Grad Profiles - University of Medicine and Dentistry Biomed

Overview
The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey is a state institution under the administration of a Board of Trustees appointed by the governor. It includes the New Jersey Medical and Dental Schools and the School of Health Related Professions, all located at the Newark campus; the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in Piscataway and Camden; and the New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine, also in Camden. The Graduate School comprises three divisions-one in Newark in association with the New Jersey Medical School, one in Piscataway in association with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and the third in Stratford in association with the School of Osteopathic Medicine. The Newark Division is housed in the modern Medical Science Building, along with the medical and dental schools.

The Graduate School has developed mutually useful relationships with various other colleges and universities, institutes, hospitals, and industrial organizations in New Jersey. Graduate students have opportunities for collaborative association with members of clinical departments at UMDNJ. Students may cross-register for courses at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark.

There are 165 students, approximately 50 percent women, enrolled for work leading to the Ph.D. degree. Most matriculants come from institutions in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic states; however, other regions of the United States and other countries are also represented. The Graduate School actively recruits students from groups underrepresented in the sciences.

The Location and Community
The Graduate School is centrally located in Newark, a city of nearly 400,000 people within convenient traveling distance of New York City. Many cultural and sports activities are offered in the metropolitan area. The New Jersey seashore and the mountainous country of western New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and New York are easily accessible and provide numerous year-round recreational opportunities.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
Programs leading to the Ph.D. degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) are offered through the Departments of Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Molecular Pathology and Immunology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Neurosciences, and Pharmacology and Physiology. Joint M.D./Ph.D. and D.M.D./Ph.D. degree programs are offered in cooperation with the New Jersey Medical School and New Jersey Dental School. A new interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in biomedical sciences is also available. The primary purpose of the programs is to prepare students for rewarding professional careers as creative biomedical scientists with high levels of scholarly excellence.

The general requirements for the doctorate include advanced course work to provide a broad background in the major and related disciplines plus demonstration of the ability to initiate and perform original, independent, meritorious research and to present the findings orally and in a format suitable for publication.

A course of study leading to the M.S. degree in oral biology is available to graduate dentists. An interdisciplinary master's degree program in biomedical sciences also is available.

Facilities & Resources
Each department has ample space and scientific equipment for student use. The George F. Smith Library of UMDNJ contains about 90,000 volumes and subscribes to approximately 2,500 journals, in addition to having access to online bibliographic retrieval systems for literature searches. An academic computing center and a spacious, centralized animal-care facility are available on campus.

Expenses and Aid
In 2004-05, full-time tuition for the doctoral program for the academic year is $5556 for New Jersey residents and $8049 for nonresidents. Part-time tuition for the doctoral program is $456 per credit for New Jersey residents and $570 per credit for nonresidents. Modest fees are charged for such items as compulsory health insurance and membership in the Graduate Student Association. Different tuition and fees apply to the master's programs.

Financial Aid:
A limited number of graduate fellowships and tuition waivers are awarded to incoming full-time students. Support from the Federal Work-Study Program is available for qualified matriculants, as are state-guaranteed loans and Federal Perkins Loans. The Graduate School provides funds to assist in defraying costs of doctoral students' research and travel to national scientific meetings.

Housing/Living Expenses:
UMDNJ has no housing for students, but the campus is easily accessible from neighboring communities by automobile or public transportation. Students arrange for their own living accommodations; they should contact the Graduate School office if assistance is required. Campus parking facilities are available.

How to Apply / Application
Requirements for admission are a degree from an accredited college or university and a record of satisfactory academic work at the baccalaureate level, scores on the Graduate Record Examinations (verbal, quantitative, and analytical portions of the General Test), references from former instructors, and a personal interview, when feasible. Prospective applicants should consult with faculty members of the discipline in which they have an interest, since individual departments may have specific course requirements. TOEFL scores are required of students from countries in which English is not the native language. Applications submitted before February 1 are considered for fall admission.

Who to Contact
Admissions
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
University Heights
30 Bergen Street, ADMC 110
Newark, New Jersey 07107-3000

973-972-4511

E-mail: gsbsnadm@umdnj.edu

Faculty and Research

CELL BIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE
• Professor Stephen F. Vatner, Chairperson. Professors David DeFouw, Amos G. Gona, S. Joseph Leibovich, John H. Siegel, Dorothy E. Vatner, Atsuko Yatani. Associate Professors Peter B. Berendsen, Yoshira Ishikawa, William H. Massover, Mark A. Nathanson, Junichi Sadoshima, Nagaswamisri S. Vasan, Mang C. Yu. Assistant Professors Maha Abdellatif, Christophe Depre, Vinciane Gaussin, Chull Hong, Song-Jung Kim, Satoshi Okumura, Koichi Seta, Lin Yan, Guiping Yang. Instructor Jayashree Pain.

• Research interests. Physiological and molecular mechanisms of disease; mechanisms of cardiovascular control; molecular mechanisms of cardiac hypertrophy and failure; genomics and proteomics in heart disease; developmental biology of the heart; pathophysiology and electrophysiology of the heart; roles of adenylyl cyclase in the heart; signal transduction of the cardiovascular system; cell and molecular biology of angiogenesis and wound repair.

BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
• Professor Michael Mathews, Chairperson. Professors Sylvia Christakos, S. C. Joseph Fu, Suriender Kumar, Michael A. Lea, Mukund J. Modak, Betty Jean Wagner. Associate Professors Raymond Birge, Earlene B. Cunningham, Laura T. Goldsmith, Richard D. Howells, Herman S. Shapiro. Assistant Professors Neerja Kaushik-Basu, Sergei Kotenko, Chee-Gun Lee, Hong Li, Melissa B. Rogers, Carolyn K. Suzuki, Bin Tian.

• Research interests. Structure and function of DNA polymerases, including reverse transcriptases; molecular modelings of substrate-enzyme interactions; vitamin D-mediated regulation of gene expression; neuronal calcium-binding protein; opioid peptide gene expression and molecular consequences of drug addiction; proteases in transformed cells; physical chemistry of macromolecules in cataractogenic lens; mechanisms of hormone action, including signal transduction; molecular basis of aging; autoimmunity; differentiating agents on cancer cells; mitochondrial proteins; HIV-1 TAT protein transcription.

MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR GENETICS
• Professor Carol S. Newlon, Chairperson. Professors Marjorie C. Brandriss, Anthony Garro, Emanuel Goldman, M. Zafri Humayun, David B. Kaback, Nicholas M. Ponzio, Lynn S. Ripley, Marvin M. Schwalb. Associate Professor Jeffrey Wilusz. Assistant Professors Vivian Bellofatto, Nancy D. Connell, J. Patrick O'Connor, Ian Whitehead, Hua Zhu.

• Research interests. Molecular genetics; genetic engineering; virology; molecular genetics of yeast; mammalian cell genetics; mechanisms of mutagenesis; viral and chemical carcinogenesis; regulation of gene expression; chromosome structure and function; cell and viral DNA synthesis; RNA processing; apoptosis; cellular basis for aging; human genetics; mycobacteria; parasitology.

MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY
• Professor Stanley Cohen, Chairperson. Professors Seena Aisner, Norman Ende, Patricia Fitzgerald-Bocarsly, Meera Hameed, Kenneth M. Klein, Muriel W. Lambert, W. Clark Lambert, Ronald M. Maenza, Nicholas M. Ponzio, Elizabeth Raveché, George P. Studzinski. Associate Professors Subal Bishayee, Eun-Sook Cho, Marion Cohen, Susan Gould-Fogerite, Debra S. Heller, M. Yusuf Khan, Raphael Mannino, Neena Mirani, Dorothy Moore, James M. Oleske, Leroy R. Sharer, Sharon Smith. Assistant Professors Bonita Bachl, Frederick D. Coffman, Kastuyi Das, Helen Fernandes, Anthony E. Grygotis, Ranie Koshy, Lisa K. Ryan.

• Research interests. Pathobiology of cancer; human and simian AIDS virus and the nervous system; organ-specific antibodies; molecular mechanisms of DNA damage and repair; DNA repair in genetic and neurodegenerative diseases; lymphocyte responses to syngeneic lymphomas; suppressor mechanisms of immune responses; immune suppression in AIDS; viral immunology; TH-lymphocyte clones resistant to AIDS; recombinant DNA technology in disease diagnosis; oncogene expression in leukemic cells; role of c-myc oncogene in cell proliferation; cellular and molecular analysis of autoimmunity; molecular biology of DNA tumor viruses; development of synthetic vaccines; responses to phospholipid-based immunogens; cytokines and DNA replication; signal transduction.

NEUROSCIENCES
• Professor Patrick Pullicino, Chairperson. Professors Peter C. Dowling, Nicholas A. Ingoglia, Robert W. Ledeen, Joseph J. McArdle, Benjamin Natelson, Martha C. Nowycky, John E. Ottenweller, Andrew Pachner, Christine Rohowsky-Kochan, Hreday Sapru, Allan Siegel, Ellen Townes-Anderson, Marco Zarbin. Associate Professors Josh Berlin, John DeLuca, Andrew L. Harris, Richard Howells, Amjad Ilyas, Pranela Rameshwar, Richard Servatius, Jiang Hong Ye. Assistant Professors Stella Elkabes, Peter Hans Frederikse, Andrew Kalnin, Eldo Kuzhikandathil, Gudrun Lange, Vanessa Routh, Steven Zalcman. Since this is a combined program with Rutgers University in Newark, members of its faculty also support this program.

• Research interests. Virology and immunology of multiple sclerosis; biochemical and pharmacological studies in epilepsy; neurobiology of simian-human Lyme disease; role of antibody and glycolipid antigens in neurological diseases; molecular biology of nerve degeneration; plasticity; regeneration; transplantation; body weight regulation; neurophysiology and neuropharmacology of aggressive behavior; stress and primate chronophysiology and behavior; cardiovascular system; electrophysiology and anatomy of CNS catecholamine systems; psychoimmunology; enzymology and neurobiology of myelin; neurochemistry of gangliosides; cell biology and degeneration of the retina; neuroimmunology; ion channels; opioid receptors; functional brain imaging; trophic factors; neurotransmission; GABA and dopamine molecular biology and electrophysiology.

ORAL BIOLOGY
• Professor Daniel Fine, Chairperson. Professors Robert Binder, Milton Houpt, Talib A. Najjar, Amalia Slomiany, Bronislaw Slomiany, J. Vaidyanathan, Tritala Vaidyanathan, Saul Weiner. Associate Professors G. Chang, M. Kantor, Chinnaswany Kasinathan. Assistant Professors Fotinos Panagakos, Harayanan Ramasubbu. Clinical Professors Sheldon Baurmind, Sidney Horowitz. Clinical Assistant Professor R. Touger-Decker.

• Research interests. Cariology; periodontal diseases; cell-mediated immunity; saliva; oral hard- and soft-tissue metabolism; oral neoplasms; pain and signal transduction; mucosal defense mechanisms; HIV oral involvement.

PHARMACOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY
• Professor Andrew P. Thomas, Chairperson. Professors Mohamed S. Abdel-Rahman, Henry E. Brezenoff, Friedrich P. J. Diecke, Walter N. Durán, Patricia N. Farnsworth, Robert W. Hobson, Nicholas A. Ingoglia, Joseph J. McArdle, Bozena B. Michniak, Martha C. Nowycky, John P. Reeves, Hreday N. Sapru. Associate Professors Joshua R. Berlin, Henry Edinger, Edward J. Flynn, Kenneth Friedman, Andrew L. Harris, Richard Howland, Alan Mautone, Debkumar Pain, Arthur B. Ritter, Marguerite A. Stout, Lester G. Sultatos, Rita Turkall. Assistant Professors Annie V. Beuve, Eldo Kuzhikandathil, Vanessa H. Routh, Roman Shirokov, Natalia Shirokova, Stanley D. Von Hagen. Adjunct Professors Abraham Aviv, Robert W. Egan, Gregory Kaczorowski.

• Research interests. CNS control of cardiovascular function; role of histamine in CNS; cardiorenal pharmacology; ionic currents in biological membranes; biochemical pharmacology; toxicology of hazardous waste; toxicology; immunopharmacology; pharmacokinetics; biochemical mechanisms for neurotoxic substances; aminopeptidase activity in human neutrophils; cardiovascular physiology; cellular and membrane physiology; respiratory mechanics; regulation of tone of vascular smooth muscle; development of vertebrate vascular control systems; pulmonary transport in metabolism in vivo; coronary microvascular flow and transcapillary exchange; role of lipids in controlling membrane function; calcium homeostasis in excitable tissues; pathophysiology of the microcirculation and chronic diabetes mellitus; comparative study of aging of the crystalline lens; molecular biology of nerve regeneration; studies on experimental proteinuria; intestinal absorption.