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PhD or MA in Physiology or Biophysics

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine offers programs leading to the PhD or MA in Physiology or Biophysics. Each program stresses laboratory training and original research performed under the direction of a faculty member, as well as satisfactory performance in graduate coursework.

In the first and second years of both the PhD and MA programs, a core curriculum of Foundations in Biomedical Sciences courses is supplemented with biophysics and physiology. The program emphasizes flexibility and individual choice. In the first year, students do research rotations in the laboratories of 2–3 (MA) or 3–4 (PhD) faculty members to gain firsthand knowledge of a variety of research areas.

At the end of the first year, students select a degree advisor and continue research toward the MA or PhD degree. In the second year students continue to take courses and PhD students must pass a qualifying exam. Throughout their training, students also participate in a weekly department seminar series and report their research progress annually at a student seminar day.

Learning Outcomes

All students graduating with the PhD in Physiology or Biophysics from the Chobanian & Avedisian SOM are expected to:

Generate an original body of work in the biomedical sciences that reflects critical thinking and independent thought.

Demonstrate competencies in advanced research skills.

Develop the ability to communicate in both written and oral methods within their chosen field of expertise with both specialists and nonexperts.

Demonstrate a commitment to professional development and continued learning in their chosen field.

All students graduating with the MA in Physiology or Biophysics from the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine are expected to:

Generate an original body of work or a library thesis in physiology or biophysics that reflects critical thinking and independent thought.

Demonstrate competencies in research skills or library research skills.

Develop the ability to communicate through written documents within their chosen field of expertise with both specialists and nonexperts.

Demonstrate a commitment to professional development and continued learning in their chosen field.

Purpose and Background

The department, under the aegis of Dr. Venetia Zachariou as chair, brings together active faculty members to provide excellence in research and graduate education. Research interests in the department span the modern areas of cellular physiology and molecular biophysics, with strong concentrations in structural biology, vision research, muscle physiology, neurophysiology, and the biology and physical chemistry of proteins, lipids, and lipoproteins. Faculty members are nationally and internationally recognized as leaders in their areas of research. The department provides flexible graduate programs with pathways either leading toward a degree in physiology or in biophysics. The department offers these two programs in a strong, collegial environment to encompass and promote the diverse overlapping research of all members of the department.

The goal of our programs in Physiology or Biophysics is to produce graduate students who understand the thermodynamic, chemical, electrical, and structural aspects of biological systems at the atomic level and in the context of the cell and organism. The training across scientific and medical disciplines provides graduates the advantage of learning physiology and biophysics in the context of the regulation of homeostasis and pathogenicity of the cell, and of the organism as a whole. Graduates will be able to communicate and collaborate effectively with a broad range of disciplines ranging from medical personnel to chemists, engineers, and physicists.