Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences

Detailed Information

The Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences (GSBMS) of New York Medical College offers programs leading to the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology, cell biology, experimental pathology, microbiology and immunology, pharmacology, and physiology plus an interdisciplinary M.S. degree in basic medical sciences. The full-time faculty of 83 basic medical scientists, with their individual and collaborative research programs, their great depth of knowledge, and their classroom experience and expertise, offer a special opportunity to those with the requisite talent and motivation. These assets are supplemented by the College’s plentiful access to experts–in clinical research, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, and public health–who can participate in the graduate school’s research and educational activities.

Ph.D. degrees are awarded in six basic medical sciences. During the first year, students undertake an interdisciplinary core curriculum of courses and rotate through laboratories throughout the Graduate School. After this first year, students choose their major discipline and dissertation sponsor, complete the remaining didactic requirements in the chosen discipline, and begin intensive research training. Formal course work is usually substantially completed within two years, after which the student completes the qualifying exam, forms a dissertation advisory committee, presents a formal thesis proposal, and devotes his or her primary effort to the dissertation research project.

The M.S. requires completion of 30 to 32 credits, depending upon the discipline and specific track. Two M.S. degree sequences are available: (1) a research program consisting of 25 didactic and up to 5 research credits and a research thesis or (2) a program consisting of 30 of 32 didactic credits and a scholarly literature review. The M.S. degree is earned full- or part-time in evening classes. The interdisciplinary M.S. program is particularly suitable for students wishing to prepare for a career in medicine, dentistry, or other health professions. An accelerated track within this program allows completion of the degree requirements within one year for highly qualified candidates.

The Department of Cell Biology offers training in cell biology and neuroscience leading to careers in academia and industry. Ongoing research includes studies of oncogene expression and cytokines; the role of astrocytes in cerebral ischemia; modulation of neuronal and astrocytic signaling; growth control in skeletal muscle; signal transduction in a variety of tissues, including platelets, the retina, muscle cells, and the Drosophila nervous system; intracellular protein trafficking and degradation; cytoskeletal and receptor function; the development and regeneration of the visual system; apoptosis in glaucoma; extracellular matrices and limb development; oocyte preservation and transplantation; spinal cord injury; molecular mechanisms of neuroplasticity; learning and memory; and Alzheimer’s disease.

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology provides students with a solid foundation in the concepts and applications of modern biochemistry and molecular biology. Areas of research include protein structure and function, enzyme reaction mechanisms, mechanisms of hormone action and cell signaling, enzymology, mechanisms of DNA replication and repair, cell-cycle regulation, molecular biology of cancer cells, mechanisms of nutrition and cancer prevention, molecular neurobiology and studies of neurodegenerative disorders, and the aging process.

The Department of Pathology offers a vigorous multidisciplinary milieu for training in experimental pathology. The programs focus on the comprehensive study of pathogenic mechanisms of human disease. Areas of interest in the department include apoptosis, cell signaling and gene activation in cardiovascular disease, flow cytometry and cell-cycle analysis, tumor cell biology and immunology, biochemical toxicology, carcinogenesis, tissue engineering, tuberculosis and other chronic infectious diseases, free-radical pathobiology, aging, hypersensitivity, lipid cytokine and growth factor analysis, and environmentally induced pathology.

In the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, the student acquires a broad acquaintance with microbiology, molecular biology, and immunology as well as depth in an elective field. Areas available for thesis research include molecular biology of tumor cells, cancer vaccines, the role of stem cells in cancer, bacterial genetics, pathogenesis of infectious disease, monoclonal antibody synthesis, immune function in AIDS, structure and function of influenza virus antigens, molecular virology, and the biochemistry and genetics of emerging bacterial pathogens.

The Department of Pharmacology emphasizes training in research methods for examining the mechanism of action of drugs at the systemic, cellular, and subcellular levels. Areas of research include the study of renal and corneal metabolism of arachidonic acid by cytochrome P-450 to biologically active metabolites, patch-clamp analysis of ion transport, vasoactive hormones and inflammatory cytokines in hypertension end-organ damage and cardiovascular function. Research studies center on elucidating diabetes, pathophysiologic factors in stroke, cardiac and renal disease, and pharmacological and gene-based therapy for treating these disease states.

The Department of Physiology provides students with an understanding of the function of the body’s cells and organ systems and the mechanisms for regulation of these functions. Research opportunities include cellular neurophysiology, regulation of sleep and awake states, neural and endocrine control of the heart and circulation, microcirculation, the physiology of gene expression, heart failure, cardiac metabolism, and the physiological effects of oxygen metabolites.

The College has an extensive laboratory complex in the basic medical and clinical sciences. The Basic Sciences Building houses the medical sciences library, which maintains 200,000 volumes, an extensive collection of print and electronic journals, and a variety of online databases and search engines. There are also a fully accredited comparative medicine facility, a well-equipped and staffed instrumentation shop, a variety of classrooms, a bookstore, a cafeteria, and student lounges.

Federal and state loan programs are available for M.S. students. Ph.D. students receive tuition remission, medical insurance, and combinations of College fellowships and research assistantships. Inquiries regarding College support should be directed to the Graduate School Admissions Office. The Office of Financial Aid should be consulted for information on federal and state loan programs.

In 2009–10, tuition is $760 per credit, or $12,160 annually, for a full-time master’s student taking 8 credits per semester. The Accelerated Master’s Program has an annual tuition rate of $29,310. Annual Ph.D. tuition is $18,240 before candidacy (first two years) and $4000 after candidacy. Fees range between $40 and $330 per year, depending upon options chosen. Comprehensive medical insurance is available for individual ($3318 annually) student plus spouse ($6,408), or family ($9300) coverage.

A limited number of rooms and apartments are available for graduate students in on-campus College housing. On-campus housing costs range from $720 to $770 per month for furnished suite-style apartments and $550 to $925 for unfurnished single-student apartments. Married housing apartment costs range from $1240 for a one-bedroom apartment, $1250 to $1330 for a two-bedroom apartment and $1490 for a three-bedroom apartment (families with children). Private off-campus accommodations are also available. Students should contact the Director of Housing, Administration Building (phone: 914-594-4832), well in advance of arrival in order to make housing arrangements.

The total College enrollment is 1,414. In fall 2008, there were 52 Ph.D. and 142 M.S. students in the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences.

The College campus is located in the Westchester Medical Center campus, 5 miles from White Plains and 28 miles north of New York City.

New York Medical College, one of the largest medical schools in the country, was established in 1860. Graduate education at the College began informally in 1910. Graduate degrees were offered as early as 1938, and a graduate division was established in 1963.

Applications for admission may be submitted at any time during the year. For optimal review of credentials and consideration for financial aid and housing, however, applications for fall enrollment into Ph.D. programs should be received by February 1. International applicants to the master’s program should complete their application no later than May 1. Specific program requirements are available on the College Web site at: http://www.nymc.edu/Academics/SchoolOfBasicMedicalSciences/Admissions/Requirements.htm. Students may apply online at the College Web site or download a blank application. Paper applications may also be obtained from the Graduate School Admissions Office. M.S. and Ph.D. applicants must submit GRE General Test scores. Applicants for the Accelerated Master’s Program must submit scores for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). International students are required to submit results of the TOEFL. Transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended (undergraduate and graduate) and two letters of recommendation from teachers or scientists personally familiar with the applicant must be submitted directly by the school or recommenders separately.

• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. E. Y. C. Lee, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman: enzymology, structure-function relationships, and regulation of ser/thr protein phosphatases. A. Cooper, Ph.D., Professor: amino acid chemistry and biochemistry; biochemical mechanisms underlying neurological diseases. D. N. Frick, Ph.D., Associate Professor: molecular mechanisms of hepatitis C virus replication and drug resistance; protein expression and purification; structure-based rational antiviral drug design. M. I. Horowitz, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus: interaction of glucose with histones and membrane lipids; properties and characterization of sulfotransferases; nutritional biochemistry. M. Y. W. Lee, Ph.D., Professor: DNA replication, polymerases, and repair; cell-cycle regulation. S. C. Olson, Ph.D., Associate Professor: signal transduction; regulation of phospholipase D pathway by protein kinase C and G proteins. J. Pinto, Ph.D., Professor: the effects of chemopreventive agents, dietary factors, and xenobiotic substances on oxidation/reduction capacity in human cells. E. L. Sabban, Ph.D., Professor: molecular neurobiology; molecular mechanisms of stress; cloning and regulation of gene expression for catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes and neuropeptides. Y. C. Tse-Dinh, Ph.D., Professor and Ph.D. Program Director: protein-DNA interactions; topoisomerase structure and function; gene regulation and DNA supercoiling. B. I. Weinstein, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus: biochemistry of steroid action; metabolism and biologic activity of cortisol; enzyme deficiencies in glaucoma. J. M. Wu, Ph.D., Professor and Master’s Program Director: regulation of gene expression in leukemic and prostate cancer cells; cell-cycle control; chemoprevention by fenretinide and resveratrol. Z. Zhang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor: X-ray crystallography; stem cell factor; quinone reductase 2.
• Cell Biology and Anatomy. J. D. Etlinger, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman: skeletal muscle growth and atrophy; intracellular proteolysis in erythroid and muscle cells; role of proteasomes and ubiquitin; spinal cord injury. P. Ballabh, M.D., Associate Professor: germinal matrix hemorrhage, pericytes. A. B. Drakontides, Ph.D., Professor Emerita: pathogenesis of early and late changes at the neuromuscular junction and skeletal muscle induced by chemical irritants. V. A. Fried, Ph.D., Professor and Graduate Program Director: ubiquitin and cellular regulation; cytoskeletal structure and functions. F. Hannan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor: Drosophila melanogaster; neurofibromatosis; learning and memory; Res; adenylyl cyclase; expression profiles. J. Kang, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor: astrocyte-mediated modulation of inhibitory synaptic transmission; interplay between excitatory and inhibitory synapses; properties of gap junction, K+, and GABA-A channels. M. Kumarasiri, Ph.D., Assistant Professor: protein turnover, ubiquitin-conjugated enzymes. K. M. Lerea, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Interdisciplinary Program Director: mechanisms of signal transduction; role of protein ser/thr kinases and phosphatases in integrin functions and platelet activation. S. A. Newman, Ph.D., Professor: physical and molecular mechanisms of development and evolution; pattern formation in the vertebrate limb; collagen assembly. K. Oktay, M.D., Professor: preservation by freezing and transplantation of oocytes and ovarian tissues to protect these cells from damage due to radiation and chemotherapy. R. Rozental, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor: role of connexins in nervous system development and dysfunction in ischemia and perinatal seizures. T. Sato, M.D., Associate Professor: regulation of calcium in normal and dystrophic skeletal muscles. P. B. Sehgal, M.D., Ph.D., Professor: interleukin-6; p53; gene expression; signal transduction (STAT3). S. C. Sharma, Ph.D., Professor: genetic approaches to regeneration of adult CNS neurons. A. D. Springer, Ph.D., Professor: engineering models of retinal development; optic nerve regeneration. P. K. Stanton, Ph.D., Professor: neuronal plasticity; long-term depression and potentiation of synaptic strength; synaptic functional changes in epilepsy; mechanisms of ischemia-induced delayed neuronal death. G. Suarez, M.D., Research Associate Professor: nonenzymatic protein glycation; sorbitol pathway; cell senescence; diabetic complications; self-assembly of collagens and lens crystallins. R. J. Zeman, Ph.D., Associate Professor: ß2-adrenoceptors in musculoskeletal growth; mechanisms of spinal cord injury; regulation of intracellular calcium.
• Experimental Pathology. P. M. Chander, M.B.B.S., Professor: pathogenesis of renal and vascular damage in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats; pathogenesis of HIV-associated nephropathy. M. Balazy, Ph.D., Professor: biochemistry of arachidonic acid metabolism. Z. Darzynkiewicz, M.D., Ph.D., Professor: development of new methods of cell analysis using flow cytometry; analysis of cell-cycle specificity of antitumor drugs. H. P. Godfrey, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Ph.D. Program Director: mechanisms of pathogenesis in tuberculosis; biomedical mechanisms of delayed hypersensitivity, chronic inflammation, and infectious disease. M. I. Iatropoulos, M.D., Research Professor: comparative mechanisms of toxicity and carcinogenesis. A. M. Jeffrey, Ph.D., Research Professor: toxicology and chronic carcinogenesis. M. Jhanwar-Uniyal, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor: signal transduction, BRCA, p53, cancer, central nervous system in obesity. A. Kumar, Ph.D., Professor: role of renin-angiotensin system in hypertension and atherosclerosis. P. A. Lucas, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor: wound healing and tissue engineering. F. H. Moy, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology and Master’s Program Director: biostatistics and epidemiology, methodology, and applications in environmetrics and risk assessment. F. Traganos, Ph.D., Professor: mechanisms of cell-cycle progression (checkpoints) and cell death (apoptosis) in cell cultures and clinical models. J. H. Weisburger, Ph.D., M.D. (hon.), Research Professor: mechanisms of toxicity and carcinogenicity; mechanisms and role of promoters in major human cancers; role of nutrition in human carcinogenesis; rational means of prevention of cancer, coronary heart disease, and stroke. G. M. Williams, M.D., Professor: mechanisms of carcinogenesis; metabolic and genetic effects of chemical carcinogens. R. E. Zachrau, M.D., Professor: spontaneous and induced tumor-specific, cell-mediated immunity in human breast cancer and its role in development of systemic metastasis and second primary cancers of breast and nonbreast origin.
• Microbiology and Immunology. I. S. Schwartz, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman: molecular pathogenesis of Lyme disease and other emerging bacterial pathogens; functional genomics. R. Banerjee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor: molecular virology and molecular oncology. D. Bessen, Ph.D., Professor: molecular pathogenesis, epidemiology, and evolutionary biology of group A Streptococcus (GAS); role of GAS infection in pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders. D. Bucher, Ph.D., Associate Professor: structure, function, and immunochemistry of viral antigens. F. Cabello, M.D., Professor: microbial genetics; infectious disease; recombinant DNA. R. Dattwyler, M.D., Professor. J. Geliebter, Ph.D., Associate Professor: immunology and molecular biology of prostate cancer. C. V. Hamby, Ph.D., Associate Professor: molecular biology and immunology of human tumors. D. Mordue, Ph.D., Assistant Professor: cellular and molecular strategies used by intracellular pathogens to establish and maintain infection. R. K. Tiwari, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director: tumor immunology and chemoprevention; cellular immunology; immune dysregulation in disease. F. E. Wassermann, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus: virus genetics; epidemiology, bioethics.
• Pharmacology. J. C. McGiff, M.D., Professor and Chairman: neural and hormonal control of circulation and renal function. M. A. Carroll, Ph.D., Professor: renal cytochrome P-450 metabolites of arachidonic acid. N. R. Ferreri, Ph.D., Professor: cytokine production and function in the kidney and vascular smooth muscle. M. S. Goligorsky, M.D., Ph.D., Professor: basic mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction, its prevention and reversal; translation of bench findings to clinical physiology and pharmacology. M. A. Inchiosa Jr., Ph.D., Professor: biochemical pharmacology of muscle. A. Nasjletti, M.D., Professor and Ph.D. Program Co-director: hormonal mediators of blood pressure regulation. C. A. Powers, Ph.D., Associate Professor: neuroendocrinology. J. Quilley, Ph.D., Associate Professor: Interactions of vasoactive hormones and eicosanoids in vascular regulation in diabetes and hypertension. M. L. Schwartzman, Ph.D., Professor and Ph.D. Program Co-director: cytochrome P-450 metabolism of arachidonic acid in inflammation and hypertension. C. T. Stier, Ph.D., Associate Professor and M.S. Program Director: pharmacological protection against vascular damage and stroke. W. Wang, M.D., Professor: regulation of renal electrolytes transport.
• Physiology. T. H. Hintze, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman: cardiovascular functions in chronically instrumented animals. F. L. Belloni, Ph.D., Professor: vascular and cardiac actions of adenosine; biomedical and research ethics. John G. Edwards, Ph.D., Assistant Professor: physiological control of gene transcription; regulation of transcription factors; cardiac hypertrophy; exercise biochemistry and overload alterations of the myocardial phenotype. C. Eisenberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor: phenotypic potential of “adult” stem cells. L. Eisenberg, Ph.D., Associate Professor: molecular mechanisms controlling the phenotypic direction of differentiating stem cells. A. Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physiology: role of estrogens in vascular function. G. Kaley, Ph.D., Professor: control of blood pressure and blood flow. A. Koller, M.D., Professor: regulation of blood flow in the microcirculation. C. S. Leonard, Ph.D., Professor: modulation of mesopontine cholinergic nervous and neocortical interneurons; mammalian oculomotor system in CNS. N. Levine, Ph.D., Professor and Accelerated Master’s Program Director: fluid and electrolyte secretion in the male reproductive system. E. J. Messina, Ph.D., Professor: microvascular control and regulation of smooth-muscle reactivity. C. Ojaimi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor: gene array technology; functional genomics in vascular biology; gene expression of normal and diseased heart. S. S. Passo, Ph.D., Professor: neuroendocrine control of blood pressure. Fabio A. Recchia, M.D., Associate Professor and M.D./Ph.D. Program Director: control of myocardial metabolism; nitric oxide; heart failure; cardiac mechanics and efficiency; coronary circulation. W. N. Ross, Ph.D., Professor: regional properties of neurons. J. Stewart, M.D., Ph.D., Professor: orthostatic hypotension. D. Sun, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor: role of endothelial stress on coronary arteriolar function. C. I. Thompson, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director: renal hemodynamics and GFR control. M. S. Wolin, Ph.D., Professor: vascular regulation via cyclic GMP, metabolites, and oxygen tension.

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