Our PhD training program places particular emphasis on mechanistic approaches to research problems. Our presence in the School provides a unique setting in which students learn how biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysical chemistry, cell biology, and genetics can be used to solve significant problems in public health and medicine.
Our department consists of 18 faculty, 40 doctoral students, 8 postdoctoral fellows and 29 MHS students. This relatively small size offers abundant opportunities for student-faculty interactions through lab research meetings, journal clubs, seminars, our annual departmental retreat and other informal gatherings.
Students receive a generous stipend, medical insurance, and a full tuition scholarship. Although students are not required to teach, opportunities for teaching are available. First-year students spend about half of their time conducting laboratory research. Each student rotates through five different laboratories during the first year, spending seven weeks in each laboratory. Students receive as much assistance with their research projects as necessary, particularly during the early rotations. The rotations, which are designed to encourage development of independence as a practicing scientist, immediately expose students to the realities of doing laboratory research. They also allow each student to become directly involved in the research activities of five different laboratories, thus facilitating an informed selection of a thesis advisor and research project. At the end of each rotation, students present a short oral report on their work to their fellow first-year students and the faculty. They also receive a formal, written evaluation of their performance after each rotation. At the end of the fifth rotation, students choose their thesis mentor. During their first year, students take core courses in Macromolecular Structure and Analysis; Biochemical and Biophysical Principles; Molecular Biology and Genomics; Genetics; Cell Structure and Dynamics; Organic Mechanisms in Biology; Pathways and Regulation; and Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. In addition, first year students take Mechanisms of Genome Integrity and one other elective course. In their second year, in order to satisfy school-wide requirements for the PhD degree, students take three elective courses offered by other departments within the School. They also take specialty course work in their area of research. In subsequent years students take a total of three research seminar courses offered by faculty of the department. The department administers two comprehensive examinations. Each exam consist of a written and an oral part. The first exam, which is based on the thesis topic, is taken at the end of the first year. The second exam which is taken in late spring of the second year, is on research unrelated to the thesis topic and is designed to prepare students for the University Graduate Board oral exam. Candidates for the PhD degree at the Johns Hopkins University must pass this university-administered exam. The exam is conducted by five faculty members drawn from appropriate departments throughout the University. The purpose of this exam is to test the breadth of the student's knowledge in biochemistry, molecular biology, and related areas, and to assess the student's ability to carry out research for the doctoral degree.
The Graduate Board oral exam is taken before the end of the second summer.
State-of-the-art facilities for biochemical and molecular biological research in newly constructed laboratories are available within the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The department possesses an excellent research library and the School is adjacent to the renowned Welch Medical Library. In addition, we interact closely with faculty from many of the basic science and clinical departments of the School of Medicine. Because graduate training is the department's foremost priority, we are committed to ensuring that our students receive the highest quality research training available anywhere. Each student's Thesis Advisory Committee provides helpful advice and constructive criticism twice annually. Click here to learn HOW TO APPLY
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