Overview
Loyola University Chicago enjoys a heritage of more than 120 years as an independent urban university. The undergraduate school is located in Chicago. The Medical Center opened its facilities in suburban Maywood in 1968.

There are approximately 140 graduate students and 530 medical students at the Medical Center. The Division of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry has about 17 graduate students from several states and countries; about half are women. There are also doctoral programs in anatomy, microbiology, molecular biology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and physiology at Loyola University Medical Center.

Most immediate graduates obtain postdoctoral positions at nationally ranked institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, and Northwestern Universities; the NIH; Mayo Clinic; and others. Some students pursue traineeships in industry. Scientists graduating within the past fifteen years are pursuing careers as teaching-research faculty members at universities, research scientists in industry, or full-time college teachers. Graduates have begun their own technical companies or have obtained further professional training in medicine or law and are utilizing their scientific training as physicians or lawyers.

The Location and Community
Loyola Medical Center is located in the western Chicago suburbs, approximately 13 miles west of downtown Chicago. The art, natural history, and science museums as well as the aquarium, planetarium, and two zoos are within 30 minutes' travel time from the Medical Center. Chicago is also the home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera, and several prominent theater and dance groups. For sports enthusiasts, there are major-league baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer teams in Chicago. Lakes, parks, and ski resorts are easily accessible to Chicagoans.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
Programs of study are offered leading to both the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the principal fields of cellular biochemistry, molecular biology, tumor biology, and neurochemistry. The Ph.D. program is designed to train students for a career of research and teaching, recognizing that a strong Ph.D. training program can also lead graduates to many interesting and challenging alternative careers. The master's program was created for students who wish to improve their qualifications for more advanced degrees such as the M.D. or Ph.D., or who are interested in obtaining an M.S. degree to meet other career objectives, such as teaching secondary school, working in industry, or obtaining a law degree.

Each student works closely with a faculty mentor during the research training. Ph.D. candidates must pass a comprehensive qualifying exam that includes both a written test of critical thinking and problem solving skills as well as the preparation and review of a grant related to the proposed dissertation research. Most students complete the program in 4½ to 5 years. Master's students take a year of concentrated course work, then participate in a one-year focused research project that culminates in a departmental seminar and written thesis report.

Students in the seven biomedical doctoral programs at Loyola University Chicago must take a common curriculum during the first semester. This includes courses in the areas of molecular biochemistry, cell biology, systems biology, and methods. After the first semester, students in the Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry need to take additional courses in molecular biology, cellular biochemistry, structure and function of proteins, and biostatistics. Electives include neurochemistry, advanced eukaryotic genetics, molecular oncology, signal transduction, and cellular and molecular neurobiology. Additional elective courses are available.

Major research is being conducted in the biochemistry of apoptosis and transcription factors, second messenger signaling systems, biochemistry of neurodegeneration (especially Parkinson's disease and AIDS), brain development, neurochemical mechanisms of fetal and adult alcohol toxicity, intracellular protein degradation, molecular biology of cancer and metastasis, cell-membrane biochemistry and cell-cell interactions, heat shock proteins, the biosynthesis and action of hormones, gene regulation, and inflammation.

Facilities & Resources
Major equipment and facilities include recording spectrophotometers and fluorometers, scintillation counters, preparative ultracentrifuges, high-performance liquid chromatographs, gas-liquid chromatographs, tissue culture facilities, visible and fluorescent microplate readers, image analysis apparatus, networked microcomputers, and electrophoresis, hybridization, and thermocyclers for molecular biology. Core equipment and facilities include a molecular biological core facility with microarray and proteomics capabilities, a fluorescence-activated cell sorting facility, a transgenic animal facility, an electron microscope and image analysis facility, an animal-care facility, and bioinformatics software. The Medical Center Library is a designated resource for the eight-state Greater Midwest Region Medical Library Network and the national Network of Libraries of Medicine, which link health-science libraries throughout the United States. Collaborative research opportunities exist with four research institutes on campus (Oncology, Cardiovascular, Neuroscience and Aging, and Shock/Trauma) as well as with the adjacent Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital and nearby Argonne National Laboratory.

Expenses and Aid
Tuition and fees are approximately $19,000 per year. This amount is waived for supported students.

Financial Aid:
Graduate students admitted to the Ph.D. program normally receive a fellowship or research assistantship that provides, in addition to complete remission of tuition and fees, a highly competitive stipend.

Housing/Living Expenses:
The cost of housing near Loyola Medical Center varies from approximately $550 to $750 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to approximately $750 to $1000 per month for a two-bedroom apartment.

How to Apply
All applications need to be received online. For complete instructions, prospective students should visit the following address: https://app.applyyourself.com/?id=loyolamc. Entering graduate students should have completed courses in calculus, organic chemistry, and physical chemistry and have a strong background in biology. Academic transcripts, GRE General Test scores, and three letters of recommendation, preferably from science teachers, should be submitted at the time of application. GRE Subject Tests are encouraged but not required. For students whose native language is not English, a score of at least 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required for consideration for admission.

To assure consideration for financial aid, applicants are encouraged to complete their applications no later than February 15. The academic year begins in the fall semester, which starts approximately August 1.

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