Graduate Programs in Biomedical Sciences

The four Ph.D. - granting programs in the biomedical sciences at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine share a first-year core curriculum.

Group photo of the current core program participants

Current Biomedical Science Students

First-year courses focus on the basic biochemical, molecular, cellular and organismal aspects of the biomedical sciences, preparing you for more intensive, individualized instruction that will be unique to the discipline you choose to study in the following years.

Instructors come from all four Ph.D. programs. Their charge is to introduce you to the most recent findings and the methodologies used to study major issues in their fields. Coursework includes didactic lectures, small-group problem-solving sessions, student presentations and hands-on research experience.

Active seminar programs in all departments and programs provide broad exposure to the wide scope of biomedical research and introduce you to potential future employers or collaborators. Our emphasis is on the preparation of technically skilled and thoughtful scientists for diverse careers in academia, industry or government.

Learn More About Graduate Study in the Biomedical Sciences

Diversity

The Saint Louis University School of Medicine is committed to the importance of diversity. We seek to immerse our graduate and medical students in a training atmosphere that prepares them for the practice of medicine in a multicultural America. We strive to demonstrate this inclusiveness in the classroom and in all areas of our admissions practices, academic advising, student services and activities, curricular offerings and administrative policies. Our goal is to produce well-rounded and culturally competent professionals who will respectfully serve their diverse communities.

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion oversees the School of Medicine’s efforts to promote inclusion for the graduate and medical school community. Programs, events and initiatives are designed to raise awareness, inspire action, support equitable employment and cultivate a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Visit the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Applications and Financial Aid

You must complete both the classified graduate school application and the graduate program in biomedical sciences application to be considered for our Ph.D. programs.

SLU Graduate School Application

Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences Supplemental Application

Email to completed graduate program in biomedical sciences application to Katherine Kornuta at katherine.kornuta@health.slu.edu

Financial aid is available and all first- and second-year students receive a nationally competitive, student stipend, as well as tuition waivers and health insurance. Stipends, health benefits and tuition costs are the responsibility of your advisor or doctoral program during the final years of your graduate study and are most commonly provided by research grants or contracts.

Colloquiums

The biomedical sciences colloquiums are scheduled every Wednesday at noon. Unless otherwise announced, all colloquium sessions will be held in Auditorium B of the Learning Resource Center.

CORE Graduate Program Colloquiums Schedule

Date	Presenter	Paper
1/8/2020	Lisa Hagena	Membrane Cholesterol Efflux Drives Tumor-Associated Macrophage Reprogramming and Tumor Progression Pieter Goossens, et al., 2019, Cell Metabolism 29, 1376–1389 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.02.016
1/15/2020	Fatma Mufti	Activation of the Intrinsic Pain Inhibitory Circuit from the Midcingulate Cg2 to Zona Incerta Alleviates Neuropathic Pain Ting-Ting Hu, et al., J. Neurosci., November 13, 2019 • 39(46): 9130 –9144 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1683-19.2019
1/29/2020	Haley Carlson	Effects of microbiota-directed foods in gnotobiotic animals and undernourished children Jeanette L. Gehrig, et al., Science 365, 139 (2019) DOI: 10.1126/science.aau4732
2/12/2020	Alex Dickson	GILT restricts the cellular entry mediated by the envelope glycoproteins of SARS-CoV, Ebola virus and Lassa fever virus Danying Chen, et al., Emerging Microbes & Infections 2019, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2019.1677446
2/26/2020	Cassie Kukla	High-risk human papillomavirus oncogenes disrupt the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway by impairing localization and deubiquitination of FancD2 Sujita Khanal, et al., PLoS Pathog 15(2): e1007442 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1007442
3/4/2020	Garrett Sorg	Small molecule inhibition of IRE1α kinase/ RNase has anti-fibrotic effects in the lung Maike Thamsen, et al., PLoS ONE 14 (1): e0209824 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209824
3/18/2020	Molly Woodson	Ebola virus-mediated T-lymphocyte depletion is the result of an abortive infection Patrick Younan, et al., PLoS Pathog 15(10): e1008068 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008068
3/25/2020	Matt Jellinek	Reversing diet-induced metabolic dysregulation by diet switching leads to altered hepatic de novo lipogenesis and glycerolipid synthesis Greg M. Kowalski, et al., Scientific Reports \| 6:27541 DOI: 10.1038/srep27541
4/22/2020	Katie Phelps	IL-13 secreted by ILC2s promotes the self-renewal of intestinal stem cells through circular RNA circPan3 Pingping Zhu, et al., Nature Immunology \| Vol. 20 \| February 2019 \| 183–194 \| https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-018-0297-6

Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. in LRC Auditorium B (unless indicated otherwise)

All students, staff and faculty are encouraged to attend. The schedule for the spring semester is distributed in December. There are 11 presentations by the first-year core students, leaving some open dates for volunteers. Any faculty member, post-doctoral fellow or senior graduate student who would like to present in the spring should contact Willis K. Samson, Ph.D. at willis.samson@health.slu.edu.