Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Bulletin of Yale University
 
Introduction
Degree-Granting Departments
Non-Degree-Granting Programs
Policies and Regulations
Financing Graduate School
General Information
   

Microbiology

Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine, 295 Congress Ave., BCMM 336B, 737.2404
info.med.yale.edu/micropath/index.html
M.Phil., Ph.D.

Director of Graduate Studies
Joann Sweasy

Student Services Officer
Darlene Smith

Professors
Serap Aksoy (Epidemiology & Public Health), Sidney Altman (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Norma Andrews (Microbial Pathogenesis), Michael Cappello (Pediatrics), Yung-chi Cheng (Pharmacology), Donald Crothers (Emeritus, Chemistry), Daniel DiMaio (Genetics), Erol Fikrig (Internal Medicine), Durland Fish (Epidemiology & Public Health), Jorge Galán (Microbial Pathogenesis), Nigel Grindley (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry), Margaret Hostetter (Pediatrics), K. Brooks Low (Therapeutic Radiology), Diane McMahon-Pratt (Epidemiology & Public Health), I. George Miller (Pediatrics), L. Nicholas Ornston (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Curtis Patton (Epidemiology & Public Health), John Rose (Pathology), Nancy Ruddle (Epidemiology & Public Health), Clifford Slayman (Cellular & Molecular Physiology), Dieter Söll (Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry), William Summers (Therapeutic Radiology), Peter Tattersall (Laboratory Medicine), Elisabetta Ullu (Internal Medicine)

Associate Professors
Susan Baserga (Therapeutic Radiology), S. P. Dinesh-Kumar (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Walther Mothes (Microbial Pathogenesis), Craig Roy (Microbial Pathogenesis), Joann Sweasy (Therapeutic Radiology), Christian Tschudi (Epidemiology & Public Health; Internal Medicine), Sandra Wolin (Cell Biology; Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry), Liangbiao Zheng (Epidemiology & Public Health)

Assistant Professors
Hervé Agaisse (Microbial Pathogenesis), Roger Ely (Chemical & Environmental Engineering), Akiko Iwasaki (Epidemiology & Public Health), Christine Jacobs-Wagner (Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Susan Kaech (Immunobiology), Barbara Kazmierczak (Internal Medicine), Brett Lindenbach (Microbial Pathogenesis), John MacMicking (Microbial Pathogenesis), Robert Means (Pathology), Melinda Pettigrew (Epidemiology & Public Health), Michael Robek (Pathology), Paul Turner (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)

Fields of Study

The Graduate Program in Microbiology is a multidepartmental, interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in training and research in the study of microorganisms and their effects on their hosts. The faculty of the program share the view that understanding the biology of microorganisms requires a multidisciplinary approach; therefore, the Microbiology graduate program emphasizes the need for strong multidisciplinary training. The program is designed to provide individualized education in modern microbiology and to prepare students for independent careers in research and teaching. Students can specialize in various areas, including bacteriology, virology, microbe-host interactions, microbial pathogenesis, cell biology and immunobiology of microbial infections, microbial genetics and physiology, parasitology, and microbial ecology and evolution.

Special Admissions Requirements

To enter the Ph.D. program, students apply to the Microbiology track within the interdepartmental graduate program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences. An undergraduate major in biology, biophysics, biochemistry, microbiology, or molecular biology is recommended; the GRE General Test or MCAT is required.

Program materials are available upon request from Darlene Smith in the Microbiology Graduate Program, Section of Microbial Pathogenesis, BCMM 336B, Yale University, New Haven CT 06536.

Special Requirements for the Ph.D.

Course work generally occupies the first two years of study. Each student, together with a faculty committee, outlines a course of study tailored to the individual’s background and career goals. A program of course work may include general microbiology, virology, parasitology, and/or microbial genetics, as well as complementary courses in such areas as epidemiology, cell biology, immunology, biochemistry, genetics, ecology, vector biology, and statistics. The program also sponsors journal clubs and seminars in microbiology and related areas. All students participate in three laboratory rotations (MBIO 670a and b), with different faculty members, in their area of interest. Laboratory rotations assure that students quickly become familiar with the variety of research opportunities available in the program. An individualized qualifying exam on topics selected by each student, in consultation with the faculty, is given before the end of the second year. Students then undertake an original research project under the direct supervision of a faculty member. In the third year, students organize their thesis committee and prepare a dissertation prospectus, which is submitted to the Graduate School after approval by their committee. The student is then admitted to candidacy. Upon completion of the student’s research project, the Ph.D. requirements conclude with the writing of a dissertation and its oral defense.

An important aspect of graduate training in microbiology is the acquisition of teaching skills through participation in courses appropriate for the student’s scientific interests. These opportunities can be drawn from a diverse menu of lecture, laboratory, and seminar courses given at the undergraduate, graduate, and medical school levels. Ph.D. students are expected to participate in two terms (or the equivalent) of teaching. Students are not permitted to teach during their first year.

Master’s Degree

M.Phil. See Degree Requirements. Although the program does not formally offer a master’s degree, students who have been admitted to candidacy qualify for an M.Phil.

Courses

MBIO 642a, Roles of Microorganisms in the Living World.  L. Nicholas Ornston, Dieter Söll, Diane McMahon-Pratt.
TTh 11.35–12.50
A topical course exploring the biology of microorganisms. Emphasis on mechanisms underlying microbial adaptations and how they influence biological systems. Prerequisites: biology, chemistry, biochemistry. Also EMD 642a, GENE 642a, MCDB 642a.

MBIO 670a,b, Laboratory Rotation.  Joann Sweasy.
Rotation in three laboratories. Required for all first-year graduate students.

MBIO 684b, Advanced Topics in Molecular Parisitology.  Diane McMahon-Pratt, Christian Tschudi.
F 12–1.30
An advanced graduate-level seminar course in modern parasitology. The class is focused on the reading and critical evaluation of papers from the current literature selected by the students in cellular and molecular mechanisms of parasitism. Prerequisites: EMD 680a is highly recommended; permission of the instructor. Also EMD 684b.

MBIO 685b, Molecular Mechanisms of Microbial Pathogenesis.  Jorge Galán, Norma Andrews, Craig Roy, Walter Mothes, John MacMicking, Hervé Agaisse, Brett Lindenbach.
TF 10–11.30
The course focuses on current topics related to host pathogen interactions. Each week a lecture is given on the topic followed by student presentations of seminal papers in the field. All participants are required to present a paper.

[MBIO 700a, Seminal Papers on the Foundations of Modern Microbiology.]  

MBIO 701a,b, Research in Progress.  Joann Sweasy.
M 2
All students, beginning in their third year, are required to present their research once a year at the Graduate Student Research in Progress, held on Mondays at 2 p.m. These presentations are intended to give each student practice in presenting his or her own work before a sympathetic but critical audience and to familiarize the faculty with the research.

MBIO 702a,b, Microbiology Seminar Series.  Joann Sweasy.
Th 4
All students are required to attend all Microbiology seminars scheduled throughout the academic year. Microbiologists from around the world are invited to describe their research.

[MBIO 703b, Evasion of Host Defenses by Viruses, Bacteria, and Eukaryotic Parasites.]

MBIO 734a, Molecular Biology of Animal Viruses.  Daniel DiMaio, George Miller, Peter Tattersall, Walther Mothes, Jack Rose, Robert Means, Michael Robek.
Lecture course with emphasis on mechanisms of viral replication, oncogenic transformation, and virus-host cell interactions. Also GENE 734a.

Next: Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry