The Cell Biology & Physiology Curriculum is very flexible and students must pass 3, one-semester classes, which includes meeting each of the requirements (a-e), as described below:

(a) Core Cell Biology and Physiology Curriculum (2 classes: 1 in Fall, 1 in Spring) (or medical school course equivalents for students enrolled in the MD/PhD dual degree program):

CBPH 852 Cell Biology & Physiology of Human Health and Disease-Section I: Fall

CBPH 853 Cell Biology & Physiology of Human Health and Disease-Section II: Spring

(b) An elective course approved by the DGS. Elective courses in genetics, pharmacology, immunology, computational biology, biochemistry, pathology or another STEM discipline that enhances the student’s specific research focus may also be chosen.

(c) A comprehensive Biostatistics Course or module (for example, BBSP 710 or GNET 743 (Data Analysis and Stats) or BCB 720 (Introduction to Statistical Modeling; BCB certificate requirement) (other higher level statistics with programming languages also fulfill this requirement)

(d) Year 2 students: Fall CBPH705 – presentation class; Wednesday afternoon TBD. A course on how to give a solid science talk. Spring CBPH706 – grant writing class. Wednesdays 2-4PM. An intro course on how to approach a graduate student-type biomedical research grant (e.g. F30/31); also beneficial for students to prepare a thesis proposal even if not applying for federal funds.

(e) 2nd year students and beyond: Annual enrollment and participation in CBPH 855-fall/856-spring: Career and Research Enhancement Seminar (CaRES), which includes the Presentation and Grant Writing components of the CaRES Course in Year 2.

(f)  A fourth year refresher course in responsible conduct of research (RCR) (CBPH 895). In the fall of the fourth year students take a short course (once a week for 6 weeks) on topics relevant to advanced graduate students on RCR.

For Year 2 and Beyond:

• Present a FUSION Seminar every year
• Attend CBP Department Seminar Series
• Attend CBP Curriculum dissertation defenses
• Present a poster at Research Day
• Submit an Annual Progress Report
• After dissertation proposal, hold a committee meeting on an annual basis (minimum 1 per year)
• A graduation requirement is a first or co-first author peer-reviewed original research paper formally accepted for publication.

Students generally complete all of their classroom work by the end of their second year. Students should plan to complete all requirements for the PhD degree and defend their dissertation by the end of their fifth year in graduate school.

Course Descriptions:

Cell Biology & Physiology of Human Health and Disease (CBPH 852 Fall/853 Spring) (4.5 credits). Students will learn the principles of cell biology, organ and systems physiology and pathophysiology in an integrated fashion required to identify and understand important areas of current biomedical research. Both semesters will cover a variety of physiological systems (cardiovascular, neuro, respiratory, etc), and will emphasize examples of specific diseases (channelopathies, schizophrenia, hypertension, diabetes, etc) and current research opportunities. CBPH 853 will include many examples of approaches that utilize human samples or human genomics , while CBPH 852 (offered in the fall) will focus mainly on basic cell biology and non-human model systems (cultured cells, mice, etc). In addition to lectures and ample time for in-class discussions, both courses will have a strong emphasis on the current research literature and will include journal-club student led discussion of assigned papers. For assistance with enrolling, please contact Janice Warfford, janice_warfford@med.unc.edu. If any additional course questions, please contact , Course Directors (Fall), Scott Parnell, scott_parnell@med.unc.edu and Sarah Cohen, sarahcoh@email.unc.edu; Course Directors (Spring), Natasha Snider, natasha_snider@med.unc.edu and Jessica Thaxton, jess_thaxton@med.unc.edu . MWF 9:00-10:30AM, 6200 MBRB, Lecture Course/Paper Discussions.  CBPH 852 Syllabus; CBPH 853 Syllabus