Cell and Molecular Biology PhD
Program Code: G-CMB-PHD
Degree Designation: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Cell & Molecular Biology Program
Website: medschool.duke.edu/education/biomedical-phd-programs/program-cell-and-molecular-biology
Program Summary
Mission: The mission of the CMB program is to provide a fair, welcoming, highly interdisciplinary training experience that empowers all students to become rigorous, responsible, and independent scientists who are equipped with the technical, operational, and professional skills needed to thrive in the modern biomedical workforce. CMB achieves this through a trainee-centered and flexible curriculum, basic skills development, a focused research experience, career advancement opportunities, and a robust program of faculty mentoring. An emphasis on student success and well-being ensures that CMB produces exceptional biomedical scientists with a wide range of career paths.
Program goals: The overall objective of the CMB program is to provide safe, fair, flexible, and rigorous training that prepares all students for fulfilling careers in basic scientific research, education, or human health. Our goal is for > 95% of matriculants to complete the Ph.D. by the end of year 5. (Average time to degree for students entering Duke through CMB over the last ten years is six years.) All CMB graduates acquire: (1) a broad knowledge of many biomedical disciplines through a cohesive core curriculum that provides foundational skills and the flexibility to explore; (2) a deep expertise in a chosen area of specialization through advanced course electives and dissertation research; (3) operational skills in critical thinking, research independence, and creativity; (4) the ability to identify significant biological problems and to develop rigorous experimental design strategies; (5) the analytical tools required to interpret complex data; (6) the cooperative skills necessary for team-based research; (7) the ability to clearly convey scientific concepts and research results to specialists, non-specialists, and the general public; and (8) the knowledge and skills needed to transition to a chosen profession within the biomedical workforce. Through custom-built student-tracking software tools, CMB measures and evaluates the outcomes of these efforts at the student and program levels.
CMB is an umbrella-type program, comprising ~135 faculty and ~90 students across the University, bridging basic science and clinical departments in the School of Medicine, as well as members in Trinity College of Arts and Sciences departments (Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and Neuroscience) and Pratt School of Engineering (Bioengineering). CMB researchers study a wide variety of biological questions and model systems, including viruses, bacteria, archaea, plants, nematodes, Drosophila, rodents, non-human primates, human cells and tissues, and computational biology. The highly interdisciplinary nature of the CMB community means that our students become both experts in their own research subject matter and well-versed in a range of contemporary topics in cell and molecular biology.
In the first program year, students attend courses (see below), rotate in 3-5 labs (8 weeks each), and meet regularly with the Director of Graduate Studies and other advisors and program leadership. In the spring of Year 1, CMB students affiliate with a lab for their dissertation research under the supervision of their PI. Program requirements after the first year include a preliminary exam (written NRSA F31-style research proposal and oral defense; spring of Year 2), annual thesis committee meetings with standardized, competency-based evaluation rubrics, annual individual development plans, participation in the CMB Symposium (annual, student-run conference on the Duke campus), acceptance of at least one first-author publication of original research, and defense of a written dissertation. CMB students have no teaching requirement, though TA and Instructor of Record opportunities are available for students with a career interest in teaching. Notably, CMB faculty are required to complete evidence-based mentor training in order to host students for rotations or accept them for dissertation research. CMB, the Graduate School and Duke University provide many nationally recognized resources for student safety, wellness, professional development, and career exploration/preparation. CMB is supported by NIGMS grant 1T32GM142605 and by Duke University School of Medicine institutional funds.