University of Arizona
Cell Biology and Anatomy
Tucson, Arizona
Overview
The University of Arizona is ranked among the top research institutions in the country. In 1997-98, the University expended $292 million in external support, making it tenth among public institutions and fourteenth among all institutions in dollar amount expended. University scholars include Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. All eleven colleges and eight schools of the University of Arizona are housed within a single area comprising 339 contiguous acres. This arrangement contributes to the ease of interaction between faculty members and students from different departments, colleges, and schools. The excellent academic community at the University and the cultural and recreational opportunities in greater Tucson provide students with a rich environment for growth. In 1962, the Arizona Board of Regents authorized the development of the College of Medicine, and the first buildings of the College were completed in 1967. The College of Medicine contributes to the administration of the clinical departments and the basic science departments of cell biology and anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology and immunology, pharmacology, and physiology.
The student body of the University of Arizona is large and diverse, comprising 28,482 undergraduates, 7,450 graduate students, 491 law students, 422 medical students, and 238 pharmacy students. All fifty states and 123 countries are represented at the University.
The Location and Community
The University of Arizona is located in the heart of Tucson, 2 hours south of Phoenix and 1 hour north of the Mexican border. The city of Tucson has a beautiful natural setting, centered in the lush Sonoran Desert and surrounded by four mountain ranges. This location, along with the sunny weather, makes Tucson ideal for outdoor activities. Yet, with a metropolitan area of more than 600,000 people, Tucson is a vital urban center with all the expected cultural amenities. In addition to the intellectual and cultural offerings at the University, the city supports a professional orchestra, opera company, ballet company, theater company, art museum, and innumerable shops, movie theaters, and ethnic restaurants.
Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The graduate program in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in the College of Medicine at the University of Arizona offers a progressive training program leading to a Ph.D. degree. The program is designed to train students for careers in modern biomedical research and education through in-depth training in one of the disciplines represented in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Laboratory research training is the primary focus of the program, and there are several research clusters to choose from in the department, including heart development, neural development, cellular toxicology and microcirculation, membrane traffic and cytoskeleton, and cell-surface receptors. Students, in consultation with the Graduate Studies Committee, have considerable flexibility in designing their own program of study. Required course work is minimal, and only one semester of teaching is required by the program. In addition to formal lecture courses and graduate seminar courses, the program of study contains opportunities for laboratory rotations and participation in seminars, colloquia, and journal clubs in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy and within other programs and departments. Under special program guidelines, students admitted to the medical school class may apply to the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy for admission to the M.D./Ph.D. program.
Facilities & Resources
Well-equipped faculty laboratories as well as modern, multiuser facilities are available in the College of Medicine and on the main University campus. The Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy facilities include a Philips CM12S STEM electron microscope equipped for elemental analysis; a JEOL 100CX TEM; an Etec scanning electron microscope; Reichert Ultracut E ultramicrotomes with accessories for ultrathin frozen sections; a Leitz Aristoplan light microscope for bright- and dark-field, fluorescence, and DIC imaging as well as photography; a Leica Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope; Bioquant Image Analysis Systems; modern tissue culture facilities; darkrooms; and laboratories equipped for high-resolution in vivo microscopy, computational microscopic imaging, and scanning tunnelling microscopy. Other facilities available through the University's Biotechnology Division include an amino acid sequencer, a fluorescence-activated cell sorting facility, and a two-dimensional gel imaging facility. Several VAX and IBM computers are available for research and teaching purposes. In addition, central research-support services include University as well as departmental electronics and machine shops, photographic and graphics services, and modern laboratory-animal facilities. The University also has one of the larger and most respected university research libraries in the country, in addition to separate medical and science libraries.
Expenses and Aid
Tuition and fees were approximately $4248 for Arizona students and approximately $13,228 for nonresidents in 2003-04. Out-of-state tuition is waived for graduate teaching and research assistants.
Financial Aid:
Students in the program are supported by teaching and research assistantships, special fellowships (including minority fellowships), NIH Training Grant stipends, and tuition and fee waivers.
Housing/Living Expenses:
The moderate size of Tucson and the recent overbuilding of apartments and houses lead to substantially lower costs of living than in many other urban areas. Reasonable housing is available within walking and biking distance of campus.
How to Apply
Students with undergraduate majors in any of the biological sciences generally have the necessary requirements to apply to the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. While exceptions may be granted, it is expected that applicants will have taken one year of math through calculus, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, biology or zoology, and biochemistry. Statistics and advanced courses in biology are recommended. The Graduate Studies Committee may recommend that deficiencies in undergraduate course work be remediated upon entrance to the program. Admission is based upon academic record, GRE scores, a personal statement, and three letters of recommendation. Students are usually admitted to begin in the fall semester. Applications for admission may be obtained from the departmental admissions officer, whose address is given below. Completed applications are due by January 15, although applications received later will be considered if openings are still available.
Who to Contact
Dr. Jean M. Wilson
Chairperson, Graduate Studies Committee
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy
Arizona Health Sciences Center
The University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona 85724-5044
Faculty
• Helen Amerongen, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor. Medical education.
• Parker B. Antin, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Molecular mechanisms of cell diversification in vertebrates; regulation of cardiac and skeletal muscle cell differentiation.
• Scott Boitano, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Physiology and of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Respiratory cell physiology; respiratory cell-cell communication; respiratory cell-pathogen interactions.
• G. Timothy Bowden, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Chair, Cancer Biology Graduate Interdisciplinary Program. Molecular mechanisms of physical and chemical carcinogenesis; cellular oncogene activation and differential gene expression during tumor progression.
• Thomas Boyer, M.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Director, Liver Research Institute.
• Gail D. Burd, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Cell Biology and Anatomy. Developmental neurobiology: role of hormones and afferent innervation in the development of olfactory pathways; identification of genes important for olfactory system development.
• Arthur D. Craig, Ph.D., Research Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Senior Staff Scientist at the Barrow Neurological Institute. Organization of ascending somatosensory pathways, particularly those for nociception and thermoreception, using several functional neuroanatomical techniques.
• Anne E. Cress, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Cellular adhesion and tumor progression.
• Maria Czuzak, Ph.D., Anatomical instructor. Biological/forensic anthropology: skeletal asymmetry, degenerative joint disease and handedness in humans.
• Bohuslav Dvorak, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Cell Biology and Anatomy. Milkborne growth factors and development.
• David A. Elliott, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Investigations into nutrient uptake by the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum; using electron microscopy and protein purification.
• H. (Johnny) Fares, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Analysis of membrane trafficking; Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system.
• Eugene W. Gerner, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and of Molecular Biophysics and Director, Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in GI Cancer. Signaling pathways influencing growth and apoptosis in carcinogenesis; polyamine metabolism.
• Herman Gordon, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Synaptogenesis: Intracellular signaling networks and computer modeling.
• Robert W. Gore, Ph.D., Professor of Physiology and of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Mechanical properties and regulatory mechanisms of microcirculatory vessels; problems of transcapillary fluid exchange; mechanisms of cell motility.
• Carol Gregorio, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Identification of molecular components and signaling mechanisms that regulate cytoskeletal protein interactions during striated muscle development and disease.
• Ron Heimark, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Surgery, Pathology, and Cell Biology and Anatomy and Chief, Section of Surgical Research.
• Keith Joiner, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Dean, College of Medicine.
• Scott Klewer, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics and of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Molecular and genetic analysis of cardiovascular development with an emphasis on role of the extracellular matrix in heart valve formation and blood vessel morphogenesis.
• Paul A. Krieg, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Regulation of cardiovascular development in the frog embryo.
• R. Clark Lantz, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Associate Head. Alteration of pulmonary structure and function following exposure to occupationally important minerals or to infectious agents; special emphasis on the role of alveolar macrophage in the development of lung injury.
• Christopher A. Leadem, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Student Affairs.
• Lonnie P. Lybarger, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Aspects of MHC class I antigen presentation in virus-infected cells and during T-cell development.
• Jesse D. Martinez, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and of Radiation Oncology. Cancer genetics, colon cancer chemoprevention; tumor suppressor genes; functional analysis of p53; role of bile acids in colon carcinogenesis.
• Robert S. McCuskey, Ph.D., Head and Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Physiology, and Pediatrics. Microscopic studies of the liver in health and during disease caused by infection and/or toxins; in vivo microscopic imaging techniques.
• Abigail S. McElhinny, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor. Cytoskeletal proteins in cardiac and skeletal muscle: Role of the giant protein, titin, in muscle structure/function and characterization of its multiple binding partners.
• Nathaniel T. McMullen, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Neurology, and Speech and Hearing Science. Developmental neurobiology: organization and development of the mammalian auditory cortex; afferent regulation of cerebral cortical differentiation.
• Mary Ellen Morbeck, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Descriptive and quantitative analysis of variation and evolutionary change in humans and other primates.
• Raymond B. Nagle, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pathology and of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Research on prostate carcinogenesis involving the role of integrin expression, extracellular matrix protein products, and protease secretion in the process of invasion and metastasis.
• Lisa Nagy, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Analysis of the genetic basis of morphological diversification.
• John Nolte, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Medical education and development of computer-assisted instructional materials.
• Roy Parker, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology and of Cell Biology and Anatomy. mRNA decay in eukaryotes, emphasizing molecular genetics to understand both the mechanisms and regulation of mRNA turnover.
• Naomi E. Rance, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Pathology, Cell Biology and Anatomy, and Neurology. Neuroendocrinology: effects of steroid hormones on morphology and gene expression of neurons in the human hypothalamus.
• Raymond B. Runyan, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy and Associate Research Scientist, Sarver Heart Center. Mechanisms of tissue interaction and cellular transformation in the developing heart.
• Paul A. St. John, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Developmental neurobiology: induction and regulation of neurotransmitter receptors during synaptogenesis; regulation of intracellular calcium in excitable cells.
• Nicholas J. Strausfeld, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology, Arizona Research Laboratories, Division of Neurobiology, and Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Visual neuroscience: visual processing underlying sex-specific motor control; high brain centers in nonvertebrate systems involved in learning, memory, and olfactory processing.
• Leslie P. Tolbert, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology, Arizona Research Laboratories, Division of Neurobiology, and Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Developmental neurobiology: interactions between neurons and glial cells during development of central nervous system structures; structure and organization of insect central nervous system.
• Donata Vercelli, M.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Assistant Director of Arizona Respiratory Center (Functional Genomics), and Member of the Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Genetics. Functional genomics of allergic disease.
• Jean M. Wilson, Ph.D., Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Membrane traffic: Molecular characterization of the composition and biogenesis of endosomal compartments in polarized and nonpolarized cells.