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Biology Department

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Detailed Information

Programs of Study

The Department offers a program of study leading to a Ph.D. degree in biology. Basic areas of study include biochemistry, cellular and developmental biology, genetics, cell cycle, vector biology, neurobiology, bioinformatics, and structural biology.

The Ph.D. degree provides an in-depth training experience. Core course work is provided in cell biology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics. Advanced electives are available in all areas of faculty expertise. Seminar courses provide students with ongoing training in critical thinking and oral presentation of scientific data. Research experience is provided by working in close cooperation with faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and senior students in a collaborative, supportive environment. In cooperation with the School of Education, the Master of Science in Teaching (M.S.T.) degree in biology is also offered.

Research Facilities

The Biology Department, with a wing that opened in 2000, occupies more than 30,000 square feet of research space in Higgins Hall. Faculty laboratories have state-of-the-art equipment. Shared facilities include several tissue-culture rooms; common equipment rooms; TEM, fluorescence, and confocal microscopes; X-ray diffraction and a capillary DNA sequencer; machine and electronic workshops; and state-of-the-art computers for online data analysis, production of publication-quality figures, and bioinformatic research and analysis. The university science library subscribes to more than 600 scientific journals. Access to libraries of institutions in the greater Boston area is available through consortium arrangements.

Financial Aid

Graduate assistantships (teaching and research based) are available with full tuition remission. Stipends are $27,000 per calendar year.

Cost of Study

For the 2009–10 academic year, tuition and fees for a full-time student are $1182 per credit, 100 percent of which is covered by tuition remission for students receiving financial aid.

Living and Housing Costs

The Housing Office provides an extensive list of off-campus housing options, including off-campus graduate housing. Most graduate students rent rooms or apartments near Chestnut Hill; many biology students share apartments with other students in the program. Average monthly expenses (rent, food, utilities) for the academic year (nine months) are $2105 for students.

Student Group

The enrollment at Boston College is 14,500, including 4,200 students enrolled in the various graduate schools. There are 43 graduate students in the Ph.D. program. The graduate students are geographically and ethnically diverse.

Location

Boston College is located in the Chestnut Hill section of Newton, an attractive residential area about 5 miles from the heart of Boston, with easy access to the city by public transportation. The Boston area, with its numerous educational and biomedical research institutions, offers countless outstanding seminars, lectures, colloquia, and concerts throughout the year. A wide variety of cultural and recreational opportunities can be found close to the campus.

The College

Founded in Massachusetts in 1863, Boston College currently includes the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and graduate schools of law, social work, management, nursing, and education. Its expanding campus is graced with many attractive Gothic buildings. Boston College has a strong tradition of academic excellence and service to the community.

Applying

Preference is given to completed applications received prior to January 1. Admission is granted on the basis of academic background and demonstrated aptitude in biology and related disciplines. A year of organic chemistry, physics, and mathematics and a solid background in biology are highly recommended for admission. Scores on the Graduate Record Examinations General Test and the Subject Test in biology are required.

The Graduate Research Faculty

• Anthony T. Annunziato, Professor; Ph.D., Massachusetts Amherst, 1979. Biochemistry/molecular biology; DNA replication and nucleosome assembly in mammalian cells.
• David R. Burgess, Professor; Ph.D., California, Davis, 1974. Spatial and temporal regulation of cytokinesis; role of the actin- and microtubule-based cytoskeletons in early development.
• Hugh P. Cam, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Harvard 2003. Epigenetic control of higher-order genome organization and chromatin structures.
• Thomas C. Chiles, Professor and Chairman of Biology; Ph.D., Florida, 1988. Cell biology, signal transduction; cell-cycle control, gene regulation in mature B lymphocytes.
• Jeffrey Chuang, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 2001. Computational approaches to comparative genomics, gene regulation, and molecular evolution.
• Peter G. Clote, Professor; Ph.D., Duke, 1979. Algorithms and mathematical modeling in computational biology: genomic motif detection, protein folding on lattice models, RNA secondary structure, functional genomics via gene expression profile.
• Kathleen Dunn, Associate Professor; Ph.D., North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1982. Plant molecular biology; cloning and characterization of genes induced during alfalfa nodulation.
• Marc-Jan Gubbels, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Utrecht (Netherlands), 2000. Genetics and cell biology of the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii.
• Laura E. Hake, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Tufts, 1992. Molecular control of early development in Xenopus; protein degradation; RNA-protein interactions; translational regulation during gametogenesis.
• Charles Hoffman, Professor; Ph.D., Tufts, 1986. Signal transduction and transcriptional regulation in fission yeast; analysis of PKA and MAPK signal pathways in nutrient monitoring.
• Daniel Kirschner, Professor; Ph.D., Harvard, 1972. Structural biochemistry of amyloids and myelin sheath; neurodegenerative diseases; peripheral demyelinating neuropathies.
• Gabor T. Marth, Assistant Professor; D.Sc., Washington (St. Louis), 1994. DNA polymorphism discovery and analysis; genomic and algorithmic approaches to population genetics; long-term human demography, haplotype structure, and medical genetics.
• Junona Moroianu, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rockefeller, 1996. Cell biology; molecular mechanisms of nucleocytoplasmic transport of cellular and viral macromolecules in mammalian cells.
• Marc A. T. Muskavitch, Professor and DeLuca Chair; Ph.D., Stanford, 1981. Developmental biology: intercellular signaling and cell-fate specification in Drosophila; host-parasite interactions in Anopheles.
• Clare M. O’Connor, Associate Professor and Associate Chair; Ph.D., Purdue, 1977. Cellular biochemistry.
• Janet L. Paluh, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Stanford, 1996. Chromosome and microtubule dynamics in fission yeast; role of mitotic klps, MAPs, and MTOC function in chromosome segregation.
• Donald J. Plocke, Associate Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1961. Molecular biology; structure and function of phytochelatins; metal ions as regulators in microbial systems; metal ion detoxification mechanisms.
• Thomas N. Seyfried, Professor; Ph.D., Illinois, 1976. Neurogenetics: use of genetics and neurochemistry in neural membrane function and developmental neurobiology.
• Kenneth C. Williams, Associate Professor; Ph.D., McGill, 1993. Central nervous system macrophages; neuroAIDS; AIDS pathogenesis; monocyte/macrophage biology.

Correspondence and Information

Boston College
Professor Charles Hoffman
Director, Graduate Program
Biology Department
Higgins Hall
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467-3961
Telephone: 617-552-3540
Email: gradbio@bc.edu