MCP-PHD - Molecular and Cellular Physiology (PhD)

The Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology is in the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine.

A central goal of physiology in the post-genomic era is understanding how thousands of encoded proteins bring about the highly coordinated behavior of cells and tissues. Research in the department approaches this goal at many levels of organization, ranging from single molecules and individual cells to multicellular systems and the whole organism. The faculty share common interests in the molecular mechanisms of cell signaling and behavior, with a particular focus on structure/function analysis of ion channels and G-protein coupled receptors and their roles at the cellular, organ, and whole-organism levels; the molecular basis of sensory transduction, synaptic transmission, plasticity and memory; the role of ion channels and calcium in controlling gene expression in neural and immune cells; and the regulation of vesicle trafficking and targeting, cell polarity, and cell-cell interactions in the nervous system and epithelia. Research programs employ various approaches, including molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, biophysics, x-ray crystallography, solution NMR, electrophysiology, and in vitro and in vivo imaging with confocal and multi-photon microscopy.

The department offers required and elective courses for students in the School of Medicine and is also open to other qualified students with the consent of the instructor. Training of medical, graduate, and postdoctoral students is available. The program offers a course of study leading to a PhD degree. No BS is offered, and an MS is offered only in the unusual circumstance where a student completes the coursework, rotation, and the written section of the qualifying exam but cannot meet the requirements for the PhD.

Advisors and Advisory Committees

A graduate advisory committee, currently professors Feng, Lewis, Maduke, and Madison, advises students during the period before the formation of their qualifying committees.

Financial Aid

Students may be funded by their advisors' research grants, training grants, department funds, or extramural funds. Students are encouraged to obtain funding from outside sources such as NIH and NSF.