disease.
• Richard L. Kelley, Associate Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Stanford, 1984. Noncoding RNAs and chromatin structure.
• Adam Kuspa, Professor and Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Stanford, 1989. Genomic studies of cell signaling and development in Dictyostelium.
• Mary Ellen Lane, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University; Ph.D., Columbia, 1994. Molecular genetics of embryonic neural development in zebrafish.
• Brendan Lee, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; M.D./Ph.D., SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn, 1993. Human and mouse developmental genetics; cartilage and skeletal development.
• Soo-Kyung Lee, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Neuroscience, Huffington Center on Aging; Ph.D., Chonnam National (Korea), 2001. Transcriptional regulation in CNS development.
• Michael T. Lewis, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center; Ph.D., California, Santa Cruz, 1995. Genetic regulation of mammary gland development and early-stage breast cancer.
• Olivier Lichtarge, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; M.D./Ph.D., Stanford, 1990. Evolutionary studies of sequence, structure, and function in biological macromolecules; bioinformatics.
• Hui-Chen Lu, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics–Neurology and Neuroscience; Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1997. Molecular mechanisms of cortical development.
• Ellen A. Lumpkin, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, and Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 1998. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of mechanosensory transduction in touch and pain receptors.
• Peter Y. Lwigale, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University; Ph.D., Kansas, 2001. Eye development; cellular interactions and molecular regulation of neural crest cells as they form the cornea.
• Mirjana Maletic-Savatic, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; M.D./Ph.D., Belgrade (Serbia), 1996. Imaging and metabolomics and neurogenesis.
• Graeme Mardon, Professor of Pathology, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Neuroscience; Ph.D., MIT, 1990. Neural cell-fate determination, development, and degeneration in Drosophila and vertebrates.
• Martin M. Matzuk, Professor of Pathology, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Molecular and Cellular Biology; M.D./Ph.D., Washington (St. Louis), 1989. Mammalian reproduction, oncogenesis, and development.
• David D. Moore, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Wisconsin–Madison, 1979. Functions of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily.
• Jeffrey L. Neul, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; M.D./Ph.D., Chicago, 1998. Rett Syndrome; the role of MECP2 in the medulla and the regulation of autonomic function.
• Hoang Nguyen, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center; Ph.D., Cornell/Sloan-Kettering, 2002. Skin epithelial stem cell fate maintenance and lineage determination.
• Paul A. Overbeek, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Neuroscience; Ph.D., Michigan, 1980. Transgenic mice; ocular development; transposon-mediated insertional mutagenesis in mice.
• Matthew N. Rasband, Associate Professor of Neuroscience; Ph.D., Rochester, 1999. Role of neuronal-glial signaling in brain development, function, injury, and disease.
• Antony Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2002. Molecular genetics of mammalian microRNAs.
• Jeffrey M. Rosen, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Ph.D., SUNY at Buffalo, 1971. Mammary gland development, stem cells, and breast cancer.
• Gad Shaulsky, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Weizmann (Israel), 1991. Developmental genetics in Dictyostelium; functional genomics; molecular basis of social behavior.
• Ming-Jer Tsai, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Ph.D., California, Davis, 1971. Pancreas and neural development; organogenesis steroid hormone action; prostate cancer.
• Sophia Y. Tsai, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology; Ph.D., California, Davis, 1969. Nuclear orphan receptor in mouse development and organogenesis.
• Thomas F. Westbrook, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Molecular and Human Genetics; Ph.D., Rochester, 2003. Genetic regulation of human tumorigenesis and hematopoiesis.
• Hui Zheng, Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Neuroscience, Huffington Center on Aging; Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1990. Molecular genetics of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Zheng Zhou, Associate Professor of Biochemistry; Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine, 1994. Clearance of apoptotic cells in C. elegans.
• Huda Y. Zoghbi, Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular and Human Genetics, and Neuroscience and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; M.D., Meharry Medical College, 1979. Pathogenesis of polyglutamine neurodegenerative diseases and Rett syndrome; genes essential for neurodevelopment.
• Thomas P. Zwaka, Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Molecular and Human Genetics, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center; M.D./Ph.D., Ulm (Germany), 2000. The nature of embryonic stem cell pluripotency.

Correspondence and Information

Baylor College of Medicine, BCM 225
Graduate Program in Developmental Biology
One Baylor Plaza
Houston, Texas 77030
Telephone: 713-798-7696
Email: cat@bcm.edu