Detailed Information
Programs of Study
SUNY Upstate’s Infectious Disease research enterprise focuses on three areas: host-pathogen interactions, global health and emerging pathogens, and animal model development.
Host-pathogen interactions: These interactions are key in understanding the pathogenesis of human illness from infectious diseases and crosses the field of science to study virulence factors, host-pathogen receptor interactions, and human immunology. SUNY Upstate boasts expertise and resources in this area, including epitope discovery/design for novel methods in vaccine development. This focus area brings this expertise together to develop a unified concept behind host-pathogen interactions.
Global health and emerging pathogens: Diseases that afflict the global community produce a high degree of morbidity and mortality. Many of these diseases are largely preventable and suffer from a lack of diagnostics that provide the ability to diagnose them, lack of adequate therapeutics to treat them, and lack of vaccines to prevent them. This focus encourages innovative thinking and visionary solutions to address current global health problems and those facing the next generation. The broad mission is to share the expertise and resources of SUNY Upstate with collaborators worldwide to conduct research and develop products to promote global health. This is ongoing at an NIH-funded clinic in Kenya, where children with Burkitt’s lymphoma are treated.
Animal model development and stem cell research: The Center for SCID-hu Mouse Models at SUNY Upstate is a unique facility created to foster interdisciplinary scholarship and research focused on developing and using the humanized severe combined immunodeficient (SCID-hu) mouse. The goals of the scientists in this highly specialized center are to better understand disease pathogenesis and to develop preclinical models to test novel anti-virals, vaccines, and chemotherapeutic drugs
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
- Michael H. Cynamon, M.D., Professor. Antituberculosis activity of pyrazinamide.
- Joseph Domachowske, M.D., Adjunct Associate Professor. Pneumovirus pathogenesis.
- Timothy Endy, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor. Understanding the epidemiology and pathogenesis of viral hemorrhagic and encephalitic arboviruses and host-vector interactions.
- Gerold Feuer, Ph.D., Associate Professor. HTLV pathogenesis and Tax function; humanized SCID mouse models of hematopoiesis; lentivirus vectors; KSHV/HHV-8 infection and pathogenesis; SCID-hu immune responses against HIV envelope.
- Jerrie Gavalchin, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of pathogenic antibody production in autoimmune glomerulonephritis; cell-surface receptors for retroviruses.
- Sandra M. Hayes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Determining the roles of gamma/delta TCR structure and signaling potential in gamma/delta T-cell development and function.
- Charles B. C. Hwang, Ph.D., Professor. DNA replication of herpes viruses.
- Burk Jubelt, M.D., Professor. CNS acute and chronic polio- and entero-virus infections.
- Dilip Kittur, M.D., Professor. Xenotransplantation; endothelial cell dysfunction; use of herbal products in transplant biology.
- James Listman, M.D., Assistant Professor. Cytomegalovirus and transplantation.
- Stewart N. Loh, Ph.D., Professor. Mechanism and kinetics of protein folding; structure and function of the p53 tumor suppressor; design of proteins with new or enhanced functions; protein-based molecular switches.
- Paul Massa, Ph.D., Professor. Genetic regulation of glial cell differentiation.
- Jennifer Moffat, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Varicella zoster pathogenesis.
- Andras Perl, M.D., Ph.D., Adjunct Professor. Genes and viruses predisposing to autoimmunity; genetics; apoptosis; endogenous retroviruses; transaldolase.
- Dawn Post, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cancer treatment, using oncolytic viruses and gene therapy.
- Michael F. Princiotta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Antigen processing and presentation; cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response to viral and bacterial infections.
- Rosemary Rochford, Ph.D., Professor and Chair. Etiology of viral-associated malignancies; gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis.
- Edward J. Shillitoe, B.D.S., Ph.D., Professor. Gene therapy for cancer.
- Allen E. Silverstone, Ph.D., Professor. How dioxins and estrogens and estrogenic compounds affect the immune system.
- Steven M. Taffet, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of intercellular communication in the heart; gene expression during macrophage activation.
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
