Curriculum

The goal of the laboratory rotations is to familiarize students with the research being carried out by the training faculty and to identify a research mentor. Students should note that the research mentor must be a member of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) faculty and is usually selected from among the NMB training faculty. The approximate schedule for the three rotations is: October through December for the first rotation, January through March for the second rotation, and April through June for the third rotation. Although not encouraged, students may undertake a fourth rotation in July and August. Students are permitted one out-of-program rotation without notifying the NMB Training Committee. Students who wish to undertake a second out-of-program rotation must obtain approval from the NMB Training Committee prior to finalizing the rotation with the proposed mentor.

The level of activity in a rotation is decided upon by mutual agreement between the laboratory director and the student. Typically, a student carries out a well-defined independent research project in the laboratory. It is very important that a clear understanding of obligations on the part of the student and expectations from the mentor be established at the outset of each rotation and that there is constant dialogue between the student and mentor throughout the rotation.

• First year fall semester: Mechanisms of Human Disease I, Biochemical/Physiological Basis Nutrition, Introduction to Biostatistical Methods
• First year spring semester: Mechanisms of Human Disease II, Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology II, Molecular and Cell Biology of Nutrients 
• Second year spring semester: Responsible Conduct of Research and Related Policy Issues

Students complete their Qualifying Examination by June 30^th of the second year. Students must select three faculty members to serve on their Qualifying Exam Committee. All three faculty should be members of the Training Faculty of the Nutritional and Metabolic Biology PhD program. At least one member must also be a part of the NMB Training Committee and this member is the de facto Chair. The faculty should have expertise related to the proposed research topic. Students are allowed to request the inclusion of one non-NMB faculty member if their expertise is highly appropriate.

Your Qual cannot be on your thesis research topic, but rather must be “off topic.” Simply put, the core hypotheses and research questions of your Qual must be distinct from those of your thesis research. However, your Qual topic may be tangentially related to your thesis research. For example, if your thesis focuses on the role of a transcription factor in the vascular biology of atherosclerosis, your Qual can be on transcription, vascular biology, and/or atherosclerosis. However, you cannot simply replace your transcription factor of interest with a different one. Approval of a Qual topic is at the discretion of the Qual Committee. Students must write a one-page document describing both their thesis research, their proposed Qual topic, and how the two are distinct from each other.

Students must write a research proposal in the format of an NIH pre-doctoral F31 fellowship application, including Specific Aims (1 page), Research Strategy (6 pages), and Literature Cited. Because this proposal is “off topic,” the preliminary data section of the proposal is de-emphasized. The use of published data to support the premise of the proposal is allowed, if it is appropriately cited. The written proposal should be distributed to Committee Members no less than 2 weeks prior to the Oral Defense.

Students must take the lead in scheduling their Oral Defense with their committee and share the date with PhD Program Coordinator once scheduled. The Oral Defense will consist of a 20–30-minute presentation from the student covering relevant background, the scientific premise of the proposed research, the research aims, the experimental plan, expected results and alternative outcomes. The remainder of the exam will be comprised of questions from the Committee relating to both the written proposal and the oral presentation. The Thesis Mentor will be present, but will not participate in examining the student’s performance, or in voting for a pass or fail in the examination.

Within 6 months of successful completion of the Qualifying Examination, students select faculty to serve on their Dissertation Research Advisory Committee (DRAC) and have the first meeting with the committee. This committee is normally composed of three members of the NMB training faculty, including the student’s mentor, who are knowledgeable in the student’s field of research. The role of the DRAC is to provide direction and guidance for the student’s thesis research. In addition, the committee provides a formal mechanism for evaluating a student’s research progress and professional growth.

Following each DRAC meeting, the student, mentor, and DRAC chair jointly complete a written report on the meeting, which is signed by the student and the committee members. This report, which should contain detailed comments on the research progress of the student and specific recommendations for research to be carried out in the time until the next meeting. The DRAC meets at a minimum every 6-9 months (preferably twice a year).

A carefully selected DRAC that meets regularly with the student assures regular supervision of the research progress and identifies any problems that need to be corrected and stumbling blocks that have been encountered and is a great asset to the student. The members of the DRAC frequently end up constituting part and sometimes all of the final thesis defense committee. Thus, the DRAC truly serves a mentoring and monitoring capacity to guide the student’s research progress. Students should plan to have a ‘final’ DRAC meeting 3-6 months prior to defending.

The doctoral defense will be conducted by a defense committee that is composed of five members. At least three of the members of the final defense committee are from the NMB Training Faculty and at least one of the five must be from outside the NMB program faculty.

Ideally, at the end of the fifth or sixth year the research is completed and the dissertation is defended and deposited with the University.

Although not strictly required, it is strongly recommended that one member of the defense committee serve as the Reader of the thesis. The Reader works with the student and the mentor during the writing of the thesis, before it is distributed to the full committee.

The defense is divided into two parts. The first is an hour long oral presentation of the research findings which is open to the public and is announced in advance. The second part, which follows immediately after the public presentation, is a closed session conducted by the Thesis Defense Committee, and chaired by an NMB faculty member who is not the student’s mentor. When questioning is completed to the satisfaction of the Defense Committee, the student steps outside, while the final decision is discussed. The Defense Committee may rule to award an evaluation of Approved as Submitted, Approved Pending Revisions, Referred, or Fail.

After the defense of the thesis, revisions to the written dissertation are made as needed. Copies of the final version are deposited with the Dissertation Secretary of GSAS, as well as to the Director of the Institute and the theses preceptor.