Genetics and Molecular Biology

The Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology (GMB) at Emory University offers an exciting broad based training in the fields of genetics, epigenetics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, cell biology, and developmental biology. Research interests of the faculty vary in topic, approach and model organism. This interdepartmental graduate program derives its faculty from various medical research departments, including The Departments of Human Genetics, Biology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Microbiology & Immunology, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Pharmacology, and the Winship Cancer Institute. A wide range of research opportunities addressing critical biomedical questions related to human disease enable students to specialize in their area of interest while obtaining an essential foundation in genetics.

Research programs of the faculty fall into six major areas:

• Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression
• Development and Differentiation
• Cancer Genetics and Biology
• Human and Medical Genetics
• Bioinformatics and Comparative Genomics
• Genome Structure, Replication, Recombination And Repair

In addition to the general Laney Graduate School requirements, the Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences has several additional requirements that provide students with skills that are often overlooked in graduate training programs, but that are essential for success in academic or industrial research careers.

• Rotations: Students usually choose three faculty members with whom they would like to do a laboratory rotation. This allows the student the opportunity to interact with three faculty members and learn about different areas of research before selecting an advisor.
• Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunity (TATTO): Students take a course that provides workshops on syllabus writing and grading, lecturing and leading discussions, the use of writing as a pedagogical tool, the conduct of lab sessions, and the use of new technologies. A Teaching Assistantship follows, where the student is carefully monitored in an initial teaching opportunity.
• On Recent Discoveries by Emory Researchers (ORDER): The ORDER program allows graduate students to teach about their research to undergraduate freshmen and seniors.
• Seminars: Students are given the opportunity to hear outstanding scientists present their research in seminars, and the students also develop their own communication and presentation skills when they give seminars on their own research.
• Grant Writing: Several programs require that their students prepare a PhD research dissertation proposal in the form of a National Institutes of Health or National Science Foundation research grant application.
• Qualifying Exams (oral, written)

Course List

• BCDB Foundations I
• BCDB Foundations II
• Introductory Graduate Seminar
• Laboratory Rotations
• Advanced Graduate Seminar
• Directed Study
• Dissertation Research
• Current Topics In Bioscience
• Introduction to Prokaryotic Molecular Genetics
• Basic Mechanisms of Neurological Diseases
• Medical Scientist Training Course
• Virology
• Cellular and Developmental Neuroscience
• Current Topics in Molecular Genetics
• Grant Writing & Professional Development
• Hypothesis Design & Scientific Writing
• Grant Writing & Professional Development
• Cancer Biology I
• Cancer Biology II
• Neuroanatomy and Systems Neuroscience
• Frontiers in Neuroscience
• Introduction to Molecular & Systems Pharmacology I
• Introduction to Miolecular and Systems Pharmacology II
• Computational Neuroscience
• Behavioral Neuroendocrinology
• Drug Metabolism and Toxicology
• Grant Writing for Molecular & Systems Pharmacology
• Statistical Design and Analysis of Experiments
• Molecular Biology and Evolutionary Genetics
• Concepts of Immunology
• Grant Writing & Professional Development
• Introduction to Research
• Presenting Genetics
• Genetics Seminar: Molecular Biology & Genetics of the Visual System
• Biology of the Eye
• Basic Biomedical and Biological Sciences I
• Basic Biomedical and Biological Sciences II
• Model Genetic Systems
• Eukaryotic Chromosome Organization & Function
• Cancer Clinical Colloquium
• Principles of Anti-infectives
• Essentials of Animal Experimentation
• Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
• Cerebral Cortex: Structures and Systems
• Quantitative Methods in Population Biology, Ecology and Evolution
• Population and Quantitative Genetics
• Evolutionary Biology
• Ecology
• Thesis Research: Master’s Level
• Laboratory Animal Pathology and Problem-based Learning
• Biology Management & Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents
• Biology, Management & Medicine of Nonhuman Primates & Exotic Species
• Advanced Graduate Research
• Human Ion Channelopathies (How Good Channels Go Bad)
• Neuropharmacology
• Genetics of Bacterial Pathogenicity
• Molecular Toxicology
• Regulation of Cell Growth
• Infection and Immunity
• Graduate Human Genetics
• Current Topics in Immunology
• Advanced Topics in Bioscience
• Cancer Pharmacology
• Annual Reviews of Immunology
• Advanced Topics in PBEE
• Ethical Conduct of Research in the Pharmacological Sciences
• Techniques in Experimental Neuroscience
• Neuroscience: Professional Development, Communication and Ethics

• A strong undergraduate background in the physical, biological, or behavioral sciences.
• A cumulative average of B+ or better in major science courses.
• High motivation for a career in biological or biomedical research.
• Strong letters of recommendation (three are required).
• A thoughtfully written Statement of Purpose that includes information on why you want to attend graduate school, any research interests you may have, and details on any prior research experience, including the extent to which you were intellectually and independently involved in your research project.
• All applicants (including international applicants) must submit official scores from the Graduate Record Examination General Test (GRE). Scores must not be more than five years old. Our institution code is 5187 and there is no department code.
• International applicants whose native language is not English must also complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Scholarships

All students admitted to the GDBBS receive a support package that includes:

• Stipend Support: $29,000 for the 2016-2017 academic year. The stipends of students who are successful in applying for individual fellowships covering at least 75% of their stipend receive a $2,000 supplement to their stipend for the length of the award. Click here for details on financial support (a PDF with stipend rates is on the right in the More Information section, under "Stipends").
• Transition Award: $500 for the 2016-2017 academic year. A one-time transition award is provided to all new students for their first semester. The award is posted to their student account and can be used to pay school fees to help minimize what new students have to pay when they first arrive on campus.
• Tuition Scholarship: $52,100 for the 2016-2017 academic year. The tuition scholarship covers 100% of the cost of tuition. Students are responsible for paying their student fees (about $300 per semester) unless otherwise covered by a fellowship. Click here for details on tuition and fees (a PDF with tuition and fees is on the right in the More Information section, under "Tuition, Fees, and Scholarships").
• Health Insurance Subsidy: $3,030 for the 2016-2017 academic year. The health insurance subsidy covers 100% of the cost of the Emory/Aetna Student Health Insurance Plan. Click here for details on the health insurance plan.

Emory Competitive Fellowships

Emory offers several fellowships to outstanding applicants each year. The Programs nominate applicants for these fellowships. There are no additional forms for the applicant to complete, but all application material must arrive by the deadline date.

• The George W. Woodruff Fellowship (Woodruff) is the most prestigious fellowship offered by the Laney Graduate School and is awarded to exceptional students who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. The fellowship covers all tuition and fees and provides a $5,000 supplement to the standard GDBBS stipend for the five year length of the award.
• The Emory Graduate Diversity Fellowship (EGDF) promotes the diversity of the graduate student body. As a community we recognize that students from groups not traditionally present in the university bring new perspectives that enrich the fields of graduate study and enhance the educational experience of all students. Many individuals have the potential to expand the methodologies, the topics of research, and applications of various disciplines because of their unique background. Eligible students may belong to a specific ethnic group, race, culture, socioeconomic group, or gender traditionally underrepresented in their proposed field of of study, or possess other qualities that will enhance the diverse community of scholars in the Laney Graduate School. The Laney Graduate School considers each applicant's promise of making a notable contribution to their incoming class by exhibiting particular strengths or characteristics, including a unique intellectual achievement, employment experience, nonacademic performance, or personal background. The fellowship covers all tuition and fees and provides a $5,000 supplement to the standard GDBBS stipend for the five year length of the award. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible.
• The Laney Graduate School Fellowship (LGSF) is offered by the Laney Graduate School in conjunction with the GDBBS Programs. The fellowship provides a $2,500 supplement to the standard GDBBS stipend for five years. All interviewed applicants are eligible for the award.