Integrated Biomedical Sciences (PhD)

Core Courses: (Typically taken in the first year of study)

• BTN - 525 Experimental Design and Models in Disease Credit(s): 2
• GCC - 506 Biomedical Ethics Credit(s): 1
• GCC - 516 Cell and Molecular Biology Credit(s): 7
• GCC - 546 Principles of Biostatistics I Credit(s): 2
• GCC - 548 Bioinformatics Credit(s): 1
• GCC - 594 Introduction to Grant Writing Credit(s): 2

Laboratory Rotations: (Taken in the first year of study)

Laboratory rotations are part of the core curriculum. Students should register for a minimum of three laboratory rotations, one in each semester.

• GCC - 530 Laboratory Rotations I Credit(s): 1-9
• GCC - 533 Laboratory Rotations II Credit(s): 1-9
• GCC - 534 Laboratory Rotations III Credit(s): 1-9

Research Area-Specific Courses: (Taken in the first and second years of study)

For graduation, students will need to select and take an introductory and an advanced course.

• BMC - 500 Musculoskeletal Biology Credit(s): 3
• BMC - 508 Techniques in Orthopedic Biomechanics Credit(s): 2
• GCC - 519 Intro to Neuroscience Credit(s): 3
• GCC - 611 Cancer Biology I Credit(s): 3
• GCC - 612 Cancer Biology II Credit(s): 3
• GCC - 652 The Changing Nervous System Credit(s): 2
• IMM - 507 Basic Immunology I Credit(s): 3
• IMM - 510 Advanced Immunology I Credit(s): 4

Dissertation Research: (Taken in the second through fifth years of study)

• GCC - 699 Dissertation Research Credit(s): 1-9

• Minimum of 54 credits required Credits / Units: 54

Year 1 Coursework, Research Experience and Comprehensive Examination

The goal of the course work in the first year is to expose the student to the biomedical sciences to enable them to design and approach a research problem from molecular, cellular and organ system perspectives. This broad-based approach to disease is the core of the Integrated Biomedical Sciences program. Students will need to complete a minimum of 9 credits of course work each semester. The courses will be a combination of core courses, three laboratory rotations and research-area-specific courses.

Comprehensive Examination

At the end of the first year, students will sit for a comprehensive examination to test their mastery in the content of the first-year experiences. Students will also select their area of research and their research adviser.

Year 2 Coursework, Research Experience and Candidacy Examination

Students will need to register for 9 credits each semester. The remaining coursework will be a combination of core courses and research-specific courses. Students will also start their dissertation research.

Candidacy Examination

The selection of a research adviser will significantly influence the student’s selection of a research area of interest. The goals of the second year are to learn the relevant laboratory techniques and to develop a research proposal in conjunction with their research adviser. The research project will advance knowledge in a specific discipline and yield first-author scientific publications for the student. The student’s research proposal should include one specific aims page and six pages of research strategy following an NIH F31 grant proposal format (without the non-science proposal pages). While highly encouraged, submission of the research proposal to NIH is not required.

The student must select a five-member dissertation committee and defend the proposal in front of the committee by the end of the second year. The written proposal and its defense in front of the committee constitutes the candidacy examination. Passing the candidacy examination in front of the dissertation committee means the student is a candidate for the PhD.

If the student does not complete the candidacy examination by the end of the summer of their second year, they will be placed on probation during the fall of their third year. If the student has not taken the examination by the end of the term of probation the student will potentially face dismissal. Since the adviser shares in the responsibility to ensure student academic progress, including completion of program milestones in a timely manner, advisers of students who do not take the candidacy examination by the end of fall term of their third year will not be allowed to take a new student into their laboratory for the subsequent two years.

Year 3-5 Research Progress, Publications and Dissertation

In the remaining time in the PhD program, students will concentrate on their research project and steadily progress toward the completion of their dissertation. For evaluation in years three through five, the student will submit written reports documenting their progress. The research adviser and program director will also submit their assessment of student progress for each year. A meeting with the student, research adviser and program director will take place at the end of each year to discuss the student’s progress.

The research adviser monitors the day-to-day progress of the student. The dissertation committee will meet at least every six months to monitor progress and to approve any changes to the proposed research project. They may meet more frequently, especially after the approval of the student’s research proposal. The dissertation committee will continue to assess student progress on the aims and determine when the student has completed their dissertation. (See Dissertation Document, Presentation and Approval section below).

The advisory committee meetings will consist of an oral presentation of research progress by the doctoral student to the committee. This oral presentation will be followed by a discussion of progress. The Chair of the committee shall summarize the minutes of the meeting focused on actionable items to be used as a guide for the next meeting. The document is shared with the program director, the student and members of the committee.

Scientific Communication

The student is encouraged to attend national meetings, make presentations, posters etc. and become a part of the scientific community. Likewise, the student should be submitting research articles. The Integrated Biomedical Science PhD program requires that the research project yields at least one first-authored research manuscript submitted for publication in a scientific peer-reviewed journal. The submission for publication requirement is necessary for graduation, and in unusual circumstances, submission requirement may be waived.

Student Assessment Related to the Student Learning Outcomes

The student’s assessment continues on the outcomes listed below with emphasis on the growth of research and communication skills. Likewise, it is expected that the communication outcomes will also become more centered on written communication in the form of abstracts, peer-reviewed journal articles and the dissertation as the student begins to complete the following outcome:

The graduate will be able to acquire research skills, collect and analyze data and interpret results in order to address an original research question.

A graduating student will be capable of independent critical thinking and writing as well as proposing, performing and effectively presenting their research.

Individualized Development Plan (IDP)

The student will be able to work collaboratively with other scientists, physicians and health care professionals to give and obtain feedback concerning the approach to research problems, data analysis and implications of research.

The work environment in basic and clinical science is evolving. Students should be aware of the many different types of opportunities available in the workplace and need to prepare themselves for the opportunities and challenges that they will encounter when they graduate. In addition to the research and the coursework, the students are encouraged to create an individualized development plan (IDP) each year to define their areas of interest, skills and values. 

Students will review their IDP yearly with their research mentor, program director or Division of Translational Science designee to refine their career interests and define their gaps in knowledge or skills that can be pursued in the following year. By the time of graduation, students should have used the IDP, along with mentorship and experiential or other training opportunities to refine their career path.

Dissertation Document, Presentation and Approval

The student is expected to write a dissertation (format approved by the Center for Academic Excellence) and present the work in a public forum attended by the dissertation committee (all members are required to be in attendance), and university faculty and students are invited to attend. Immediately following the public presentation, the committee and student shall enter in a closed form to test the student knowledge and serve as the final examination for approval of dissertation and degree conferral. The chair of the dissertation committee shall act as the moderator of the discussion, with each member given an opportunity to ask questions, except for the adviser, who shall remain as an observer in this examination. The student may be asked to make revisions before final approval of the dissertation by the committee. The student must notify the Registrar’s Office of impending completion of the degree by the submission of an Intent to Graduate Form at the beginning of the final term. Prior to completion, the student should consult with the Center for Academic Excellence to ensure that the dissertation is formatted correctly. 

All students will be required to submit the dissertation to ProQuest to be eligible for graduation. Specific formatting guidelines are required as set forth by the Center for Academic Excellence.

Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELOs)

Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELOs) are part of the foundation upon which students develop knowledge and skills from direct or hands-on experiences outside of their own laboratory and didactic training.

Once a student has successfully completed their candidacy exam, they are highly encouraged to engage in ELOs, which can be in the form of teaching opportunities within the division or elsewhere within Rush, attendance of scientific conferences or network conferences.

Minimal Credit Hours Required for the Integrated Biomedical Sciences (PhD) Degree

The PhD in Integrated Biomedical Sciences should be completed in five years and requires completion of a minimum of 80 credits distributed as follows: core courses and laboratory rotations (minimum of 22), research area specific courses (minimum of 4) and dissertation research (minimum of 54). Students must also pass the comprehensive examination (at end of year 1), a qualifying (candidacy) examination and submit a first-authored, scientific, peer-reviewed manuscript on their research project.

The core curriculum, which is common to all students, builds knowledge and skills in research theories and methodology, data analysis and statistics, laboratory applications and skills, and the molecular and cellular sciences basic to health and disease. These courses provide systematic exposure to the contemporary process of scientific discovery and will serve as the basis for the remainder of the curriculum. Advanced students entering with a Master of Science (MS) degree in biomedical science or a Doctor of Medicine (MD or DO) degree may have satisfied the requirement for some of the core classes based on their prior records. Therefore, some core course requirements may be waived. The requirement of core course hours can be compensated by taking extra hours of laboratory rotations or dissertation research. These students may be able to complete the degree in a shorter time period providing that they progress through the other program requirements. IBS MS students who enter the IBS PhD program will be on a separate plan of study, which requires fewer core and cognate credits based on the number required for the IBS MS program.

All students will be required to complete a minimum of 54 credits of Dissertation Research. Dissertation credits in the Division of Translational Science involve laboratory-based research required for completion of the dissertation and include training in various types of skills, including: developing a research proposal; learning and applying advanced methodologies and statistical data analyses; developing skills to write and submit a pre-doctoral training grant application; practicing presentation skills to disseminate one’s own research findings in national conferences; writing a research publication; and developing and defending a dissertation project.

Research Adviser Selection

During the first year, the student will select up to three laboratories for research rotations. Based on these rotations, the student will identify their laboratory of interest and submit the name of the adviser to the program director. The program director, in  consultation with the potential adviser(s), will approve the adviser-student matches. Students who are enter the program committed to a particular laboratory (and funded by the research adviser’s grants) can do all three lab rotations in that laboratory. Likewise, students who enter the program with a designated interest in a particular adviser, can conduct a lab rotation in that lab and if they select to match with this adviser and the selection is approved,  they can continue  the remaining of the lab rotations in that laboratory. All advisers must meet the criterion established by the Division of Translational Science policy and procedures.

Advisory Committee

By the end of the summer term of the first year the student should have selected a research adviser and begun to collect preliminary data. The research adviser is required to hold a faculty appointment in Rush Medical College. Once a research adviser has been selected, a dissertation committee must be selected by the end of the following term. This committee advises the student and serves as the candidacy examination committee and the dissertation advisory committee. The Division of Translational Science requires that the committee is comprised of five members. One member will be the student’s research adviser. A majority of the committee (at least three members) must be faculty at Rush Medical College . The chair of this committee, who cannot be the student’s research adviser, will be chosen at the first committee meeting and will preside over all subsequent meetings and arrange for a timely completion of the dissertation work. The dissertation committee strives for consensus in all its actions. A majority vote of the committee’s membership, however, is sufficient for all activities, including the final approval of the dissertation. The first committee meeting should take place within six months of its selection and approval.

Data Defense and Dissertation

In the candidate’s final year, a dissertation data defense will be presented to their dissertation committee demonstrating that satisfactory progress has been made on the project to justify development of a plan to complete all experiments and to start writing their dissertation. The data defense should be considered the final committee meeting before the Dissertation Defense.

Upon completion of the data defense and writing of the dissertation, the student will provide the dissertation to their committee at least two weeks prior to their public dissertation defense. The public defense will be comprised of a public one-hour lecture attended by the dissertation committee and faculty and students at the university.

The dissertation committee then meets in closed session to examine the candidate and approve the dissertation. Typically, the meeting immediately follows the public lecture. The committee strives for a consensus, but the dissertation can be approved with a majority vote. The awarding of the PhD degree requires the demonstration of a capability for independent research and a contribution to scientific knowledge. Similar to the candidacy examination, all members of the committee must be present at the dissertation defense either in person or virtually.

Since the submission of a first-authored research manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal is required for the degree, the degree is not awarded until this requirement is met. Exception to this rule may be given in unusual circumstances.