The George Washington University
Biochemistry
Washington DC
Overview
George Washington University was chartered by Congress in 1821. It is a private, nonsectarian institution located just a few blocks from the White House. A center for faculty and student activities houses a bookstore, a travel agency, a music listening room, a computer room, a TV room, a study lounge, a locker room, vending machines, a cafeteria, a faculty club, a rathskeller, a theater, and a bowling alley. An athletics center houses an Olympic-size pool; indoor tennis, handball, and racquetball courts; basketball courts; exercise rooms; and an indoor track. A new wellness center is under construction.
The University has a heterogeneous student body, which includes representatives of all parts of the United States and 100 other countries. The age of the students varies widely. There are 20-25 graduate students in the department.
The Location and Community
Because the George Washington University is located in the nation's capital, there is much of historical note, and many cultural and educational opportunities lie within easy reach. Of particular interest to students in the health sciences is the University's proximity to the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine, the Library of Congress, the Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration. The medical schools of Georgetown, Howard, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences are also nearby.
Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology offers a program leading to the Ph.D. The Biochemistry Department offers M.S. (thesis and nonthesis options) degrees. The Ph.D. and M.S. (thesis option) programs are designed to prepare students for careers in research and in teaching in which the principles and methods of biochemistry are applied to the study of biological and medical problems. The M.S. (nonthesis option) is an alternative to conventional graduate education and is designed for those who work full-time but are interested in advancing their careers. A new cooperative M.S. degree program in genomics and bioinformatics is offered that couples a genome-wide approach to medicine with rapidly evolving methods of analysis. The programs endeavor to establish for each student a broad general knowledge of modern biochemistry, followed by development of an individual program. Major areas of faculty research are indicated on the reverse side of this page. Faculty members interact with the clinical departments in such areas as cancer, immunology, heart disease, vascular biology, cerebral resuscitation, blood disorders, inherited diseases, and problems of aging.
Candidates for the Ph.D. and M.S. degrees are required to complete formal course work in general biochemistry, physical biochemistry, enzymology and proteins, and molecular biology plus additional courses planned with the graduate adviser to provide a strong background in the area of specialization.
The program leading to the Ph.D. degree in biochemistry requires a total of 72 credit hours. An interdisciplinary core curriculum (23-26 credit hours) during the first year of Ph.D. graduate training covers macromolecular interactions of proteins and nucleic acids, cell biology, and physiology and a choice of developmental biology, immunology, neurobiology, or biochemical and molecular aspects of diseases and is taken by all Ph.D. candidates in the biomedical sciences. Laboratory rotations enable students to become more familiar with research techniques, scientific communication, and potential dissertation projects. Up to 24 credits may be satisfied by dissertation research and the remaining credits by specialized electives. Additional requirements include a written and an oral comprehensive examination and a written dissertation on original experimental work in a suitable area of biochemistry. Successful oral defense of the dissertation completes the degree requirements. Admission to the George Washington University's Institute for Biomedical Sciences is the mechanism whereby students ultimately become affiliated with the Ph.D. programs in biochemistry.
The program leading to the M.S. degree (thesis) requires a total of 30 credit hours, 6 of which are earned by the preparation of a thesis. The program leading to the M.S. degree (nonthesis) requires a total of 36 credit hours, 6 of which are earned by preparing a review paper. A written comprehensive examination is required for each program. Completion of each program generally requires two years.
Facilities & Resources
The Biochemistry Department occupies 40,000 square feet in Ross Hall, a modern and fully equipped research and teaching facility that also houses other basic science and clinical departments. A close relationship exists with the off-campus teaching and research faculty at the National Institutes of Health, Children's Hospital, American Red Cross, and the Institute for Genomic Research.
The School of Medicine and Health Sciences has excellent modern library facilities, with a special section devoted to audiovisual educational aids.
Expenses and Aid
The cost of tuition is $984 and the cost of fees is $45 per semester credit hour.
Financial Aid:
For Ph.D. students, fellowships are available. They carry a $19,000-per-year stipend and full tuition remission (support during the second year is dependent on a satisfactory record during the first year). After completion of the core curriculum, stipend support transfers to the laboratories in which students are conducting their thesis research. Partial stipend support for several M.S. students is also available.
Housing/Living Expenses:
The cost of living varies widely according to the type of accommodations and the area in which the student chooses to live. University housing is not generally available. Information on off-campus housing may be obtained from the director of housing and residence life.
How to Apply
Applicants benefit from a strong background in chemistry and the biological sciences, including courses in general, analytical, organic, and physical chemistry; mathematics through integral calculus; and one year of college physics. Deficiencies in these courses may be made up after admission. An overall and advanced grade point average of at least a B and a combined score of at least 1100 on the verbal and quantitative portions of the General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations are recommended minimum admission requirements. Ph.D. applicants are referred to the University's Institute for Biomedical Sciences for application directions. The Columbian School operates on a semester system, with terms beginning in August and January. For admission to M.S. programs, application materials should be received by May 1 for fall admission and October 1 for spring admission. The application deadline for the Ph.D. program is January 2.
Who to Contact
Graduate Adviser
Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The George Washington University
2300 Eye Street, NW
Ross Hall, Room 605
Washington, D.C. 20037
202-994-2179
E-mail: gwibs@gwumc.edu
The Faculty
The George Washington University Medical Center, Ross Hall Laboratories
• J. Martyn Bailey, Professor; Ph.D., 1952, D.Sc., 1971, Wales. Molecular biology of prostaglandins and corticosteroids; antiviral drug development; molecular approaches to diabetes and atherosclerosis. Biochem. Soc. Trans. 29:70, 2001; J. Am. Chem. Soc. 121:3810, 1999.
• Patricia E. Berg, Associate Professor; Ph.D., IIT, 1973. New homeobox gene's role in breast cancer and leukemia; sickle cell anemia therapy. Breast Cancer Res. 5:82-7, 2003; Mol. Cell. Biol. 22:2505-14, 2002.
• Maria Bottazi, Assistant Research Professor; Ph.D., Florida, 1995. Molecular and cellular immunoepidemiology of parasitic infections; mechanisms of signal transduction of infectious organisms. Int. J. Parasitol. 33(11):1245-58, 2003; Mol. Cell. Biol. 21:7607-16, 2001.
• Bernard Bouscarel, Associate Research Professor; Ph.D., Toulouse III (France), 1985. Physiologic and pathophysiologic roles of signal transduction in liver disease and GI cancer. Gastroenterology 117:433-52, 1999; Am. J. Physiol. 281:C1396-402, 2001.
• Michael Bukrinsky, Professor; Ph.D., Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), 1984. HIV-related molecular virology and immunology; design of new anti-HIV therapeutic strategies. Trends Immunol. 23:323-5, 2002; Virology 302:195-206, 2002.
• Susan M. Ceryak, Assistant Research Professor of Pharmacology; Ph.D., George Washington, 1994. Signaling pathways involved in cell-cycle regulation and dysregulation in cancer. Mol. Cell. Biochem. 255:139-49, 2004; J. Biol. Chem. 278:17885-94, 2003.
• Sidong Fu, Assistant Research Professor; M.D., Xi'an (China), 1989; Ph.D., Beijing (China), 1994. Homeobox genes in breast cancer and cancer genetics; bioinformatics. Leukemia 14(11):1867-75, 2000; Gastroenterology 116(6):1319-29, 1999.
• Linda L. Gallo, Professor; Ph.D., George Washington, 1969. Mechanism and regulation of cholesterol absorption; chemistry, molecular biology, and physiology of cholesterol esterase and acyl coenzyme A; cholesterol acyl transferase; atherosclerosis; lipid metabolism in wasting disorders. Br. J. Can. 72:1173-9, 1995; Mediators Inflamm. 2:51-6, 1993.
• Allan L. Goldstein, Professor and Chairman; Ph.D., Rutgers, 1964. Chemical and biological properties of the thymosins; neuroimmunology; immunodeficiency diseases; cancer; AIDS; aging. J. Invest. Dermatol. 113:364-8, 1999.
• Valerie W. Hu, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Caltech, 1978. Genomics and mechanism(s) of autism spectrum disorders; molecular and cellular responses to chronic radiation; cell cycle; apoptosis; stress-response; genomic and proteomic analyses of radiation effects. FASEB J. 17:1470-86, 2003; FASEB J. 15:1562-8, 2001.
• Fatah Kashanchi, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Kansas, 1991. Molecular pathogenesis of AIDS and ATL; cell-cycle associated events related to host cell and human retroviruses, including HIV-1 and HTLV-1; genomics, microarray, and proteomics of infected and uninfected cells. J. Biol. Chem. 277(7):4973-80, 2002; Virology 289(2):312-26, 2001.
• Andrei M. Komarov, Assistant Research Professor; M.D., 1984, Ph.D., 1988, Moscow. Nitric oxide: biochemistry and detection; biomedical applications of electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Methods Enzymol. 359:66-74, 2002; Mol. Cell. Biochem. 234/235:387-92, 2002.
• Jay H. Kramer, Associate Research Professor; Ph.D., Lehigh, 1982. Oxidative injury, free-radical detection, and dysfunction during myocardial ischemia/reperfusion; oxidative stress during dietary Mg-deficiency and iron overload; antioxidant therapy. Exp. Biol. Med. 228:665-73, 2003; Mol. Cell. Biochem. 245:141-8, 2003.
• Ajit Kumar, Professor; Ph.D., Chicago, 1968. RNA-protein interaction; transactivation of HIV gene expression. Virology 216:411-7, 1996; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86:7828-32, 1989.
• Raj Lakshman, Research Professor; Ph.D., India. Coronary heart disease; lipids; metabolic and genetic obesity; hepatoxins; gene regulation and expression; retinoids.
• David Leitenberg, Assistant Professor; M.D./Ph.D., Iowa, 1990. Regulation of T-lymphocyte activation and development. Immunity 15:729-38, 2001; Immunity 10:701-11, 1999.
• I. Tong Mak, Associate Research Professor; Ph.D., Wisconsin-Madison, 1982. Free radical biology in cardiovascular cells; antioxidant drug therapy and mechanisms; iron overload and lysosomes; endothelial apoptosis. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 308:85-90, 2004; Cardiovasc. Toxicol. 4:109-15, 2004.
• Philippe Marmillot, Assistant Research Professor; Ph.D., Compiègne (France), 1990. Alcohol consumption; alcoholic liver disease; cardiovascular disease; small GTP-binding proteins, annexins; protein trafficking. Metabolism 48:1184-92, 1999; Metabolism 49:508-12, 2000.
• Timothy A. McCaffrey, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Purdue, 1985. Genomics; cardiovascular disease; growth factors; molecular biology; microarray; apoptosis; biochemistry. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 11:103-14, 2000; J. Clin. Invest. 105(5):653-62, 2000.
• Joseph J. Pinzone, Assistant Professor; M.D., Washington (St. Louis), 1992. Cellular differentiation; endocrinology; metabolism; tumor; translational research. Breast Cancer Res. 5(4):R82-7; Mol. Cell. Biol. 24:4605-12, 2004.
• Anne M. Pumfery, Assistant Research Professor; Ph.D., Wisconsin-Madison, 1994. Molecular pathogenesis of human herpesviruses and HIV. Curr. HIV Res. 1:261-74, 2003; Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 44:2657-68, 2003.
• Marcos Rojkind, Research Professor; M.D., 1960, Ph.D., 1971, Mexico. Fibrogenic mechanisms of alcohol and hepatitis C virus; oxidative stress and scarring of the liver; laminin-binding proteins of hepatocytes and hepatomas. Am. J. Pathol. 162:1771-80, 2003; Cytokine 20 (1-2):12-20, 2003.
• Rita Teresa Roy, Assistant Research Professor; M.D., George Washington, 1994. Bioinformatics; distance learning.
• Gary L. Simon, Professor, Vice Chairman (Medicine), and Director, Division of Infectious Diseases; Ph.D., Wisconsin-Madison, 1972; M.D., Maryland, 1975. Infectious disease; AIDS.
• Jack Y. Vanderhoek, Professor; Ph.D., MIT, 1966. Regulation of eicosanoid metabolism by natural and pharmacological agents; nuclear eicosanoid binding proteins. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1635:75-82; 1640:69-76, 2003.
• Glenn A. Walker, Professor; Ph.D., Michigan State, 1963. Techniques in teaching biochemistry for graduate students and medical students.
• William B. Weglicki, Professor; M.D., Maryland, 1962. Neuropeptide-induced cardiovascular inflammation associated with dietary Mg-deficiency; oxidative stress and antioxidants in iron-mediated free-radical injury to ischemic/reperfused heart and endothelial cells. Magnesium Res. 16(2):91-7, 2003; Mol. Cell. Biochem. 245:141-8, 2003.
Children's Hospital Laboratories
• Anamaris M. Colberg-Poley, Professor; Ph.D., Penn State, 1980. Molecular analyses of herpesvirus immediate early gene expression and proteins. J. Gen. Virol., in press; J. Gen. Virol. 84:3353-8, 2003.
• Eric P. Hoffman, Professor; Ph.D., Johns Hopkins, 1986. Molecular basis of inherited muscle and inherited central nervous system disease. Am. J. Hum. Genet. 64:934-8; 65:252-4, 1999.
• Stephan Ladisch, Professor; M.D., Pennsylvania, 1973. Tumor cell gangliosides: role in tumor formation, regulation of the immune response, and usefulness as circulating markers of malignancy. J. Biol. Chem. 275:34213-23, 2000; JNCI 92:912-7, 2000.
• Mary C. Rose, Associate Research Professor; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve, 1970. Molecular analyses of mucus in airway diseases; regulation of mucin genes, goblet cell hyperplasia, mucin glycoproteins. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 25:533-537, 2001; J. Aerosol Med. 13: 245-261, 2000.
• Mendel Tuchman, Professor; M.D., Tel Aviv, 1979. Biochemistry and molecular biology of the urea cycle; therapy of hyperammonemia with genetically engineered bacteria; inborn errors of metabolism. Pediatr. Res. 48:842-6, 2000; Eur. J. Pediatr. 159(3):S196-8, 2000.
The Institute for Genomic Research
• William C. Nierman, Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1979. Genomics-based functional analysis of microbial pathogenesis; bioinformatics. Nature 423:81-6, 2003; FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 218:223-30, 2002.
• Scott N. Peterson, Associate Professor; Ph.D., North Carolina, 1992. Microbial genomics. Cell 101:146-8, 2000; Science 286:2165-9, 1998.
• John Quackenbush, Associate Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1990. Genomics; functional genomics; microarrays; bioinformatics; computational biology. Nature 409:685-90, 2001; Nucleic Acids Res. 29:159-64, 2001.
Adjunct Faculty
• G. Marius Clore, Adjunct Professor; M.D., University College, London, 1979; Ph.D., National Institute for Medical Research (London), 1982. Structural biology and nuclear magnetic resonance; signal transduction; protein-nucleic acid interactions.
• Nicholas Robert S. Hall, Adjunct Associate Professor; Ph.D., Florida, 1976. Interrelationships between the brain and immune system.
• Kenneth C. Ingham, Professor; Ph.D., Colorado, 1970. Structure, function, and interactions of blood proteins; fibronectin, extracellular matrix.
• Marilyn M. Lightfoote, Adjunct Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Virginia, 1983. AIDS; infectious diseases; retrovirology.
• Leonid Medved, Adjunct Professor; Ph.D., 1980, D.Sci., 1991, Kiev (Ukraine). Structure of complex proteins; molecular mechanisms of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis; fibrinogen and fibrin. J. Biol. Chem. 278:37154-9, 2003; Biochemistry 42:7709-16, 2003.
• Jonathan R. Merril, Adjunct Assistant Professor; M.D., George Washington, 1989. Medical informatics; distance learning.
• Terry W. Moody, Professor; Ph.D., Caltech, 1977. CNS neuropeptides; growth factor receptors in cancer cells; chemistry and biology of bombesin.
• Marshall W. Nirenberg, Adjunct Professor; Ph.D., Michigan, 1957. Genetic code; regulatory mechanisms in synthesis of macromolecules.
• Neil F. Notaroberto, Adjunct Assistant Professor; M.D., George Washington, 1992. Informatics; distance learning; retina/vitreous surgery.
• Prem S. Sarin, Adjunct Professor; Ph.D., Delhi, 1959; Ph.D., Cambridge, 1962. Molecular virology; AIDS vaccine development.
• Alexander Wlodawer, Adjunct Professor; Ph.D., California, 1974. Techniques for X-ray and neutron crystallography and application to structures of biologically important molecules.
• Ray A. Wolf, Adjunct Assistant Professor; Pharm.D., Kentucky, 1979. Bioavailability; pharmacokinetics; biomedical informatics; distance learning.