CMB Curriculum

One course in each of three areas is required: cell biology, biological chemistry, and genetics. CMB students can take any of a variety of graduate-level courses at the University to fulfill each of these subject requirements. The specific courses elected to fulfill these requirements are based on student's prior background and research interests.

Additionally, Pharm 502 is required (grant writing), and two elective courses. CMB also requires that one course (core or elective) is quantitative.

Courses offered by PIBS programs are listed in the PIBS Curriculum Guide. Other University courses may be taken according to each student's interests. Please see the CMB Policies page and click on the CMB Student Handbook for more information. Sample courses can be found in the handbook appendices, in the back.

For Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) students, CMB recognizes the contribution of some medical school coursework to their graduate education and individualizes their curricula accordingly. For this reason, MSTP students generally take 3 courses: genetics, Pharm 502, and a quantitative elective. They can also take a quantitative genetics course, but would still need to take a third course in this case.

In addition to the core and elective coursework in the pre-candidate years, CMB also requires two CMB courses.

CMBIOL 850 is a weekly student seminar that is required each Fall and Winter semesters.

All CMB students take this course each semester. PIBS or MSTP students with an interest in CMB can also attend. Every Monday, students present a seminar on current literature or their thesis work. The Student Seminar is a great tool for building communication skills and a breadth of scientific knowledge while incorporating social interaction. Seminars are held throughout the academic year at Noon in M5330 MSI.

CMBIOL 630/HUMGEN 631, or the "Short Course," is a mini seminar series that is coordinated by students each Fall and Winter semester, either by the CMB students in the Fall or Genetics students in the Winter (the course is cross-listed to both programs). Each semester has a theme in which guest speakers who are experts in their field and in the topic selected, are invited to Michigan for a seminar and discussion with students.

This course is required 4 times before graduation, so students can select topics that are specifically interesting to them.

These courses enable students to obtain intensive exposure to high-profile research areas and to have opportunities to interact with the speakers in multiple contexts, including formal discussions, informal meals, and one-to-one meetings (particularly if they are hosting the speaker). Such interactions have helped some CMB students find postdoctoral labs. The sessions are open to the University community and attract large audiences.

The sessions are open to the university community and attract large audiences. Titles of recent Short Courses include:

• Through the Looking Glass: Imaging-Based Innovation in Biomedical Science
• AI in Action: Applications in Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Adapting to a Changing World: Sustainability in a Biological Context
• Guarding the Genome: Recognition and Repair of DNA Damage
• The Nuts and Bolts of Protein Folding
• Stem Cell Biology

The NIH requires each Ph.D. program in the medical school to provide ethics training in RCR (Responsible Conduct of Research) and in RRT (Rigor, Reproducibility and Transparency). The following PIBS courses are required for all students, PIBS or MSTP.

PIBS 503: Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). This course is specifically designed for graduate students in biomedical sciences and includes lecture material with sample cases covering each of several broad major areas, including: data collection, storage and ownership, animal and human subjects, scientific misconduct, conflict of interest, women, minorities, and cross-cultural issues in science, and gene and drug patents.

PIBS 504: Rigor, Reproducibility and Transparency. The content of the course covers 4 main NIH-suggested areas: 1) Transparency in Research; 2) Blinding and Randomization, 3) Biological and Technical Replicates, and 4) Sample size, Outliers and Exclusion Criteria. For each of these areas, participants watch the NIH-produced videos (about 5 minutes each) with scenarios depicting common issues in these areas, read the “Discussion Material” and participate in a discussion about each video. Additionally, the instructor leads a discussion on data presentation, sex as a biological variable, reagent verification, and common statistical tests.

CMB is also required to provide regular "refresher" training on these topics. Therefore, CMB provides additional RRT training in workshops before the student's 2nd or G1 year, and RCR refresher training in one CMBIOL 850 seminar per Fall and Winter semester.