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Graduate Program
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| Academic
Experience |
| The Department of Cell
Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy currently has
16 students
and a diverse collection of
faculty members.
There are also students in our departmental labs from both the Molecular
Biology and Neuroscience graduate programs at the Medical Center.
As members of the Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy graduate program, students have the opportunity to interact
with both clinical and basic science faculty at Loyola, as well as at
the neighboring Hines Veterans Hospital. The department offers programs
leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees, and a dual degree of M.D.-Ph.D. is
also offered to students who are accepted into the Stritch School of
Medicine and the Graduate School. Full tuition remission and stipend
awards are available for accepted Ph.D. and M.D.-Ph.D. students. The
program also accepts non-degree students who want to take a couple
courses while trying to decide on a their degree choice. All
applications are accepted for fall admission only, however the
non-degree applicant can request January admission upon approval of the
Graduate Program Committee. |
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| The basic
curriculum includes Cell Biology,
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Systems Biology, Methods Biology, Immunology, Neuroanatomy,
Histology, Bioethics, Biostatistics & Gross Anatomy. Students have
the opportunity to take other more specialized courses during their
second year of study. In addition to class work, students also
participate in both journal club and the departmental seminar series. |
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| In Journal Club, students closely
interact with each other and a faculty member. Students present recent
journal articles and participate in stimulating research discussions.
During the spring semester, in addition to journal article
presentations, students are also given the opportunity to practice short
talks in an atmosphere similar to that which they will experience at
national and international meetings. Journal club is intended to
facilitate and assist in the development of student’s presentation and
critical reading skills, in addition to adding to their scientific
knowledge. |
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| The
Departmental
Seminar is a
weekly gathering of the entire department as well as guests from outside the department. Visiting speakers
present either a topic of personal interest or a report of
their current research. These gatherings are intended for both
stimulating discussion and as an educational supplement to departmental
research activity. In late May/early June, the Departmental
Graduate Program hosts a Research in Progress retreat at a local venue.
The day is dedicated to short oral presentations by CBN & Anatomy
graduate students from 2nd- final year, including a few minutes of
questions at the end of each presentation. Breakfast and lunch are
provided and it is a very popular meeting both in terms of education and
camaraderie. |
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| Beginning the second semester, during the first year of the graduate program,
doctoral students perform rotations through the laboratories of their
choice. While visiting the laboratories, students closely interact with
the faculty member and other members of the laboratory. They also learn
a diverse set of laboratory techniques. Students are exposed to a
variety of research areas, which they may choose to pursue as a thesis
or dissertation. |
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 After
successful completion of the first three semesters, doctoral students
begin preparing for the comprehensive exams. During the comprehensive
examination, students are challenged in their critical thinking, problem
solving, and their ability to design experiments to investigate a
hypothesis. After submitting the research aims and design of their
project, students defend their work and academic progress in front of a
panel of faculty members.
For the most part,
M.S. students complete their course requirements (24 Credit hours) during their
first year. There is the option of withholding a few credit hours
for the third semester in order to take a course only offered every
other year or one which couldn't be taken during the first semester due
to the Core Curriculum. |
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| The remainder of the student's experience in
the program is dedicated to their own dissertation (Ph.D.) or thesis
(M.S.) research. Students choose a mentor and lab to perform their
research and begin progress towards successful completion of a
dissertation. A dissertation project is developed and approved with the
help of the student's thesis supervision committee. While working on the
dissertation, students continue to participate in both journal club and
the departmental seminar series. The average Ph.D. student successfully
completes their dissertation in a total of 5-6 years and thesis (M.S.)
work is typically completed in 2 years. |
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| Graduate Placement Information |
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Graduates from our MS and Ph.D programs are
competitive in further pursuing their career in biological science. Most
of the MS graduates were successful in getting into Medical Schools such
as University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Loyola University
Chicago, Rush University, Midwestern University of Osteopathic Medicine
and Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. Our Ph.D. graduates
continue their academic career as postdoctoral scientists in strong
academic institutions such as Harvard University, Northwestern, Johns
Hopkins, Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, University of
Arkansas, University of Connecticut, UNC-Chapel Hill and Institute of
Rheumatology, Hammersmith, London; for the last 20 years, we have
generated Ph.D.s who are currently faculty in well know research
institutions such as Harvard, University of Texas at MD Anderson,
Millikin University, Loyola University Chicago, and Bridgewater
College. Our graduates are also successful in pursuing a teaching career
in undergraduate universities or their non-academic careers as a
research scientist in various industries.
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| Research
Environment
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The
Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy offers the students
a stimulating and exciting research atmosphere. Many faculty members in
the department share a common research interest and have ongoing
collaborative research projects. A fees catalog for our
Departmental Tissue Processing Lab
is available on the research portal intranet for the Medical
Center.
Research
collaborative efforts are also ongoing with the faculty of other
departments at Loyola. The strong interaction among the faculty at the
Medical Center promotes and fosters a communication channel through
which the students can also interact to enhance their educational
growth
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| The rich research environment of Loyola
University Medical Center is nationally and internationally recognized
due to such programs as the Neuroscience and Aging Institute, the
Burn-Shock Trauma Institute, the Cardiovascular Research Institute, the
Parmly Hearing Research Institute, and the Oncology Institute, as well
as the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center. The adjacent Hines
Veterans Affairs Hospital, which shares a strong affiliation with Loyola
University Medical Center, offers many other opportunities for research
collaboration. |
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| As a Loyola University Chicago graduate
student, you may access more than one million volumes maintained by the
six university libraries. The Medical Center Health Sciences Library
is a designated resource for the eight-state Greater Midwest Regional
Medical Library Network and the National Network of Libraries of
Medicine, which link health-science libraries throughout the United
States. Through this sophisticated on-line network, computerized
literature searches through thousands of health science databases are
available. Additionally, the Loyola Medical Library Information System
provides faculty, students and staff the capability of searching full
medical and health databases from personal computers in the library,
their offices, or their homes. |
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| The Medical Center offers modern research
facilities equipped with state-of-the-art equipment necessary for modern
biomedical research. Such facilities include: |
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| Molecular Core Resource
Facility: A Collaboration of the Department of Pathology and
the Conservation Medicine Center of Chicago. Services include: DNA
Sequencing Facility, Functional Genomics Core Facility, Image Analysis Facility,
Recombinant DNA Facility, Tissue Culture Laboratory, and Tissue Repository |
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| Fluorescence Activated
Cell Sorter (FACS) Facility: The facility, housed in the Cardinal
Bernardin Cancer Center, is under the direction
of Pat Simms. Equipped with a FacStar Plus cell sorter and another
flow cytometry, the facility provides state-of-the-art technology for
researchers at the Medical Center to analyze and isolate cells. |
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| Core Imaging
Facility: The facility, under the supervision of Dr. John McNulty,
provides access to both scanning and transmission electron microscopy,
as well as a wealth of photography and imaging knowledge and assistance.
A three color confocal facility is also available under the direction of
Linda Fox. |
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| On-Campus
Environment Top |
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| The newest addition to the Medical Center
Campus is the
Center for Health and Fitness.
The modern 62,000 square foot facility is equipped with free weights,
variable resistance equipment, elevated running track, basketball
courts, racquetball courts, lap pool, a wide variety of cardiovascular
equipment, saunas, and hot tubs. In addition to the facilities, the
heath center also offers a wide variety of aerobic classes, nutrition
programs, massage therapy, and personal trainers if desired. All
students are automatically given membership upon matriculation and are
charged at a very low student rate. |
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TGIF's are a favorite event of graduate students and
provide a social environment for students to interact. The event is
organized by the student government, which is also responsible for many
other things such as intramural programs, dances, sports outings, and
other events including those held in cooperation with the medical
students. In addition, various other social activities are scheduled
during the year to encourage faculty, student, and staff interactions.
They include departmental and graduate school picnics, a holiday party,
and a dinner-dance (St. Albert's Day) held in November organized by
Graduate Council. This day includes poster presentations and short
research-in-progress talks by one graduate student per Basic Science
Department, box lunches, with the dinner-dance held at a local banquet
facility in the evening. |
| Housing Opportunities
Top |
| Most graduate students find suitable housing in neighboring
apartments or houses located within 15 minutes of the Medical Center. Popular communities
with medical center students include Oak Park, Berwyn, LaGrange, and
Riverside and Brookfield. Other
students prefer to live in downtown Chicago, which is an easy commute via public
transportation or expressways. The university website for housing is: www.meddean.luc.edu/templates/ssom/studres/aptgazette/search.cfm
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Last
Reviewed: June 2008
SSOM
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