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Program Information

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Detailed Information

Programs of Study

The Department of Biological Sciences offers programs of study leading to Ph.D., M.S., and M.A. degrees, with specializations in molecular biology, genetics, biological chemistry, cell biology, evolutionary biology, developmental biology, plant science, physiology (cellular, comparative, and endocrine), bioinformatics, neuroscience (molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral), skeletal muscle, and sensory transduction.

The Ph.D. and M.S. programs are designed to give the student a comprehensive understanding of living organisms and the background and experience required for carrying out independent research. While course work is required, the emphasis of these programs is on research training. A faculty adviser, assigned to each entering student, is responsible for advising the student on the appropriate course work for the first year of study. By the end of the second semester, Ph.D. students select a research adviser, and by the fourth semester of study, they must pass an examination that includes the preparation of an original research proposal and an oral exam covering the proposal and areas of biology pertinent to their studies.

A weekly seminar program with distinguished national and international speakers provides students with the latest information on current biological research.

Research Facilities

The Department is exceptionally well equipped for research and teaching. The research laboratories are housed in a modern building, with such adjunct facilities as instrument shops, animal quarters, and a greenhouse. Major instrumentation and equipment are available, including a 750-MHz NMR spectrometer, fluorescence and electron microscopes, and phosphorimagers.

The Department has extensive computer resources. Programs for protein and nucleic acid sequence analysis, molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations of macromolecules are accessible through high-quality graphics terminals and desktop microcomputers. Mainframe computer access is provided to all graduate students.

Financial Aid

Most graduate students qualify for financial assistance in the form of fellowships, traineeships, and research or teaching assistantships. For 2009–10, Ph.D. appointments provide stipends that range from $22,000 to $28,000 per calendar year, plus full tuition costs. In addition, employer-paid health-care insurance covering medical, dental, and vision services is provided for all stipend-supported students and their dependents.

Cost of Study

Graduate tuition in 2009–10 is $328 per credit, or $3940 per semester, for 12 or more credits for in-state students and $552 per credit, or $6625 per semester, for out-of-state students. Fees are additional. Most Ph.D. and M.S. students in the Department are covered by a full-tuition scholarship.

Living and Housing Costs

There are moderately priced ($350 to $650 per month) apartments on and in the vicinity of the campus. Assistance in finding campus housing can be obtained from the University Residence Halls and Apartments Office at 866-285-8806 (toll-free). Assistance in finding off-campus housing can be found at http://www.subboard.com/sbi-och.

Student Group

Total enrollment at the University exceeds 27,000, with total enrollment of part- and full-time graduate and professional students in excess of 9,000. The Department of Biological Sciences enrolls about 60 full-time graduate students from around the world.

Student Outcomes

Graduates of the doctoral program are routinely successful in securing excellent postdoctoral and professional positions. Recent graduates have accepted positions at many outstanding institutions, including NIH, Princeton University, Yale University, NIEHS, Harvard University, and Scripps Institute.

Location

University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, is located in the second-largest city in New York State. The city is conveniently located near outstanding boating, swimming, hiking, camping, and skiing areas. Only a short drive away are the cities of Toronto and Niagara Falls and the world-famous Stratford (Canada) Shakespeare Festival. The cultural attractions of Buffalo include the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, science and historical museums, several permanent professional theater companies, and numerous amateur theater groups. Buffalo also has several professional sports teams, including football, hockey, and minor-league Triple-A baseball.

The University and The Department

Founded in 1846 as the University of Buffalo, the University at Buffalo is today the largest single unit and the most comprehensive graduate center in the State University of New York system. Graduate enrollment, faculty recruitment, research, and public service programs receive significant University support. The pace of these achievements has been greatly accelerated by the University’s strategic planning initiative, which has provided increased funding for research and facility improvement.

There are currently 28 Departmental faculty members. Faculty members regularly collaborate with colleagues in many departments, as well as those of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences (http://www.bioinformatics.buffalo.edu). Funded research in the Department is currently more than $4 million annually. The research interests of the faculty members are listed in the Faculty and Their Research section.

Applying

To be considered for special University fellowships that supplement the regular assistantships, applications must be received by January 15. These fellowships provide substantial additional support, so all students are encouraged to apply by January 15. All other applications for admission to the program and for financial assistance should be filed by February 15. Applications should be submitted online by selecting the desired biological sciences degree at http://www.gradmit.buffalo.edu. All students are expected to be proficient in the use of spoken and written English. Results of the TOEFL are required for all international applicants.

The Faculty and Their Research

• Biological Chemistry of Nucleic Acids and Gene Expression
• Richard R. Almon, Professor; Ph.D., Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Molecular mechanisms of hormone action; quantitative models that describe the integrated influence of neural, hormonal, mechanical, and nutritional factors in control of muscle protein mass.
• Ronald Berezney, Professor; Ph.D., Purdue. Cell biology; proteins of the nucleus; role of the nuclear matrix in DNA replication; major proteins that constitute the nuclear matrix structure.
• James O. Berry, Professor; Ph.D., Iowa State. Molecular biology of gene expression in plants.
• Jeremy A. Bruenn, Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley. Fungal viruses; replication and transcription of yeast and Ustilago maydis viral dsRNAs; synthesis of killer toxins.
• Debra DuBois, Research Associate Professor; Ph.D., SUNY at Buffalo. Molecular mechanisms of muscle atrophy/hypertrophy.
• Paul Gollnick, Professor; Ph.D., Iowa State. Protein-RNA interactions involved in regulating the trp operon in Bacillus.
• Kiong Ho, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Cornell. Eukaryotic gene expression; RNA processing and repair.
• Margaret Hollingsworth, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Colorado. RNA-protein complexes involved in chloroplast gene expression.
• Gerald B. Koudelka, Professor and Chair; Ph.D., SUNY at Buffalo. DNA-protein interactions; DNA structure, transcriptional regulation, and bacterial pathogenesis.
• James R. LaFountain, Professor; Ph.D., SUNY at Albany. Cell biology; physiology of mitosis, meiosis, and cell motility; chromosome movements that occur during mitosis and meiosis of behavior and locomotion.
• Stefan Roberts, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Sheffield. Mechanisms of transcriptional regulation in mammalian cells.
• Grayson Snyder, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Harvard. Physical chemistry of disulfide exchange reactions; protein folding and protein engineering; structure of the AIDS virus envelope protein.
• Michael Yu, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., UCLA. Arginine methylation; chromatin structure and gene regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• Sensory Transduction, Cell Signaling
• Mary A. Bisson, Professor; Ph.D., Duke. Plant physiology; water balance; membrane transport.
• Paul J. Cullen, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Washington (St. Louis). Signal transduction and cell polarity.
• Denise M. Ferkey, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle). Chemosensation and signal transduction in C. elegans.
• Charles R. Fourtner, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan State. Neurobiology; invertebrate neurophysiology; role of the nervous system in initiating and controlling behavior in invertebrates, particularly the arthropods.
• Stephen J. Free, Professor; Ph.D., Stanford. Regulation of gene expression in lower eukaryotes; structure and regulation of genes for extracellular hydrolases in Neurospora.
• Shermali Gunawardena; Ph.D., Arizona. Role of axonal transport in regulating neuronal viability and neurodegenerative diseases.
• Todd Hennessey, Professor; Ph.D., Wisconsin–Madison. Excitable membranes of Paramecium; cellular mechanisms involved in controlling membrane excitability and ciliary beating, using the unicellular eukaryote Paramecium as a simple model system.
• Christopher Loretz, Associate Professor; Ph.D., UCLA. Physiological mechanisms of osmoregulation; characterization of membrane and transepithelial electrolyte transport processes in vertebrates.
• Kathryn F. Medler, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Louisiana State. Physiological regulation of cell signaling mechanisms in chemical sensory systems.
• Scott Medler, Research Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Louisiana State. Cellular and molecular physiology of muscles.
• Randall Shortridge, Associate Professor; Ph.D., North Texas. The study of visual transduction in Drosophila and phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C–mediated signaling mechanisms, using a combination of genetic, biochemical, molecular, and physiological approaches.
• Matthew Xu-Friedman, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Cornell. Synaptic physiology and neuronal computation in the auditory brain stem.
• Evolutionary Biology
• Victor Albert, Empire Innovation Professor; Ph.D., North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Genomic, developmental, and genetic approaches to understanding problems in plant evolutionary biology.
• Katharina Dittmar, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., D.V.M., Leipzig. Genetic basis of adaptive evolution.
• Clyde F. Herreid, Distinguished Teaching Professor; Ph.D., Penn State. Physiological ecology; comparative physiology; animal behavior; energetics and hormonal regulation.
• Charlotte Lindqvist, Research Assistant Professor, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Molecular genetic analyses to understanding processes and patterns of morphological and genetic diversification in natural populations, particularly plant (adaptive) radiations.
• Derek J. Taylor, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Guelph. Evolutionary biology; molecular systematics; ecology of freshwater invertebrates.

Correspondence and Information

University at Buffalo, the State University of New York
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Biological Sciences, 109 Cooke Hall
Buffalo, New York 14260-1300
Telephone: 716-645-2363
Fax: 716-645-2975
Email: ub-biosci@buffalo.edu