Course of Study

Students in the TPCB are trained by the faculty of all the participating institutions. In Ithaca, faculty include the members of the Graduate Field of Chemistry. In NYC, the training involves a core group of faculty working at the interface between biology and chemistry.

 

Research of the faculty in the TPCB represent four broad areas of chemical biology:
Bio-Organic Chemistry
Biophysical Chemistry
Bio-analytical Chemistry
Computational Chemistry & Biology

In general the research programs, particularly those in the NY city campuses, are integrated into larger programs in biomedical research that represent expertise in virtually all biomedical research disciplines including biochemistry, structural biology, microbiology, immunology, molecular biology, genetics, neuroscience, pharmacology & therapeutics, physciology and biophysics. Before beginning their training in Ithaca, students in the Program attend a summer program in NYC that includes laboratory rotations, seminars, and an introduction to the faculties. The summer program is designed to expose students to the research and living environments in NYC. All students in the Program then visit NYC laboratories during January of their first year in residence on the Ithaca campus.

Because of the Program's unique design, TPCB students will be free of teaching duties, thus enabling them to take an accelerated course schedule (four courses per semester during the first year). Second-year students take one semester of courses in NYC, which include an intensitve Advanced Biomedical Sciences course covering a broad range of biomedical research topics. Additional training opportunities—for example, interdisciplinary courses in the application of nanotechnology to biomedical research, and bioinformatic approaches to structural biology—are envisioned in the near future.

To facilitate this Program, funding is available for inter-institutional travel, and for dedicated housing in Ithaca and in NYC. At the end of their second year, students in the TPCB join the laboratory of their chosen research advisor in NYC or in Ithaca. TPCB students are encouraged to organize their thesis research under the guidance of two advisors, one in Ithaca and one in NYC, to maximize their explorations in chemical biology.