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Translational Biomedical Science

Education / Graduate Education / PhD Programs / Translational Biomedical Science / Curriculum

 

Curriculum

Translational Biomedical Science (TBS) PhD Program of Study

 

We have designed the PhD TBS curriculum to provide fundamental knowledge of translational science and skills, basic science, biostatistics, and public health. TBS trainees emerge from the program ready to pursue productive research careers in academia, government, and industry. 

PLEASE NOTE: This is the current curriculum, which is applicable for all trainees enrolled in the program from Fall 2022 onward. For current PhD TBS trainees who commenced program enrollment prior to Fall 2022, please contact your Graduate Coordinator with your year of enrollment for a copy of your specific curriculum.

 

TBS Core Curriculum


Translational Skills Core (6-7 credits) – must complete all courses in this core

  • IND501 Ethics & Professional Integrity (1 credit) – fall
  • IND436 TBS Student Seminar (1 credits) – each semester
  • PM403 Research Team Science Seminar (1 credit) – spring
  • IND439 Leadership Management for Scientists (2 credits) – spring
  • IND417 Workshop in Scientific Communications (1 credit) – spring

 

Translational Science Core (7 credits) – must complete three courses

  • One of the following:

    • PM488 Experimental Therapeutics (3 credits) – fall
    • BST465 Design of Clinical Trials (3 credits) – spring
    • PM485 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics (3 credits) - fall
  • Two of the following:
    • BME431 FDA & Intellectual Property (2 credits) – fall
    • BME432 Navigating FDA Regulatory & Commercialization Landscapes (2 credits) – spring (prerequisite: BME431)
    • ​MBI403 Drug Discovery (2 credits) – spring
 

Basic Science Core (10 credits) – must complete both courses consecutively

  • IND431 Foundations Modern Biology I (5 credits) – fall
  • IND432 Foundations Modern Biology II (5 credits) – spring
 
Public Health Core (6 credits) – must complete PM415 and one other course
  • PM415 Principles of Epidemiology (3 credits) – fall or spring
  • One of the following:
    • PM426 Social and Behavioral Medicine (3 credits) – spring
    • PM445 Introduction to Health Services Research (3 credits) – fall
    • PM486 Medical Ecology in Global Context (3 credits) – spring
    • PM493 Health Policy Lab (3 credits) – fall
 

Biostatistics Core (3-4 credits) – must complete one course

  • BST463 Intro to Biostatistics (3 credits) – fall
  • BST467 Applied Biostatistics (3 credits) – spring
  • BST430 Introduction to Statistical Computing (4 credits) – fall
  • DSCC462 Computational Introduction to Statistics (4 credits) – fall
 
First-year Laboratory Rotations (9 credits) – complete rotations during first two semesters
  • Fall semester (5 credits) – approx. 15 hours per week in lab
  • Spring semester (4 credits) – approx. 12 hours per week in lab
 
Electives & Concentrations – choose one of the following options
  • General electives (three courses, 3-4 credits each, not taken as part of TBS core curriculum)
  • Bioinformatics Concentration (8-9 credits)
  • Clinical Research Methods Concentration (9 credits)
  • Computational Science Concentration (11-12 credits)

 

Concentrations

 

The PhD in Translational Biomedical Science offers three degree concentrations to choose from. Electing a concentration is not required; however, if you do complete a concentration, it will be listed on your diploma upon graduation.

 

Bioinformatics Concentration (8-9 credits)
  • REQUIRED – IND484 Current Topics in Bioinformatics Research (1 credit)
  • Choose one of the following:
    • IND419 Introduction to Quantitative Biology (3 credits)
    • BCH521 Bioinformatics for Life Scientists (4 credits)
    • BIO457 Applied Genomics (4 credits)
    • PM410 Intro to Data Management & Analysis with SAS and R (3 credits)
    • STAT476 Statistical Computing in R (4 credits)
  • Choose one of the following:
    • BST432 High Dimensional Data Analysis (4 credits)
    • BST434 Genomic Data Analysis (4 credits)
    • PM477 Advanced Programming in SAS and R (3 credits)
    • One (1) concentration-related, four-credit course at Program Director's discretion
 
Clinical Research Methods Concentration (9 credits)
  • Choose three of the following:
    • PM413 Field Epidemiology (3 credits)
    • PM416 Advanced Epidemiologic Methods (3 credits)
    • PM419 Recruitment and Retention of Human Subjects in Clinical Research (3 credits)
    • PM445 Introduction to Health Services Research (3 credits) *cannot be applied to concentration if already taken for public health core*
    • PM458 Qualitative Health Care Research (3 credits)
    • One (1) concentration-related, three-credit course at Program Director's discretion
​​​
Computational Science Concentration (11-12 credits)
  • REQUIRED – CSC440 Data Mining (4 credits)
  • Choose two of the following:
    • CSC442 Artificial Intelligence (4 credits)
    • CSC444 Machine Reasoning (4 credits)
    • CSC446 Machine Learning (4 credits)
    • CSC447 Natural Language Processing (4 credits)
    • One (1) concentration-related, four-credit course at Program Director's discretion