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Overview
The Microbial Biology Program at the University of Utah offers Ph.D. degrees through the Department of Biology. Students must meet the general academic requirements and admissions standards of the Biology Department, but should apply directly to the Admissions Committee of the Microbial Biology Program. Students admitted to the program receive fellowship and tuition support for their first year, during which they take core courses, seminars and laboratory rotation projects with participating program faculty. At the end of their first year, students choose a research advisor and begin their thesis project. Financial support in subsequent years comes from teaching or research assistantships or university or federal fellowships. Program students are expected to complete their Ph.D. thesis work by the end of their fifth year of study. More detailed information on these topics is provided below.
The typical Ph.D. student in the Microbial Biology Program spends a portion of the first year of study in formal coursework, a portion attending research seminars, and a portion exploring research options. Upon arrival, program students are assigned a temporary academic advisor from among the Microbial Biology Program faculty. Students and their advisors will confer and make decisions about coursework (see below) and laboratory rotations. Students usually undertake short research projects in several laboratories during their first year as a means of gaining experience and information useful in choosing a thesis advisor. Students are expected to select a thesis advisor no later than the end of their first year.
Students in the Microbial Biology Program can take courses taught by University of Utah faculty across the entire campus, including courses associated with the interdepartmental graduate programs in Molecular Biology and in Biological Chemistry (see below). Students should be aware that course offerings are dynamic. Not all classes are offered every year, but new courses not listed below will undoubtedly emerge as well. Students, in consultation with their advisor(s), are encouraged to consider course opportunities across campus that will best meet their particular academic goals and complement their thesis research. Some of the more typical upper-division and graduate level courses are listed below: (BIOL: Biology; MBIOL: Molecular Biology; BLCHEM: Biological Chemistry)
BIOL5275 Microbial Diversity, Genomics and Evolution
This course examines the complex interactions among microorganisms and other living organisms and the environment. The lecture course provides an integrated vision of genome biology and microbial physiology, diversity and ecology and serves as a primer for all students interested in genomics. The integrated laboratory class provides students with an opportunity to collect samples from the environment and examines microbial diversity using modern molecular biological methods and bioinformatic tools.
BIOL5280 Biological Microscopy
Practical aspects of microscopy as applied to research problems in biology.
BIOL5285 Biological Microscopy Laboratory
Individual student projects applying microscopy techniques covered in BIOL 5280.
BIOL5290 Fundamentals of Biological Microscopy
Lecture course providing a foundation in the essentials of microscopy and imaging, including digital imaging, for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Meets 2 hrs. per week for half of one semester.
BIOL5410 Molecular Evolution and Population Genetics
The genetics of populations from an evolutionary perspective; processes that govern DNA sequence evolution; mutation; recombination drift and selection; genetic diversity in natural populations; genetic mechanisms of quantitative variation; techniques for estimating relatedness within and between populations and for reconstructing phylogenies.
BIOL5255 Prokaryotic Genetics
Project-oriented lecture/laboratory on use of experimental and analytical tools of modern genetics using bacteria and their viruses. Students work in small groups on independent projects and spend an average of five hours weekly in laboratory.
BIOL6420 Genetics and Genome Organization (Cross listed as MBIOL 6420)
The Genetics and Genomes course covers genetic analysis in various model organisms. Some students have not had adequate preparation in Genetics (such as a comprehensive undergraduate course in Genetics), and have struggled in this graduate course. To prevent such problems, all entering students will be given a simple exam at the beginning of the semester. This entrance exam will cover basic concepts in Genetics.
MBIOL6410 Protein and Nucleic Acid Biochemistry (Cross listed as BLCHM 6410)
This Biochemistry course covers the structure and function of nucleic acids and proteins, as well as the thermodynamics and kinetics of their interactions with each other and with other biologically important molecules. It is expected that all students have taken an undergraduate course in Biochemistry, and you may find it useful to review chapters discussing the above-mentioned subjects in an undergraduate Biochemistry textbook. (Chapters 3,4,5 & 8 of Biochemistry 2001 by Berg, Tymozko and Stryer, {www.whfreeman.com/biochem5} are quite useful.) A few days before classes begin, there will be a brief and very basic pass/fail pre-exam to make sure you are adequately prepared for the graduate biochemistry course. If you do not pass this exam, we will meet with you to discuss alternative coursework to strengthen your biochemistry background.
MBIOL6440 Gene Expression
This course covers both transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms of gene regulation. Lectures cover recent advances in these fields with material based on the primary literature. The transcriptional regulation section covers, basic mechanisms of gene activation and repression, chromatin remodeling machines, regulation of transcription activation by signal transduction cascades. The post-transcriptional section covers mechanisms regulating RNA processing (splicing, editing, and transport), translation and mRNA stability.
BLCHEM6430 Structural Methods
This course provides an integrated approach to the applications of NMR, X-ray crystallography, and mass spectrometry in structural biology. Topics covered include: basic NMR theory, and the application of 2D and 3D NMR methods for the determining protein and RNA structures; methods of macromolecular crystallization and crystal structure determination; methods of accurate mass measurement, peptide and oligonucleotide sequencing, and identification of proteins from analysis of protelytic digests in conjunction with database searching. An introduction to molecular modeling will be presented, which will include force fields, energy minimization, and molecular dynamics simulations of biomolecules.
BLCHEM6450 Biophysical Chemistry
Topics covered include: Basics of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, with applications in biochemistry; transport phenomena; enzyme kinetics and inhibition; kinetic isotope effects; principles and applications of absorbance, fluorescence, and CD spectroscopies.
BLCHEM6460 Protein Chemistry
This is a one half semester course which focuses on the mechanisms of chemical reactions involving peptides and proteins and methods for their study. Subject matter includes enzyme mechanisms, chemical modification of proteins and cofactor chemistry.
Core seminars
In addition to formal coursework available to Microbial Biology Program students, journal clubs and core seminar courses are also available. Seminar courses provide students with practice reading, analyzing, and presenting research articles from the scientific literature. These courses are listed as BIOL7106, BIOL7206, BIOL7306, and BIOL7406. The topics change often and students are encouraged to suggest their own topics and faculty mentors for seminar courses. In general, these courses contain small numbers of students and faculty and require reading and discussion of current scientific literature.
FUSION seminars
Advanced graduate students present their own research work to the entire Biology Department in a weekly seminar series called FUSION. First-year students attend these seminars, but are not expected to present until the end of their second year.
Research seminars
Many weekly seminar series also exist on campus. Various departments and programs, including the Microbial Biology Program, invite research scientists from around the world to present their latest scientific discoveries. There are typically several such seminars every day. Examples can be found on the various seminar calendars accessible on program web sites.
Graduation timetable and academic requirements
Coming Soon
In their first year, students admitted to the Microbial Biology Program are awarded full stipend, tuition, and health insurance support from program fellowship funds. In subsequent years, students in good standing are supported by a variety of mechanisms, including Biology Department teaching assistantships and research assistantships funded by their advisor’s extramural research grants. Program students are also eligible for support from University of Utah as well as extramural (e.g., HHMI, NSF) fellowships and interdepartmental NIH training grants.
Regardless of their source of funding support, program students are expected to work full-time toward their Ph.D. degree and may not hold outside jobs.