www.med.unc.edu/wrkunits/2depts/biochem
VYTAS A. BANKAITIS, Chair
Vytas A. Bankaitis (4) Signal Transduction, Genetic Models for Neurodegenerative Disease in Mice, Yeast Genetics and Cell Biology
Keith W. T. Burridge (41) Cell Migration, Cell-Matrix and Cell-Cell Adhesion, Rho Family GTPases, Leukocyte Transendothelial Migration
Johnny L. Carson (6) Developmental Biology, Pathogenic Mechanisms Involving Mammalian Airways
M. Joseph Costello (50) Membrane Biophysics, Intercellular Junctions, Active Transport, Membrane Fusion, Electron Microscopy
Douglas M. Cyr (6) Cystic Fibrosis, Organelle Biogenesis, Protein Folding, Molecular Chaperones, Ubiquitin-Proteasome Pathway
Noelle A. Granger (42) Developmental Biology, Endocrinology, Neuroendocrinology
Kenneth A. Jacobson (39) Membrane Biology and Biophysics, Cell Migration, Video Image Analysis
Jean M. Lauder (36) Developmental Neurobiology/Developmental Biology: Mechanisms of Neurotransmitter Regulation of Neural and Non-Neural Development; Gene-Environment Interactions in Etiology of Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities
Sharon L. Milgram (8) Epithelial Biology, Trafficking and Polarity, Signal Transduction in Polarized Cells, Scaffolding and Adaptor Proteins
Royce L. Montgomery (11) Invertebral Disc Lesions and Back Pain
Michael G. O'Rand (38) Cell Biology, Immunology, Reproductive Biology
W. Cam Patterson (10) Cardiovascular
Peter Petrusz (13) Neurobiology, Reproductive Biology
Aldo Rustioni (15) Glutamate Receptors Expression and Regulation, Axonal Regeneration and the Cytoskeleton, Somatosensory Mechanisms
Kathleen K. Sulik (40) Developmental Toxicology, Embryology
Cornelius J. Beckers (12) Signal Transduction, Cell Motility, Cytoskeleton, Infectious Diseases, Cell Biology
Patrick Brennwald (5) Cell Polarity, Tumor Suppressor, Vesicle Transport, Exocytosis, Rho GTPases
Deborah A. O'Brien (51) Mammalian Spermatogenesis and Fertilization, Regulation of Sperm Motility, Contraception, Gene Targeting, and Animal Models
Michael D. Schaller (2) The Integrins, Protein Tyrosine Kinases and Signal Transduction
Ellen R. Weiss (9) Regulatory Domains of G-Protein Coupled Receptors, Molecular Biology of Cellular Signaling Pathways
James Bear (14) Cell Motility, Actin Cytoskeleton, Coronins, Live-Cell Microscopy
Jay E. Brenman (10) Neuronal Development, Drosophila and Mouse Genetics, Dendrite and Axon Morphogenesis
Mohanish P. Deshmukh (3) Neuronal Apoptosis, Molecular Mechanism of Programmed Cell Death, Regulation of Caspase Activation
Kurt Gilliland (16) Intercellular Junctions, Human Cataract, Electron/Confocal Microscopy
Scott Hammond (008) Biochemical Mechanism for RNA Interference
Da-Zhi Wang (12) Cardiovascular Development
Richard Weinberg (20) Quantitative Immunocytochemistry, Organization of Excitatory Synapses, Calcium Signaling in Dendritic Spines
Shao-Yu Chen, Developmental Toxicology, Embryology
Shoji Osawa (16) Regulation of Signal Transduction Pathways by G Proteins
Richard Richardson (17) Molecular Biology of Sperm-Oocyte Interaction, Studies of Immunocontraception
Juli Valtschanoff, Electron Microscopy of Synaptic Proteins, Nitric Oxide, Spinal Pain Mechanisms
James Alb, Role of Phosphatidylinositol Transfer Protein Alpha in Mammalian Systems
Malika Boukhelifa
Jr-Gang Cheng
Gerald W. Gordon (14) Instrument Development for Cell Biology Research
Jae Sung Kim
Kiyoshi Miki, Sperm Motility, Death Signaling in Male Germ Cells
Zenon Rajfur
Gabriel Weinreb
Zhi Zhong, Hepatobiology and Toxicology, Renal Toxicity of Immunosuppressive Drugs, Organ Preservation for Transplantation Surgery, Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury, Mechanisms of Kupffer Cell Activation
Edward Kernick
Linda Levitch
Charles R. Hackenbrock
O'Dell W. Henson Jr.
William E. Koch (8) Developmental Biology
The Department of Cell and Developmental Biology of the School of Medicine offers a program of study leading to the doctor of philosophy degree. The program provides training for students whose research/teaching career objectives are faculty positions in medical school cell biology/anatomy departments. However, the flexibility of the program also provides for the training of students who seek careers in basic science as well as clinical science departments of medical schools; in other professional schools such as dental schools; in liberal arts academic departments such as biology; or in state, federal, private, and industrial research laboratories. The program for the PhD normally takes four to five years to complete. Persons interested in a combined MD/PhD program must be accepted into the School of Medicine and the departmental graduate program, whereupon the combined studies are scheduled in accordance with individual requirements.
Some of the department's areas of specialization are cell biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, reproductive biology, endocrinology, bioacoustics, membrane biology, molecular biology, and cell signaling. PhD students receive broadly based training in these areas before examination for advancement to candidacy. PhD candidacy is followed by optional further formal study while a dissertation based on original research is prepared under the supervision of a faculty adviser. All students are encouraged to develop a strong background in the various aspects of contemporary cellular and biostructural studies, with individual programs varied to suit the particular interests and previous training of each student. Students are required to complete a course in biostatistics or computer science.
A BA or BS degree is required for admission. Applicants are expected to have a strong background in the biological sciences, chemistry, physics, and mathematics. A complete application including transcripts, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores (with a subject test score), and three letters of recommendation should be submitted online to the Office of The Graduate School, Bynum Hall. A personal statement outlining career goals and why they would be helped by study in the department is also required. Prospective students are advised to contact the director of graduate studies in Cell and Developmental Biology and faculty members whose fields interest them.
The department occupies forty thousand square feet of research and office space (in addition to teaching space), primarily in Taylor Hall and the Biomolecular Research Building in the School of Medicine. The department and its research laboratories are a biotechnological resource available for qualified scientists in the University, state, and region. The laboratories house instrumentation for transmission, scanning, and cryo electron microscopy, as well as equipment to prepare biological specimens for these techniques. The Electron Microscope Facility contains a multi-purpose JOEL 820 scanning electron microscope and a high resolution FEI-Philips Tecnai 12 transmission electron microscope. Ancillary facilities include fully equipped darkrooms and equipment for ultamicrotomy, critical point drying, rotary evaporation, sputter coating, and a state-of-the-art, high resolution Reichert freeze fracture system. A world class facility is available for optical imaging of all kinds, including digitized video microscopy, confocal microscopy, and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, two-photon confocal microscopy, nanovid microscopy, and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching.
Students are supported by a stipend of $23,000 annually plus tuition, fees, and medical insurance.
423 [123] DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY (TOXC 423) (2). Emphasis is placed on topics of current research interest relative to the genesis of environmentally caused and genetically based birth defects. One two-hour session per week (evening). Spring. (Alternate years.) Sulik.
607 [107A/B] GROSS ANATOMY (6). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Primarily for medical students. Graduate enrollment by availability of space and material. One lecture, six laboratory hours, fall; two lecture hours, six laboratory hours, eight weeks of spring. Sulik, Staff.
643 [117] CELL STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND GROWTH CONTROL I (MCRO 643) (BIOC 643) (PHCO 643) (3). Prerequisite, undergraduate cell biology or biochemistry or permission of the instructor. Comprehensive introduction to cell structure, function, and transformation. Fall. Lee, Meissner, Parise.
644 [118] CELL STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND GROWTH CONTROL II (MCRO 644) (BIOC 644) (PHCO 644) (3). Prerequisite, undergraduate cell biology or biochemistry or permission of the instructor. Comprehensive introduction to cell structure, function and transformation. Spring. Cox, Lee, Meissner, Parise.
741 [041] INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN ANATOMY (3).
750 [250] APPLIED BIOSTATISTICS (PATH 750) (PHCO 750) (TOXC 750) (2).
790 [90] INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN ANATOMY (3).
791 [191] GROSS ANATOMY FOR PHYSICAL THERAPISTS (PHYT 791) (6). Prerequisites, BIOL 276 and 276L and permission of the instructor. Fundamental principles and concepts of human gross anatomy for physical therapists taught by lectures and cadaver dissection. Emphasis on functional anatomy. Three lecture hours and six laboratory hours a week. Fall. Kernick.
793 [193] FUNCTIONAL NEUROANATOMY (PHYT 793) (3). Prerequisites, CBIO 791, CBIO 607 or equivalent, and permission of the instructor. Study of basic structure of the brain and spinal cord, including both lecture and laboratory. Primarily for physical therapy students. Four hours a week. Spring. Kernick.
804 [104] INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL CELL BIOLOGY (1). Introduction to the structure and function of cell membranes, membranous organelles, the nucleus, and the filamentous components of the cytoplasm. Fall. Burridge. For medical students only.
805 [105] GROSS ANATOMY (5). Systematic approach to gross anatomy emphasizing a regional approach stressing head and neck anatomy. Primarily for dental students. Fall. Levitch.
610A/B [200A/B] ADVANCED GROSS ANATOMY (4/3). Prerequisites, CBIO 607A/B and/or permission of the instructor. Detailed dissection of the human body. Specific regions may be selected; topics include topographic, radiographic, and cross-sectional anatomy. Fall and spring. Granger.
627 [207] REGIONAL ANATOMY (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. For students of oral surgery, surgical residents, and graduate students. Second summer session. Kernick.
890A/B [320A/B] ADVANCED TOPICS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (Var.). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Seminar/discussion course dealing with advanced topics in modern cell biology and/or developmental biology. Based mainly on discussion of current literature. Fall and spring. Staff.
891A/B [321A/B] CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES TO SOLVING BASIC PROBLEMS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY (3). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Analysis of grant proposals dealing with advanced topics in modern cell biology and/or developmental biology. Spring, fall. Bankaitis.
892b [321B] CONTEMPORARY PROBLEMS (3).
893 [324] CELL BIOLOGY I (4).
894 [325] CELL BIOLOGY II (4).
899 [209] ELECTRON MICROSCOPY-PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS (3). Permission of the instructor. Lectures on scanning, transmission, high voltage, freeze fracture, analytical and immunoelectron microscopy. Laboratory training in preparation of biological specimens, operation of scanning and transmission microscopes, and darkroom procedures. Three lecture hours and twelve laboratory hours per week. First summer session. Costello.
910 [310] RESEARCH (2 or more). Credit to be arranged in individual cases. Fall, spring, and summer. Staff.
915 [315] RESEARCH LABORATORY APPRENTICESHIP (2). Prerequisite, enrollment in the Cell Biology and Anatomy graduate program. A course for first- and second-year graduate students in Cell Biology and Anatomy, consisting of a research project of limited scope pursued under the supervision of a faculty member. Fall, spring, and summer. Staff.
993 [393] MASTER'S THESIS (3).
994 [394] DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (3).