Indiana University
Biochemistry
Indianapolis, IN
Overview
Indiana University is a comprehensive statewide university system, with core campuses located at Indianapolis and Bloomington. The Indiana University Medical Center, including the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Allied Health Sciences, is located on a 100-acre campus a little more than a mile from the center of Indianapolis. The Medical Center is adjacent to an undergraduate campus, VA and county hospitals, and a new conference center and hotel. Students have access to outstanding athletics facilities in the campus sports complex, which provides swimming and track facilities that are among the finest in the nation.
Health science programs at the Medical Center enroll more than 4,000 students, including 289 graduate students in nine basic science programs. Total enrollment at the Indianapolis campus is 28,000, including undergraduates and part-time students.
Over the last ten years, approximately two thirds of graduates have taken academic positions and one third have taken industrial positions.
The Location and Community
Indianapolis, a rapidly developing metropolitan area of a million people, has gained nationwide recognition as an attractive place to live. It provides the advantages of a large city in cultural activity and entertainment, but it is small enough to permit freedom of movement and community identification. It is the home of major pharmaceutical and biochemical companies. There are many recreational facilities, including the largest city park in the country, a velodrome, and a zoo near the campus. The city's cultural activities include programs supported by the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Diverse year-round programs of theater, ballet, opera, and popular entertainment are presented at Clowes Hall, Conseco Field House, the Indianapolis Convention Center, and RCA Dome. Indianapolis is the home of the 500-mile auto race and of several professional sports teams, including the Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis Colts, Indianapolis Indians, and Indianapolis Ice.
Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology offers a graduate research program leading to the Ph.D. degree awarded by the Indiana University (IU) Graduate School. The program provides rigorous theoretical and experimental preparation for a career in modern biochemistry and molecular biology. The research of the faculty includes signal transduction mechanisms, molecular biology, cellular regulation, genetics, regulation of metabolic processes, and the structure and function of proteins. Extensive research interactions occur with other academic and clinical departments on the Indianapolis campus. Much of the research is of fundamental importance to cancer, diabetes, and alcoholism. Most of the faculty members are associated with one or more of the following major research centers: Indiana Alcohol Research Center, IU Center for Diabetes Research, IU Center for Cancer Research, IU Center for Structural Biology, IU Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, and IU Center for Medical Genomics.
The first year of graduate study is devoted principally to advanced course work. However, the student becomes involved in research from the beginning and usually has identified a thesis research project by the end of the first year. Academic requirements are completed after two years, at which point the student may advance as a doctoral candidate and devote full-time study to an original investigation culminating in the Ph.D. thesis. The academic minor can be selected in a related discipline (microbiology, pharmacology, physiology), but students may draw from a broad spectrum of graduate courses to compose a coherent interdisciplinary minor in cancer biology, diabetes, life science, or physical science. Students accepted into medical school may enroll in a combined M.D./Ph.D. program.
The department has a varied research program that combines the traditional values and rigor of the biochemical approach with the latest techniques of molecular biology. Research projects range from the most basic studies of the physical properties of biomolecules to the application of molecular genetics in diagnosis. The research environment is enriched by numerous interactions and collaborations with faculty members in other basic science and clinical departments at the Medical Center with the chemistry, physics, and biology faculty on the adjacent Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus; and with colleagues at nearby universities, most notably Purdue University and Indiana University Bloomington. These interactions are especially reinforced by the multidisciplinary research centers for cancer, diabetes, and alcoholism.
Facilities & Resources
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology occupies 20,000 square feet of new laboratory space on the fourth floor of the Medical Science Building. The department has excellent facilities for modern research in biochemistry and molecular biology. This includes state-of-the-art instrumentation for X-ray crystallography, microarray analysis, mass spectrometry, protein-protein interaction, and automated DNA sequencing. Advanced instrumentation available to students on campus includes fluorescence-activated cell sorters, electron microscopes, and a 500-MHz multinuclear NMR spectrometer. The Proteomics Core Facility and the Center for Medical Genomics provide state-of-the-art facilities for training of investigators and students in these disciplines. Research cores include facilities for the production of knockout and transgenic animals. The adjacent Medical Research Building houses a medical library (holding more than 175,000 volumes, including 2,000 biomedical journals) and a professionally staffed animal research facility. The laboratories of several members of the faculty are located in the nearby Center for Cancer Research and the Biotechnology Research and Training Center. Online electronic literature searching is available through personal computers located in all laboratories.
Expenses and Aid
In-state tuition and fees were $251.85 per credit hour, and out-of-state fees were $632.55 per credit hour. Fee scholarships may be used to defray tuition costs.
Financial Aid:
Stipends are $22,000 per year. Tuition fees are provided for Ph.D. students in good academic standing.
Housing/Living Expenses:
Dormitories and apartments for single or married students are available on campus, along with a variety of dining facilities. Many pleasant residential areas are within a 15-minute drive of the Medical Center. The general cost-of-living index is substantially lower than in most metropolitan areas.
How to Apply
The principal prerequisite for admission into the program is an undergraduate degree, usually in biology, biochemistry, or chemistry, from an accredited institution in the United States or equivalent training from a university outside of the United States. The General Test of the Graduate Record Examinations is required.
Who to Contact
Ronald C. Wek, Ph.D.
Chairperson, Admissions Committee
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Indiana University School of Medicine
635 Barnhill Drive, Room 4067
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-5122
317-274-0549
E-mail: rwek@iupui.edu
http://www.biochemistry.iu.edu
The Faculty and Research
• David W. Allmann, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of metabolic processes of liver, salivary gland, and neutrophils by inorganic fluoride.
• Simon J. Atkinson, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Cellular and molecular biology of the actin cytoskeleton; regulation of cell motility.
• Martin Bard, Ph.D., Professor. Yeast genetics and molecular biology of sterol synthesis and regulation; role of antifungal agents that target sterol pathway.
• William F. Bosron, Ph.D., Professor. Structure and mechanism of alcohol dehydrogenases and carboxylesterases; regulation of ethanol, retinoid, and drug ester (cocaine, heroin, meperidine) metabolism; role of retinoid metabolism in liver fibrosis.
• David W. Crabb, M.D., John B. Hickham Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine. Regulation of expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase; control of ethanol metabolism in transduced cells; signaling by way of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) in liver.
• Dring N. Crowell, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of plant cell growth and development by isoprenoid compounds and isoprenylated proteins.
• Mark A. Deeg, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor. Regulation of glycosylphosphatidylinositol metabolism in diabetes and atherosclerosis; ethanol regulation of inflammation and atherosclerosis.
• Timothy DeGrado, Professor. Molecular imaging of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism; development of radiopharmaceuticals and tracer kinetic methods for cardiac and oncologic imaging.
• Anna A. DePaoli-Roach, Ph.D., Professor. Structure, function, and regulation of protein phosphatases; role in signal transduction; study of function in gene knockout and overexpressing transgenic mice.
• A. Keith Dunker, Ph.D., Professor. Bioinformatics and laboratory experiments to understand functions of intrinsic disorder and thereby to challenge the sequence-to-structure-to-function paradigm.
• Kenneth W. Dunn, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Endocytic membrane transport in polarized epithelia; quantitative and 3-dimensional microscopy.
• Joseph R. Dynlacht, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Mechanisms of radiation-induced cell killing; heat-shock response; DNA double-strand break repair; nuclear matrix structure and composition; radiation-induced cataractogenesis.
• Howard J. Edenberg, Ph.D., Chancellor's Professor. Genomics and bioinformatics; regulation of gene expression; genetics of complex diseases; molecular biology of alcohol metabolism and alcoholism.
• Jeffrey S. Elmendorf, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Molecular mechanisms of insulin-stimulated glucose transport; signal transduction; vesicular trafficking; role of the cytoskeleton; microscopic and proteomic approaches.
• Rose S. Fife, M.D., Professor. Metalloproteinase inhibition in cancer cells; biochemistry of extracellular matrix proteins; mechanisms of apoptosis; angiogenesis.
• Shao-Ling Fong, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Gene regulation of visual cycle and visual transduction proteins in human retina.
• Millie M. Georgiadis, Ph.D., Associate Professor. X-ray crystallographic and biochemical analysis of protein-nucleic acid interactions involved in retroviral replication, nuclear export, and DNA repair.
• Mark G. Goebl, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of the cell cycle by ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation.
• Matthew W. Grow, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. The genetic networks involved in vertebrate cardiovascular development.
• Maureen A. Harrington, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation and development of innate immune response; TNF signaling; embryonic development.
• Robert A. Harris, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Showalter Professor. Regulation of mitochondrial kinases and phosphatases; regulation of gene expression.
• Thomas D. Hurley, Ph.D., Professor. X-ray crystallography of dehydrogenases and glycosyl transferases; enzyme engineering using site-directed mutagenesis; kinetic and thermodynamic analysis of protein-ligand interactions.
• Hiremagalur N. Jayaram, Ph.D., Professor. Regulation of nucleic acid metabolism; interaction of NAD metabolism in diabetes; biochemical targeting of therapy; mechanisms of drug resistance; developing a drug from the bench to the clinic.
• Larry R. Jones, Ph.D., M.D., Professor. Purification, cloning, and expression of membrane protein involved in regulation of cardiac contractility and rhythm.
• Reuben Kapur, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Understanding intracellular signaling mechanisms involved in regulating adhesion, migration, and self-renewal of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.
• Mark R. Kelley, Ph.D., Professor. Molecular and biochemical analysis of DNA base excision repair genes; DNA repair genes as agents for gene therapy.
• Suk-Hee Lee, Ph.D., Professor. Stress and DNA damage-induced S-phase arrest and regulation of DNA replication and repair in mammalian system.
• William J. McBride, Ph.D., Professor. Neurochemistry; interactions of neurotransmitters; neurochemistry of alcoholism.
• Harikrishna Nakshatri, B.V.Sc., Ph.D., Associate Professor. Role of the transcription factor NF-kB in breast cancer; metastatic growth of hormone-independent breast cancers.
• Byron L. Olson, Ph.D., Professor. Nicotine metabolism; effects of nicotine on the metabolism of fibroblasts and epithelial cells.
• David A. Potter, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor. Calpain mechanisms of cell differentiation and proliferation; genomic and proteomic approaches to chemotherapy resistance.
• Lawrence A. Quilliam, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Signal transduction; regulation and biological function of Ras family GTPases; Ras-related proteins and cancer; genetic models of GTPase function.
• Stephen K. Randall, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Role of calcium and ion-binding proteins in cold and other abiotic stress responses in plants.
• Simon Rhodes, Ph.D., Professor. Transcriptional regulation of endocrine organ development and function.
• Peter J. Roach, Ph.D., Chancellor's Professor. Hormonal control of glycogen metabolism; glycogenin; protein phosphorylation and protein kinases; signal transduction in mammals and yeast; protein kinases of the cdk family; genomic and proteomic approaches.
• Roger W. Roeske, Ph.D., Professor. Bioorganic chemistry; peptide synthesis; hormone-receptor interaction; self-assembly systems.
• C. Max Schmidt, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor. MAPK and cyclooxygenase regulation of hepatocellular and pancreatic carcinomas.
• Weinian Shou, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cellular and molecular biology of vertebrate development; regulations in cardiac development and function.
• Jay R. Simon, Ph.D., Professor. Neurochemistry; mechanisms involved in regulation of the dopamine transporter; drug abuse.
• David G. Skalnik, Ph.D., Professor. Epigenetic regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression in mammals.
• Debbie C. Thurmond, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Regulation of pancreatic insulin secretion and skeletal muscle/adipose tissue glucose uptake (insulin action) by SNARE proteins and the actin cytoskeleton, in vitro and in vivo.
• Mark C. Wagner, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cellular and molecular biology of unconventional myosins; role in renal function.
• James P. Walsh, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor. Molecular biology of phosphoinositide-mediated signal transduction.
• Ronald C. Wek, Ph.D., Professor. Cellular stress response pathways and their linkage to disease.
• Mervin C. Yoder, M.D., Professor. Regulation of hematopoietic stem cell development and microenvironmental effects on lineage commitment throughout murine ontogeny.
• Faculty at Other Centers for Medical Education
• W. Marshall Anderson, Ph.D., Professor (Gary). Sequence analysis of gamma diagnostic phage of B. anthrasis; composition analysis of the gamma diagnostic phage receptor complex on B. cereus; identification of source of E. coli in watershed of northwest Indiana.
• David L. Daleke, Ph.D., Associate Professor (Bloomington). Structure and function of biological membranes; identification, isolation, and characterization of phospholipid transporters; role of membrane phospholipid asymmetry in diabetes; synthesis of novel phospholipids.
• Dipika Gupta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Gary). Regulation of cytokine and chemokine expression by host cells in response to bacteria.
• Michael W. King, Ph.D., Professor (Terre Haute). Tissue regeneration and early embryogenesis.
• Edward E. McKee, Ph.D., Associate Professor (South Bend). Mitochondrial biogenesis and gene expression; mitochondrial nucleotide transport and metabolism; mitochondrial drug toxicity; cardiac metabolism.
• Barth H. Ragatz, Ph.D., Professor (Fort Wayne). Influence of adenine nucleotide analogues on platelet functionality.
• Kent L. Redman, Ph.D., Associate Professor (Fort Wayne). Protein-RNA interactions critical for ribosome assembly and function; the biology and chemistry of RNA methyltransferases that form 5-methylcytosine in rRNA and tRNA.
• Godfrey Tunnicliff, Ph.D., Professor (Evansville). Metabolism of brain GABA; characterization of GABA recognition sites; 4-aminobutyrate transaminase.
• Claire E. Walczak, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Bloomington). Biochemistry and cell biology of mitotic spindle assembly and chromosome segregation in Xenopus egg extracts and in tissue culture cells.