Core Courses
Course | Credits | Description |
GMS 6220 | 6 | Molecular Genetics and Cellular Biology: The course gives graduate students an introduction to fundamental concepts in biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, and genetics, with an emphasis on medically relevant themes. |
GMS 6481 | 4 | Physiology and Immunology: This course introduces students to the fundamental concepts of physiology and immunology from a biomedical perspective that will assist in evaluating pathology and therapeutic target options. |
GMS 6864 | 2 | Principles of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics: This course introduces the elements and foundations of epidemiology and biostatistics. |
GMS 6939 | 1 | Graduate Seminar: A weekly seminar/discussion course consisting of research presentations by students, faculty, and visiting scientists in biomedical sciences will form part of a recurring credit. |
GMS 6961 | 5 | Qualifying Examination: The purpose of the Qualifying Examination is to confirm the readiness of the graduate student to conduct Ph.D. research. |
GMS 6962 | 1 | Formation of Committee: Appointment of Dissertation Committee: Preliminary Proposal: The student submits a preliminary research proposal approved by his/her committee. |
GMS 6963 | 3 | Doctoral Dissertation Proposal: The Doctoral Dissertation Proposal is written in the style of an AHA, NIH or NSF predoctoral fellowship application. |
GMS 6964 | 1 | Dissertation Proposal Seminar: After completion of the Qualifying Examination (QE) and Dissertation proposal approval, the student must present his proposal to the Dissertation Committee. The student will give a PowerPoint presentation of the proposed research to the members of the dissertation committee. The dissertation committee will specifically evaluate the following: (i) Has the student demonstrated the ability to design a feasible project? (ii) Has the student shown a reasonable knowledge of the literature regarding the project? (iii) Has the student presented the proposal (both written and oral) in a scholarly fashion? (iv) Has the student demonstrated competent scientific knowledge concerning overall fundamental principles and applications in biomedical science? and (v) Does the proposed research constitute an acceptable and feasible dissertation project? This will be achieved through an oral question-and-answer component within the scheduled time of the dissertation proposal exam meeting. The chairman of the dissertation committee will (i) ensure that the proposal exam is held for a reasonable length of time; (ii) ensure that the student is evaluated fairly and rigorously; and (iii) see that a written evaluation is promptly prepared and sent to the student and the director of the graduate program. |
GMS 6979 | 1-10 | Research Credits: Research may be conducted in the Ph.D. advisor’s laboratory. May be repeated. |
GMS 6003C | 6 | Introduction to Biomedical Science: Students will be familiar with metrics used on year evaluations and the use of mentor-mentee agreements to set student development milestones, preparing the students to succeed in this instruction modality. Another goal of this course is for the students to understand general approaches of experimental design, be able to formulate scientific hypotheses, understand the physical-chemical theory foundations of commonly used laboratory methodologies, analyze results obtained in the lab, and know the principles and media used to communicate scientific data. |
GMS 6993C | 2 | Lectureship Seminar: These are designed to provide graduate students with the first opportunity within the program to present the research results obtained in each laboratory rotation. The students will analyze and organize the results in a scientific talk to be delivered to peers and the scientific community of the Ph.D. program. Peers and faculty will evaluate the presentations. |
GMS 7980 | 1-10 | Dissertation Research Credits: Research towards the completion of a doctoral dissertation. May be repeated. |
GMS 7981 | 1 | Dissertation Defense Seminar: Dissertation defense seminar. |
Elective Course Choices – Minimum 5 Credits*
*This is not the complete list of possible elective courses. Dissertation advisors or Dissertation Advisory Committee members, at their discretion, may suggest potential electives described in the FIU Graduate Catalog.
Course | Credits | Description |
BME 6545 | 3 | Biosensors and Nanobioelectronics: Advanced topics in the design and practical application of bioelectronic devices such as biosensors, DNA nanowires, analytical electrochemistry and biomolecular electronics. |
CGS 5166 | 2 | Introduction to Bioinformatics Tools: Introduction to bioinformatics; analytical and predictive tools; practical use of tools for sequence alignments, phylogeny, visualizations, pattern discovery, gene expression analysis, and protein structure. |
CHM 5305 | 3 | Graduate Biological Chemistry: Structures of biological molecules; biochemical reaction mechanisms; enzyme kinetics; biomolecular thermodynamics; biomolecular spectroscopy. |
CHM 6088 | 3 | Environmental Chemistry of Trace Elements: Occurrence, transformation, detection, speciation, and other aspects of trace elements in the environment. |
CHM 6157 | 3 | Advanced Analytical Chemistry: Modern analytical methods, applications, and instrumentation. Topics include spectroscopy, chromatography, electrochemistry, optimization theory, and computerized instrumentation. |
CHM 6382 | 3 | Advanced Biological Chemistry: In-depth exploration of one or more biological chemistry areas, for example, the use of multinuclear NMR in examining nuclear acids and proteins; biosynthesis of toxins and roles of porphyrins. |
GMS 6300 | 4 | General Pathology: This course introduces the molecular and genetic basis of human diseases while emphasizing the basic pathologic processes and vocabulary. |
GMS 6500 | 4 | Basic Pharmacology: This course is an introduction to the basic principles of pharmacology and provides an overview of drugs from a molecular, cellular and basic science perspective. |
GMS 6940 | 1 | Supervised Teaching in Biomedical Science: Students will assist the faculty members who teach either graduate or medical students. |