Detailed Information
Programs of Study
The Department of Physiology offers the degree of Ph.D. in molecular, cellular, and systemic physiology. This program emphasizes training in research and is designed to prepare students for research and teaching careers. These degrees provide advanced training in many subdisciplines, including mammalian and cellular physiology, molecular biology, endocrinology reproduction, neurobiology, pharmacology, and human anatomy.
Students in the Ph.D. program spend their first year taking courses and rotating through various laboratories to become familiar with the research specializations within the program. By the end of the first year, students should have selected a research mentor and begun working in their field of concentration. In the second year, students are involved in a combination of course work and research. A comprehensive written and oral preliminary examination focusing on their area of concentration is taken at the end of the second year. The remainder of their study is spent doing dissertation research, which typically takes 2 to 2½ years after passing the comprehensive examination. While all students must acquire competence in their knowledge of mammalian physiology, most research projects focus on the cellular and molecular level of physiology. Areas of research emphases within the program include molecular biology, molecular endocrinology, reproductive biology, cell physiology, and neuroscience. The course of study, as well as the dissertation research, is highly individualized to meet the students’ goals. At some time during the course of study, all graduate students are required to serve as a teaching assistant.
Research Facilities
The Department of Physiology is housed in Life Sciences II and Life Sciences III on the Carbondale campus. Life Sciences II contains spacious general laboratory facilities. Life Sciences III is a modern, well-equipped research facility with graduate student offices, individual faculty laboratories, and several shared cores. Faculty laboratories and these cores contain equipment for state-of-the-art research in molecular, cellular, and systemic physiology, including electrophysiology, patch clamp studies, cell culture, reporter gene expression, HPLC, DNA sequencing and genomics, confocal and fluorescence microscopy, real-time and conventional PCR, fluorescence polarization, filmless storage phosphor autoradiography, and electrophoresis. Departmental resources also include ultracentrifuges, scintillation and gamma counters, and robotic equipment. A modern state-of-the-art vivarium for research animals is conveniently located for use by both buildings in Life Sciences III, and the Electron Microscopy and Digital Imaging Center is in an adjacent building. Research shops for making or redesigning equipment are also available nearby on campus.
Financial Aid
The Department of Physiology offers financial assistance to qualified students accepted into the graduate program. Funding comes from a variety of sources, including departmental teaching assistantships, research assistantships from grants obtained by members of the graduate faculty, and University fellowships, which are applied for directly by students. Additional financial aid information may be found at http:www.siu.edu/gradschl/finaid.htm. Each assistantship includes a stipend and tuition waiver as described below.
Current stipends are $21,864 for a 50 percent appointment in the Ph.D. program, and $17,232 for students in the master’s program. The stipend is for twelve months of support and includes a full tuition waiver and a 25 percent reduction in the Primary Care Medical Fee. Graduate students on a 25 percent graduate assistantship will receive a 9-hour tuition waiver.
Cost of Study
In-state graduate tuition is $328 per credit hour in 2009–10. Out-of-state tuition is 2.5 times the in-state tuition rate ($820 per credit hour). Graduate students with at least a 25 percent appointment as a graduate assistant receive a tuition scholarship. Fees vary from $589.03 (1 credit hour) to $1557.50 (12 credit hours). Students with a graduate assistantship receive a 50 percent reduction in the primary care medical fee. New graduate students from Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee qualify for the alternate tuition rate, which is equivalent to the in-state graduate tuition rate.
Living and Housing Costs
For married couples, students with families, and single graduate students, the University has 690 efficiency and one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments that rent for $499 to $720 per month in 2009–10. Residence halls for single graduate students are also available, as are accessible residence hall rooms and apartments for students with disabilities.
Student Group
The Department of Physiology currently has 20 students enrolled in the graduate program: 13 M.S. and 7 Ph.D. students. Five to six percent of the students are international and 50 percent are men. Annually, 3 to 5 new students are admitted. All of the full-time students (94 percent) receive financial aid.
Student Outcomes
Ph.D. graduates typically go on to a postdoctoral research appointment before moving to a permanent position as a professor at a university. Many become research scientists in government or industrial laboratories, where they often become directors.
Location
Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) is 350 miles south of Chicago and 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. Nestled in rolling hills bordered by the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and enhanced by a mild climate, the area has state parks, national forests and wildlife refuges, and large lakes for outdoor recreation. Much of the area is a part of the 240,000-acre Shawnee National Forest. Cultural offerings include theater, opera, concerts, art exhibits, and cinema. Educational facilities available for the families of students are excellent.
The University
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a comprehensive public university with a variety of general and professional education programs. The University offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees as well as the J.D. and M.D. degrees. The University is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Graduate School has an essential role in the development and coordination of graduate instruction and research programs. The Graduate Council has academic responsibility for determining graduate standards, recommending new graduate programs and research centers, and establishing policies to facilitate the research effort. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a state-funded university founded in 1869. The Department of Physiology is part of the School of Medicine.
Applying
Applications should be requested from the address given in this In-Depth Description and submitted no later than April 15 for fall admission. Early applications receive priority for funding consideration. An undergraduate degree in biology or chemistry is preferred for entering students. Admission to the master’s program requires a minimum GPA of 3.0, while the Ph.D. program requires a minimum GPA of 3.25. Students requesting direct entry to the Ph.D. program from a bachelor’s program should have a minimum GPA of 3.5. All applicants are required to submit a GRE General Test score. International students must also submit a TOEFL score of at least 570.
Students interested in financial assistance should request the appropriate application forms from the address given in this description. Priority for financial assistance is given on the basis of academic performance.
The Faculty and Their Research
- Lydia A, Arbogast, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Indiana, 1988. Neuroendocrinology; hypothalamic control of prolactin secretion; cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of hypothalamic neuronal activity.
- Brent M. Bany, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Western Ontario, 1997. Molecular biology of the uterus and conceptus-uterine interaction during implantation.
- Andrzej Bartke, Professor; Ph.D., Kansas, 1965. Reproductive endocrinology; aging.
- Ronald A. Browning, Professor; Ph.D., Illinois, 1971. Neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of seizures.
- Michael W. Collard, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Washington State, 1987. Mouse models of cancer and epigenetic gene regulation.
- Buffy S. Ellsworth, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Colorado State, 2002. The role of forkhead transcription factors in pituitary gland development and tumorigenesis.
- James S. Ferraro, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Health Sciences-Chicago, 1984. Reproductive and circadian physiology, and sexual behavior.
- Kanako Hayashi, Research Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Iwate University (Japan), 2002. Cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating uterine development and ovarian cancer.
- Jodi I. Huggenvik, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Washington State, 1985. Characterization of protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions important in normal development and the dysregulation of these interactions in cancer.
- James A. MacLean II, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Missouri–Columbia, 2000. Gene regulation in male and female gonadal development and gametogenesis.
- Laura L. Murphy, Professor; Ph.D., Medical College of Georgia, 1983. The use of complementary medicines in the treatment of breast and colon cancers.
- Prema Narayan, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Minnesota, 1984. Reproductive endocrinology; cellular and molecular mechanisms of gonadotropin mediated gonadal development and infertility using genetically modified mouse models.
- Peter Patrylo, Associate Professor; Ph.D., University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School/Rutgers, 1991. Plasticity of local neuronal networks.
- April D. Strader, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Wisconsin–Milwaukee, 2002. Obesity and diabetes; mechanisms underlying post-gastric bypass resolution of type-II diabetes; gender differences in melanocortin regulation of body weight.
Correspondence and Information
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Chair, Graduate Program Committee
Department of Physiology
Mail Code 6512
Life Science II 245
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
Telephone:
618-453-1544
Fax:
618-453-1517
Email:
physiology@som.siu.edu
