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Detailed Information

Programs of Study

SUNY Upstate’s research on Disorders of the Nervous System focuses on three areas: neurobiology of behavioral disorders, disorders of the visual system, and neural injury, neurodegeneration, and repair. These areas have been selected to build on current research strengths.

Neurobiology of Behavioral Disorders: SUNY Upstate boasts a substantial group of basic and clinical researchers with diverse expertise in the neurosciences, molecular genetics and epigenetics, behavioral science, and brain imaging as they relate to the development and manifestation of several behavioral disorders. These include ADHD, schizophrenia, autism, VCFS, and FASD. Environmental influences are under study, including the possible link between ADHD and prenatal exposure to PCBs and nicotine.

Disorders of the Visual System: A significant component of the research within the larger Vision Group is dedicated to understanding retinal development and function. These studies attempt to determine the underlying mechanisms responsible for blindness and visual impairment due to injury, developmental abnormalities, and disease. The group is committed to the translation of basic research into practical treatments for blinding diseases, including the use of gene therapy and the stem cell–based tools of regenerative medicine.

Neural Injury, Neurodegeneration, and Repair: The strength in neural injury focuses on the niche area of cauda equina (CE) injury and repair. CE injury represents about 20 percent of all spinal cord damage, is under-studied, and is most amenable to repair/recovery. The current expertise is in basic cellular and systems neurobiology as well as translational rehabilitation studies with injured patients. Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, are areas that are being built at SUNY Upstate.

Research Facilities

SUNY Upstate’s growth on the research side is highlighted by a $72-million expansion of its Institute for Human Performance, a high-tech facility for shared laboratories and core facilities used in basic and clinical research.

SUNY Upstate has world-class facilities for students. Core facilities on campus include the Bioluminescence Imaging Core, Center for Bioresearch Imaging, Center for SCID-hu Mouse Models of Viral Diseases and Cancer, Computer Modeling Resources Facility, DNA Core Facility, Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Proteomic Core Facility, Research Imaging: MRI and MicroCT Facility, and SUNY Microarray Core Facility (SUNYMAC), as well as equipment and instrumentation for biophysical analysis, electron microscopy, systematic genetic analysis, and X-ray crystallography. SUNY Upstate maintains a coalition with nearby Cornell University, the University of Rochester Medical Center, and Buffalo’s Roswell Park Cancer Institute, dedicated to sharing cutting-edge research facilities. Full research support services on campus include laboratory-animal facilities, network access to SeqWeb software, a computer-age medical library containing more than 183,000 volumes, electronics and machine shops, and photographic and computer services.

Financial Aid

All accepted Ph.D. students are fully supported throughout their education by full tuition waivers and a stipend ($21,514 per year). Support comes from graduate assistantships, departmental assistantships, and NIH, NSF, and other grants. There are no mandated TA duties; students are not required to teach for the stipend (although students can pursue teaching opportunities, if they wish.)

Cost of Study

Stipends and full tuition waivers are available for all students accepted into the Ph.D. program. (There is no teaching requirement.) Student fees, which include a health service fee, are $552 for the 2008–09 academic year. Tuition and fees for master’s students for the 2008–09 academic year are $7452 for in-state students and $11,472 for out-of-state students.

Living and Housing Costs

On-campus housing is available in Clark Tower, with attractive, fully furnished standard rooms, studio apartments, and two-bedroom suites. Costs ranged from $4127 (standard room, double occupancy) to $8618 (married/family accommodations, one-bedroom apartment) for the academic year 2007–08. Many graduate students rent houses or apartments within a mile of the campus and bicycle or walk to and from campus. The cost of living in Syracuse is lower than the national average, and there is abundant, affordable local housing.

Student Group

Among SUNY Upstate’s four colleges, there are 127 graduate students in the biomedical sciences (58 percent women; 100 percent full-time) and approximately 600 medical students, 200 nursing students, and 200 students in the health professions enrolled at Upstate Medical University. Twenty-five percent of the graduate students come from Canada, Europe, and Asia. Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science are located within a quarter mile of the University, resulting in a population of approximately 23,000 students in the immediate area.

Location

Syracuse is New York’s fourth-largest city and is located in the center of the state. A naturally beautiful setting, the area offers excellent hiking, biking, boating, and skiing. Syracuse’s cultural activities include a professional theater, symphony, opera, several top-notch music festivals (classical, blues, and jazz), and museums. Nearby Syracuse University’s sporting events are a major recreational activity. Syracuse is easily reached by air, rail, and car.

The University

SUNY Upstate is the only academic medical center in the Central New York region and is part of the dynamic University Hill community. In addition to the College of Graduate Studies, SUNY Upstate Medical University includes three other colleges–Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions–its own University Hospital, and a clinical campus in Binghamton, New York. The University is growing, with new leadership, degree programs, and further plans for expansion. SUNY Upstate Medical University is close to downtown Syracuse and is adjacent to (but not affiliated with) the campus of Syracuse University. Students mention the friendly atmosphere and supportive faculty members who treat them as colleagues.

Applying

The College of Graduate Studies at SUNY Upstate does not have an application deadline; however, application review begins in December and continues until all positions are filled, which can be as early as April. SUNY requires a $40 application fee. Minimum requirements are a bachelor’s degree or equivalent and course work that includes biology, mathematics (preferably calculus), physics, and chemistry (organic and inorganic). GRE General Test scores are required, and scores from the Subject Test in chemistry or biology are recommended. International applicants must provide evidence of English proficiency (including speaking) by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

The Faculty and Their Research

• Robert B. Barlow, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor. Neural basis of visual behavior; computational models of neural coding; circadian and metabolic modulation of human visual sensitivity.
• Blair Calancie, Ph.D., Professor. CNS plasticity after trauma; intraoperative electrophysiology.
• Peter Calvert, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Molecular mechanisms of protein transport and localization in retinal neurons; mechanisms of retinal degenerative diseases.
• David Cameron, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Regeneration and development of the retina.
• Gregory Canute, M.D., Associate Professor. Genetics and gene therapy of brain tumors.
• Russell G. Durkovic, Ph.D., Professor. Examination of processes underlying recovery from spinal cord injury in the salamander.
• Stephen J. Glatt, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Psychiatric epidemiology and genetics.
• Charles J. Hodge, M.D., Professor. Mechanisms of cortical plasticity and cortical reorganization after injury.
• James W. Holsapple, M.D., Associate Professor. Study of visual association cortex.
• Huaiyu Hu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Molecular studies of brain malformations.
• Burk Jubelt, M.D., Professor. CNS acute and chronic polio- and entero-virus infections.
• Wendy Kates, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Anatomic and functional imaging investigations of neurodevelopment in individuals with genetic or psychiatric disorders.
• Dilip Kittur, M.D., Professor. Xenotransplantation; endothelial cell dysfunction; use of herbal products in transplant biology.
• Barry Knox, Ph.D., Professor. Visual transduction; gene expression; membrane proteins.
• Michael J. Lyon, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Age-related changes in the laryngeal muscles and vocal folds.
• Paul Massa, Ph.D., Professor. Genetic regulation of glial cell differentiation.
• Russell Matthews, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Role of glycoproteins in oncogenesis and brain development.
• James S. McCasland, Ph.D., Professor. Cortical plasticity; development of somatotopic representations in cortex.
• Michael M. Meguid, M.D., Adjunct Professor. Neurophysiological regulation of food intake.
• Frank Middleton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Molecular basis of cortical–basal ganglia and cortical-cerebellar circuit and dysfunction in neurological and psychiatric disease.
• Michael Miller, Ph.D., Professor and Chair. Factors that regulate the proliferation, migration, and survival/death of neurons in the developing brain; models of fetal alcohol syndrome, autism, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
• Sandra Mooney, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cell death and survival in the developing brain; mechanisms of ethanol toxicity; models of fetal alcohol syndrome and autism.
• Brad Motter, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor. Visual neurophysiology; visual attention; visual search behavior.
• Eric Olson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of cerebral cortex development.
• Dawn Post, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cancer treatment, using oncolytic viruses and gene therapy.
• Dennis J. Stelzner, Ph.D., Professor. CNS regeneration; spinal cord injury research; neural plasticity.
• Nikolaus M. Szeverenyi, Ph.D., Professor. Magnetic resonance imaging; image analysis.
• Daniel Ts’o, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Neuronal mechanisms of visual perception, studied through physiological, anatomical, and functional imaging techniques.
• Mary Lou Vallano, Ph.D., Professor. Neuronal survival and development.
• Richard D. Veenstra, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of connexin-specific gap junctions; gap-junction channel biophysics.
• Brent Vogt, Ph.D., Professor. Structure, functions, and pathologies of cingulate cortex.
• Richard J. H. Wojcikiewicz, Ph.D., Professor. Intracellular signaling via InsP3 receptors and the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway.
• Steven Youngentob, Ph.D., Professor. Olfactory neural plasticity in adults; olfactory signal transduction; in utero ethanol experience and olfactory system plasticity; peripheral and central mechanisms of odorant quality coding.
• Michael Zuber, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Molecular basis of retinal stem cell formation; regulating retinal stem/progenitor cell proliferation; using retinal stem/progenitor cells to heal the injured or degenerating retina.

Correspondence and Information

State University of New York Upstate Medical University
College of Graduate Studies
750 East Adams Street
Syracuse, New York 13210
Telephone: 315-464-4538
Fax: 315-464-4544
Email: biosci@upstate.edu