Detailed Information
Programs of Study
Diabetes, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases are commonly linked chronic diseases that share basic molecular and cellular mechanisms.
A major research goal at SUNY Upstate Medical University is to understand processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis responsible for degenerative changes that occur in these chronic diseases. An understanding of cellular signaling mechanisms, environmental influences, response to stress, and hormonal secretion is important.
An integrative and interdisciplinary approach to diabetes, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases is underway. This brings together existing strengths in biochemical signaling, electrical signaling, arrhythmogenesis, high-resolution imaging (both in vitro and in vivo), developmental cell biology, and environmental science.
A critical goal is to develop therapeutic approaches to reverse–and prevent–degenerative changes that develop with these diseases. Cell migration, tissue remodeling, immune surveillance, wound repair, angiogenesis, and a better understanding of metabolic pathways are vital and under study.
Research related to regeneration (including stem cells) genetics as well as the study of innovative pharmacological therapies and approaches for the treatment and prevention of these degenerative disorders are important and span investigations from bench to bedside.
SUNY Upstate has vast experience and expertise in clinical and translational research related to diabetes and metabolic diseases. Considerable laboratory expertise exists in the areas of cardiac electrical signaling, arrhythmogenesis, and developmental and regenerative cell biology.
Coordination of interactive major core research facilities is largely in place. These cores significantly aid basic science, translational, and clinical studies of progressive degenerative diabetic, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases and their prevention or tissue restoration by novel molecular and pharmacological therapies.
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
- Jeffrey Amack, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Genetics and cell biology of organ morphogenesis during embryonic development.
- Charles Antzelevitch, Ph.D., Pharmacology.
- 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.
- Scott D. Blystone, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Actin cytoskeletal dynamics in the leukocyte inflammatory phenotype.
- Dipak Dube, Ph.D., Professor. Molecular mechanism of cardiac myofibrillogenesis in vertebrates.
- Jeffrey C. Freedman, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Membrane physiology in normal and sickle human red blood cells; optical indicators of membrane potential and intracellular calcium; membrane biophysics.
- Steven Goodman, Ph.D., Professor and Dean. Proteomic assessment of sickle cell severity.
- George G. Holz, Ph.D., Professor. Molecular pharmacology and physiology of pancreatic beta cells; drug development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Grant Kelley, M.D., Associate Professor. Elucidating the regulation of PLC-epsilon and its role in glucose signaling and endothelial cell function in diabetes.
- Mira Krendel, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Physiological functions of myosin motors and their roles in diabetic kidney disease and cancer.
- Michael M. Meguid, M.D., Adjunct Professor. Neurophysiological regulation of food intake.
- Arkadii Pertsov, Ph.D., Professor. Biophysical mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias; fluorescence imaging.
- Thomas J. Poole, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Vascular development and the alignment of growing nerves and blood vessels in quail and zebrafish embryos.
- Jean M. Sanger, Ph.D., Professor. Analysis of the assembly of the actin/myosin cytoskeleton in muscle and nonmuscle cells.
- Joseph W. Sanger, Ph.D., Professor and Chair. Cellular analysis of the formation of myofibrils, stress fibers, and cleavage furrows in living cells.
- Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., Professor. Molecular genetics of kidney stones.
- Joseph A. Spadaro, Ph.D., Professor. Electromagnetic and mechanical regulation of bone physiology; skeletal growth and bone density.
- Christopher E. Turner, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of cell migration by focal adhesion adapter proteins and their role in cancer cell metastasis.
- Richard D. Veenstra, Ph.D., Professor Regulation of connexin-specific gap junctions; gap-junction channel biophysics.
- Richard J. H. Wojcikiewicz, Ph.D., Professor. Intracellular signaling via InsP3 receptors and the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway.
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
