Boston University
Biochemistry
Boston, MA
Overview
Boston University is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian university. Its academic diversity meets the needs of one of the largest bodies of scholars in the world. Boston University was incorporated in 1869. Today, its sixteen schools and colleges provide students with the advantages of a large contemporary educational complex, while maintaining many traditional priorities. The two main campuses are the Charles River and the Medical Center campuses. The Department of Biochemistry is housed at the Medical Center campus.
The average total number of biochemistry graduate students at the medical school is 60. Approximately 190 graduate students and 600 medical students are enrolled at the medical school.
The Location and Community
The Boston University School of Medicine is located in the South End of Boston. The broad range of biomedical research that takes place here is augmented by the large research community existing in Greater Boston. Our faculty members take advantage of opportunities to extend our borders and establish collaborative arrangements with our colleagues at other institutions.
Boston and the surrounding areas offer a rich selection of cultural and recreational activities including museums, music, major league sports, and skiing, to name a few. Close by are Cape Cod, the White Mountains, and the picturesque New England countryside.
Programs of study and degree requirements
The graduate program in the Department of Biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine accepts qualified applicants into M.A., Ph.D., and M.D./Ph.D. programs. The rigorous programs combine both basic and advanced course work in biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology with extensive research training. Research interests of the faculty are numerous and focus on the elucidation of the biochemical basis of life processes with particular emphasis on human biology and disease. Broad topic areas of interest include gene structure, regulation of gene expression, signal transduction, protein/enzyme structure and function, cell-cycle control, differentiation and development.
The first year of the Ph.D. program is dedicated to course work and laboratory rotations to acquaint the student with the wide breadth of research options available. At the end of the first year, the student chooses a mentor under whose guidance the research work proceeds. At this time, the candidate must pass a written qualifying examination. Additional course work in the second year of study is followed by an oral qualifying examination. At this time, the student is assigned a committee of faculty members who monitor the student's progress on his or her research project, which culminates in preparation of a thesis documenting the student's independent research work. Students in the M.A. program complete formal classes during the first year of study (and are not required to take qualifying examinations). M.A. students choose a laboratory in which to perform research after one semester of laboratory rotations. M.A. candidates are required to write a thesis describing their work.
Facilities & Resources
The Department of Biochemistry within Boston University School of Medicine is part of a large medical school/hospital complex. In addition to state-of-the-art laboratories, there is an extensive medical library, animal-care facilities, and computer facilities. Additional services available to members of the Department of Biochemistry include confocal laser scanning microscopy, DNA sequencing, mass spectrometry, and transgenic animal facilities.
Expenses and Aid
Tuition is $33,512. For most Ph.D. students, tuition is covered by financial aid as described above.
Financial Aid:
Ph.D. students are eligible for full financial aid, including tuition and fees, health insurance, and a monthly living stipend.
Housing/Living Expenses:
Most graduate students live in apartments in Boston, Cambridge, and the surrounding areas. Shared apartment rentals typically range from $500 to $800 per month per person.
How to Apply
Students who have completed an undergraduate degree, usually with a major in biochemistry, biology, or chemistry and have taken courses in general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and calculus may apply for either an M.A. or a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Students who have completed an M.A. degree in biochemistry or a closely related field can apply for a post-master's Ph.D. Also eligible for admission are M.D./Ph.D. students. Students are admitted only in September. Application forms may be obtained from the Director of Graduate Studies. Although the deadline for submission is March 31, applications are processed on a rolling basis, and early applications are given priority. Additional materials required to support the application include college transcripts, scores on GRE General Test, three letters of recommendation, and a personal statement.
Who to Contact
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Biochemistry
Boston University School of Medicine
715 Albany Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02118
617-638-5094
E-mail: schreibe@biochem.bumc.bu.edu
The Faculty
• Carmela Abraham, Ph.D., Professor. Defining the role of amyloid and inflammation in the brain during normal aging and Alzheimer's disease using biochemical, immunochemical, and molecular biology techniques.
• Lawreen Connors, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor. Structural studies of the human proteins, transthyretin (TTR), and immunoglobulin light chains (LC) in the context of amyloid disease pathology.
• Barbara E. Corkey, Ph.D., Professor. Metabolic regulation of signal transduction in the fat cell and pancreatic β-cell and its relationship to obesity and insulin secretion.
• Catherine E. Costello, Ph.D., Research Professor. Development and application of advanced mass spectrometric methods for structural determinations of biopolymers, with particular emphasis placed on glycobiology and the establishment of structure-activity relationships in immunology, parasitology, nervous system development and function, and amyloid deposition.
• Stephen R. Farmer, Ph.D., Professor. Expression of the major cytoskeletal protein (i.e., tubulin and actin) genes in mammalian nonmuscle cells; modulation of these genes by changes in cell configuration in normal and transformed cells.
• Richard E. Fine, Ph.D., Professor. Intracellular route of receptor trafficking in differentiated cells, including liver and brain; mechanism of Ca2+ mobilization in the brain mediated by hormones that stimulate phosphoinositide turnover.
• Judith Ann Foster, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of elastic fiber gene expression in the development and repair of pulmonary and cardiovascular tissues.
• Carl Franzblau, Ph.D., Professor. Studies on the chemistry, biosynthesis, and turnover of the extracellular matrix proteins, including elastin and collagen.
• Vladamir Gabai, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor. Role of molecular chaperone Hsp72 in modulation of signal transduction pathways and survival of normal and transformed cells.
• Herbert Kagan, Ph.D., Professor. Mechanisms of action, regulation, and molecular biology of amine oxidases, with emphasis on connective-tissue lysyl oxidase.
• Konstantin V. Kandror, Ph.D., Professor. Regulated vesicular traffic in different eukaryotic cells.
• Kathrin H. Kirsch, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cellular and molecular oncology; signal transduction by oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.
• Wande Li, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor. Investigating novel biological functions of lysyl oxidase, a copper-dependent enzyme for ECM cross-linking and its expression regulated by metal homeostasis.
• Matthew A. Nugent, Ph.D., Professor. Role of extracellular matrix in controlling growth factor-receptor interactions and cell proliferation.
• Peter O'Connor, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor. Inventing and developing new mass spectrometric tools for use in proteomics and analysis of other biomolecules with improved accuracy, sensitivity, and resolution.
• Mikhail P. Panchenko, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor. Receptor serine/threonine kinases and G-protein-coupled receptors signaling in vascular endothelium and smooth muscle.
• Paul F. Pilch, Ph.D., Professor. Membrane trafficking and the cell biology of insulin action.
• Peter Polgar, Ph.D., Professor. Investigating the structure-function of the bradykinin receptor by site-directed mutagenesis.
• Katya Ravid, Ph.D., Professor. The development and proliferation of blood and vascular cells using transgenic mice and culture systems.
• Barbara M. Schreiber, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Atherosclerosis and aortic smooth-muscle cells; the effect of atherogenic lipoproteins and serum amyloid A on smooth-muscle cell function.
• Michael Y. Sherman, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the central role of heat shock protein Hsp72 in prevention of cell death.
• Elizabeth R. Simons, Ph.D., Professor. Role of platelet-endothelium interactions in the progression of Alzheimer's disease; stimulus responses in blood cells and acquisition of such responses as precursor cells mature.
• Barbara D. Smith, Ph.D., Professor. Changes in gene expression of connective-tissue components associated with transformation and differentiation.
• Gail E. Sonenshein, Ph.D., Professor. Role of NK-κB transcription factors and the c-Myc oncogene in control of apoptosis. Regulation of collagen gene expression and proliferation in aortic smooth-muscle cells.
• Phillip J. Stone, Ph.D., Professor. The connective-tissue protein, elastin; its enzymatic destruction and repair in vitro and in vivo, associated with pathologic processes.
• Karen Symes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Molecular basis of cell movements during early embryonic development of Xenopus laevis, PDGF signaling, small GTP-binding protein signaling, cytoskeleton reorganization, and cell-matrix interactions.
• Linda Taylor, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor. Investigating the interaction of prostaglandins and cytokines on the expression of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2.
• Keith Tornheim, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Role of metabolic oscillations in fuel stimulated insulin secretion from pancreatic β-cells; altered fuel metabolism and nitric oxide production in vascular disease in diabetes.
• Paul A. Toselli, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor. Cellular responses of cultured arterial smooth-muscle cells to laser injury, using ultrastructural and biochemical methods.
• Abdulmaged M. Traish, Ph.D., Professor. Mechanism of steroid hormone action at the molecular level; role of hormones in cancer; role of neurotransmitters in regulation of smooth-muscle tone and the neurological regulation of erectile dysfunction.
• Vickery Trinkaus-Randall, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of proteoglycans in response to growth factors and regulation of calcium signaling and phosphorylation in response to injury.
• Robert F. Troxler, Ph.D., Professor. Structure and function of proteins, including fatty acid-binding proteins from heart and skeletal muscle, phycobiliproteins from photosynthetic eukaryotes, and histidine-rich salivary proteins.
• Zhi-Xiong (Jim) Xiao, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Functions of tumor suppressor proteins in cell cycle, cell proliferation, and genomic stability.
• Rina Yamin, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor. Amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and the degradation of the amyloid-beta peptide in Alzheimer's disease.
• Joseph Zaia, Ph.D., Assistant Research Professor. Investigation into the structure and function of heparan sulfate using mass spectrometry as the primary research tool.
• Vassilis I. Zannis, Ph.D., Professor. Transcriptional regulation of the apolipoprotein genes; structure and function of human apoB and apoA-I; genetic variation and posttranslational modification of apolipoproteins.