Overview
Program Flexibility in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences Offers Unique Student Benefits
At the University of Buffalo, the entry path to the Ph.D. programs in neuroscience, microbiology and immunology, pharmacology and toxicology, oral biology, structural biology, pathology and anatomical sciences, physiology, and biophysics is the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences (IGPBS). The IGPBS represents a special opportunity for students to establish a broad, deep foundation across a range of biomedical and biological sciences. In this challenging interdisciplinary program students can avail themselves of the various, diverse, leading-edge research efforts in any number of the constituent program areas before they commit to a specific research field. The program flexibility successfully meets the unique needs and interests of graduate students on the last leg of their journey to careers in industry, research, academia, or government.
The IGPBS gives students the opportunity to both study and collaborate with more than 100 active research groups. Trailblazing research projects encompass every aspect and specialty of 21st century biological and biomedical science, and the program flexibility offers students the freedom and the opportunity to acquaint themselves with different specialties, research projects, and faculty members before making a choice. Since many faculty members are associated with more than one department in this interdisciplinary program, IGPBS students can explore a great variety of opportunities before selecting the program that most appeals to them.
Another crucial advantage of IGPBS program flexibility is that students can interact with various research areas and potential mentors during their first-year laboratory rotations prior to choosing their Ph.D. adviser and degree focus. The mentoring aspect of this interdisciplinary program ensures that all students receive uniquely individualized attention and personal guidance throughout their graduate studies. Career development workshops -- as well as ongoing contacts with IGPBS alumni in academia, research labs, industry, government, and nontraditional careers -- help students focus on the ultimate goal of their efforts, whether it be teaching, research, an industry career, or public service.
Following the completion of the first year's interdisciplinary program curriculum, which includes core courses and a range of electives, students will possess the required foundation in fundamental science. Program flexibility then ensures that each student's individual goals and interests are met. Students can then choose a doctoral degree from the many available in IGPBS's interdisciplinary program, and focus their remaining time on their primary research area.
Leading-Edge Research Facilities Keep the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences in the Vanguard
The School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has more than $92 million in funding, ranking it in the top quartile of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) for extramural support. The school also ranks 8th out of 125 AAMC medical schools in the U.S. for its ratio of research dollars to basic science faculty. The UB Center for Computation Research is among the top ten academic supercomputing systems in the nation. Clearly, the IGPBS is a leading program at a leading institution, and the university community, from the administration and staff to the faculty and students, is committed to keeping it first-rate in every way, from textbooks to laboratories.
Major research facilities at the university include a transgenic animal facility, an X-ray crystallography core facility, a DNA microarray and gene chip facility, a high throughput and molecular targeting facility, an electromicroscopy facility, animal MRI, protein and DNA sequencing facilities, 750 MHz NMR, a confocal microscopy and 3-D imaging facility, and a oligonucleotide synthesis facility.
The individual research facilities house state-of-the art equipment required for molecular, biochemical, cellular, genetic, electrophysiological, and behavioral studies undertaken by IGPBS faculty and students. The university library system, ranked in the top 50 academic collections in North America, includes the Health Science Library, conveniently near the School of Medicine and Biomedical Science, and the Science and Engineering Library on the North Campus, which features extensive book and journal inventory.
The campus is completely networked so that students have access to bibliographic databases, manuals and textbooks, full-text electronic journals, drug information resources, and such communication tools as e-mail. In addition, on-site access to the network is available from the libraries, offices, and research facilities, and remote access is available from student housing or off-campus locations. In a way, the interconnectedness of the computing resources parallels the interdisciplinary nature of the IGPBS, with new and different connections and collaborations occurring all the time, sometimes planned but often extemporaneous.
It is the combination of studying, mentoring, hands-on work in the research facilities, and interdisciplinary collaborations that prepares IGPBS students for rigorous scientific enterprises. Whether the students end up as teachers or researchers, in the classroom or the lab, a curriculum that is at once broad and deep will ensure their success by providing a springboard to fulfilling careers in science, public health, medicine, or research.
