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Course Catalog	Faculty	PhD Programs

Detailed Information

Program of Study

The Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) offers an accredited graduate training program, which leads to the Ph.D. degree, to a select group of self-motivated students of outstanding ability and intellect. The curriculum takes advantage of the unique and flexible environment of CSHL and includes the following innovative features: approximately four years from matriculation to Ph.D. degree award, broad representation of the biological sciences, a first year with course work and laboratory rotations in separate phases, emphasis on the principles of scientific reasoning and logic, continued advanced course instruction throughout the graduate curriculum, and two-tier mentoring.

The program provides an exciting and intensive educational experience. The curriculum is designed to train self-reliant students who, under their own guidance, can acquire and assimilate the knowledge that their research or career demands require. The course work is varied, involving core courses, focused topic courses, and CSHL postgraduate courses.

The current fields of research expertise of CSHL faculty members are genetics, cellular and molecular biology, structural biology, developmental biology, virology, protein chemistry, cell-cycle regulation, plant genetics, electrophysiology, behavior, imaging, bioinformatics, computational neurobiology, and genomics. The laboratories of all CSHL research faculty members are available to students in the program.

Requirements for the award of the Ph.D. degree are successful completion of all course work, laboratory rotations, teaching (at the Laboratory’s Dolan DNA Learning Center), the Ph.D. qualifying exam, thesis research and postdoctoral proposals, and defense of a written thesis that describes original research. The program aims to train future leaders in the biological sciences.

Research Facilities

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has state-of-the-art facilities for research in genetics; molecular, cellular, and structural biology; neuroscience; cancer; plant biology; and bioinformatics. As a National Cancer Institute–designated Cancer Center, there is an extensive set of shared resources. There are several libraries and one archive on campus. Library services, such as database searching and reference and interlibrary loan services, are available. An information technology department provides campuswide support of computing.

Financial Aid

The Watson School of Biological Sciences supports each student with an annual stipend, health benefits, affordable housing, subsidized food, and funds for tuition and research costs. To enhance their careers, students are encouraged to seek independent funding through predoctoral fellowships from, for example, the National Science Foundation.

Cost of Study

The Watson School of Biological Sciences provides full remission of all tuition fees for all accepted students. The School also supports the stipend and research costs of each student for four years.

Living and Housing Costs

The Laboratory provides affordable housing to all graduate students through a network of on-site and off-site housing. Single graduate students are offered single rooms in shared houses with house-cleaning services; married students are housed in apartments. First-year students of the Watson School are offered housing in the Townsend Knight House, a renovated house from 1810 that is located on the shore of Cold Spring Harbor opposite the Laboratory.

Student Group

The class size is approximately 10 to 15 students per year. The entering class of 2009 included students from the United States, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Poland, and Singapore. The Laboratory aims to produce graduates in the biological sciences who are likely to become leaders in science and society.

Location

The Laboratory is located on the wooded north shore of Long Island, 35 miles east of Manhattan in New York City, and offers many amenities, both cultural and recreational. Recreational activities at CSHL include a fitness room, tennis and volleyball courts, a private beach, sailboats and windsurfers, and many quiet back roads for running or walking. Students may also attend classical music performances and art exhibitions sponsored by the Laboratory for scientists and the neighboring community.

The Laboratory

Since its inception in 1890, CSHL has been involved in higher education and is today a world leader in biology education. The CSHL Press publishes internationally recognized books and journals. The Dolan DNA Learning Center educates students and teachers about the world of DNA. The Undergraduate Research Program, started in 1959, hosts exceptional undergraduates from around the world for a summer research experience. CSHL is also involved in education at the highest levels through a postgraduate program of twenty-five advanced courses in biology and many large and small international conferences. These meetings and courses attract 8,000 scientists annually to the Laboratory. The Laboratory has also been involved in graduate education leading to the Ph.D. degree for more than twenty-five years, particularly through shared graduate programs with Stony Brook University.

Applying

Applicants must have received a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university or college prior to matriculation. Admission is based on the perceived ability of the applicant to excel in this doctoral program, without regard to gender, race, color, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or marital status. Suitable applicants are assessed on the basis of their academic record, recommendations from their mentors, and an on-site interview. Students should ensure that the school receives all application materials (transcripts, examination scores, letters of recommendation, etc.) no later than December 1 for the following fall term. Early application is advisable. Further information about the School and the application procedure may be requested by mail or obtained from the Web site at http://www.cshl.edu/gradschool.

The Faculty and Their Research

• Research Faculty
• Gurinder Singh Atwal, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Cornell, 2002. Population genetics; bioinformatics; cancer; stochastic processes; statistical mechanics and information theory.
• Josh Dubnau, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Columbia, 1995. Learning; memory; genetics; behavior.
• Mikala Egeblad, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., Copenhagen, 2000. Tumor microenvironment; intravital imaging; tumor-associated myeloid cells; breast cancer.
• Grigori Enikolopov, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), 1978. Signal transduction in neurons; development; gene expression; nitric oxide.
• Hiro Furukawa, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Tokyo, 2001. Structural biology; neurodegenerative diseases; intramembrane proteolysis; ion channels; membrane proteins; X-ray crystallography.
• Thomas Gingeras, Professor; Ph.D., NYU, 1976. Organization and regulation of eukaryotic transcription; classification and function of non–protein coding RNAs.
• Gregory Hannon, Professor; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve, 1992. Growth control in mammalian cells.
• Z. Josh Huang, Professor; Ph.D., Brandeis, 1994. Neuroscience; experience-dependent development and plasticity of the neocortex; mouse genetics.
• David Jackson, Professor; Ph.D., East Anglia (England), 1991. Plant development; genetics; cell-to-cell mRNA and protein trafficking.
• Leemor Joshua-Tor, Professor and Dean; Ph.D., Weizmann (Israel), 1991. Structural biology; X-ray crystallography; molecular recognition; transcription; proteases.
• Adam Kepecs, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Brandeis, 2002. Decision-making; neural circuits; behavioral electrophysiology; theoretical neuroscience; neuroeconomics.
• Alexei Koulakov, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Minnesota, 1998. Theoretical neurobiology; quantitative principles of cortical design.
• Adrian R. Krainer, Professor; Ph.D., Harvard, 1986. Posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression; pre-mRNA splicing mechanisms; alternative splicing; RNA-protein interactions; cell-free systems.
• Yuri Lazebnik, Professor; Ph.D., St. Petersburg State, 1986. Apoptosis; caspases; cancer chemotherapy; proteases.
• Bo Li, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., British Columbia, 2003. Neuroscience; glutamatergic synapse; synaptic plasticity; schizophrenia; depression; rodent models of psychiatric disorders.
• Zachary Lippman, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Watson School of Biological Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 2004. Plant development; genetics; flowering; inflorescence architecture; sympodial growth, phase transition, heterosis; quantitative genetics.
• Scott Lowe, Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1994. Modulation of apoptosis, chemosensitivity, and senescence by oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes.
• Robert Lucito, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., NYU, 1993. Genomic analysis of cancer.
• Robert Martienssen, Professor; Ph.D., Cambridge, 1986. Plant genetics; transposons; development; gene regulation; DNA methylation.
• W. Richard McCombie, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1982. Genome structure; DNA sequencing; computational molecular biology; Human Genome Project.
• Alea A. Mills, Associate Professor; Ph.D., California, Irvine, 1997. Functional genomics; tumorigenesis; development.
• Partha P. Mitra, Professor; Ph.D., Harvard, 1993. Neuroinformatics; theoretical engineering; animal communications; neural prostheses; brain imaging; developmental linguistics.
• Pavel Osten, Associate Professor; M.D., Charles University (Prague), 1991; Ph.D., SUNY Downstate Medical Center, 1995. Neurobiology of autism and schizophrenia; gene expression-based mapping of brain activity; anatomical mapping of brain connectivity; high throughput microscopy.
• Darryl J. Pappin, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Leeds (United Kingdom), 1984. Proteomics; mass spectrometry; protein chemistry.
• Scott Powers, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Columbia, 1983. Cancer gene discovery; cancer diagnostics and therapeutics; cancer biology.
• Jonathan Sebat, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Idaho, 2002. Copy number variation; segmental duplication; genetics; neurogenetics; ROMA; microarray.
• Stephen Shea, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Chicago, 2004. Olfaction; audition; communication behaviors; in vivo electrophysiology; individual recognition.
• Jacek Skowronski, Associate Professor; M.D., 1980, Ph.D., 1981, Lodz (Poland). HIV pathogenesis; nef gene; signal transduction; protein sorting; animal models.
• Raffaella Sordella, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Turin, 1998. Molecular therapeutics; signal transduction.
• David L. Spector, Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers, 1980. Cell biology; nuclear structure; microscopy; pre-mRNA splicing.
• Arne Stenlund, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Uppsala (Sweden), 1984. Papillomavirus; cancer; DNA replication.
• Bruce Stillman, President and CEO; Ph.D., Australian National, 1979. DNA replication; chromatin assembly; biochemistry; yeast genetics; cancer; cell cycle.
• Marja Timmermans, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers, 1996. Plant development; axis specification; homeobox genes; stem cell function.
• Nicholas Tonks, Professor; Ph.D., Dundee (Scotland), 1985. Posttranslational modification; phosphorylation; phosphatases; signal transduction; protein structure and function.
• Lloyd Trotman, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Zurich, 2001. Molecular mechanisms of tumor suppression; cancer modeling and treatment; molecular cancer visualization; PTEN regulation.
• Glenn Turner, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Caltech, 2000. Neural coding; learning and memory; sensory processing; Drosophila; electrophysiology.
• Linda Van Aelst, Professor; Ph.D., Leuven (Belgium), 1991. Signal transduction; Ras and Rac proteins; tumorigenesis; metastasis.
• Doreen Ware, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Ohio State, 2000. Computational biology; comparative genomics; genome evolution; diversity; gene regulation; plant biology.
• Michael Wigler, Professor; Ph.D., Columbia, 1978. Cancer; genomics; oncogenes; signal transduction; Ras; yeast genetics.
• Anthony Zador, Professor; M.D./Ph.D., Yale, 1994. Computational neuroscience; synaptic plasticity; auditory processing; cortical circuitry.
• Michael Zhang, Professor; Ph.D., Rutgers, 1987. Computational genomics; nucleic acid pattern recognition; gene expression.
• Yi Zhong, Professor; Ph.D., Iowa, 1991. Neurophysiology; Drosophila; learning and memory; neurofibromatosis; signal transduction.
• Non-Research Faculty
• Alexander A. F. Gann, Editorial Director, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; Ph.D., Edinburgh, 1989.
• Terri Grodzicker, Assistant Director, Academic Affairs; Ph.D., Columbia, 1969.
• John R. Inglis, Executive Director, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; Ph.D., Edinburgh, 1976.
• David A. Micklos, Executive Director, DNA Learning Center; M.A., Maryland, 1982.
• David J. Stewart, Director, Meetings and Courses; Ph.D., Cambridge, 1988.
• Jan A. Witkowski, Executive Director, Banbury Center; Ph.D., London, 1972.

Correspondence and Information

Ms. Dawn Meehan
Director of Admissions and Student Affairs
Watson School of Biological Sciences
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
P.O. Box 100
One Bungtown Road
Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724
Telephone: 516-367-6911
Fax: 516-367-6919
Email: gradschool@cshl.edu