Complete course information and requirements for the PhD degree in Cellular, Molecular, Developmental Biology and Biophysics can be found on the online academic catalog.
Program Requirements
In addition to the general university requirements for an advanced degree, doctoral candidates must meet the following departmental requirements:
- Nine core courses & four 600- and 700-level electives.
- Lab rotations in four different laboratories (2 in fall, 2 in spring of first year)
- At least one year of laboratory teaching during the period of graduate residence.
- A high level of achievement in a comprehensive written thesis proposal and oral examination covering proficiency in the field of the student’s research interest and various areas of biology and related fields.
- A thesis based on a program of independent research, an oral defense by the thesis committee, followed by a public seminar.
- Minimum of one peer-reviewed, first-author research paper submitted for publication as a result of thesis research
All graduate students are required to complete the fixed curriculum consisting of nine core courses during the first year (see descriptions below). In addition, students are required to complete four elective courses before graduation chosen from the pre-approved list of 600-level electives and 700-level seminars offered each semester.
Students may also take elective courses on other campuses (School of Medicine, School of Public Health) with permission of the director(s) of the graduate program. To do so, students should submit an approval request. Once approval is received, the student may enroll in the course.
The First Year Core Curriculum
For complete information including schedules and registration, visit the Johns Hopkins Public Course Search website.
020.601 Current Research in Bioscience
This course involves talks given by participating members of the CMDB faculty. These talks are held at the beginning of the Fall semester, over a 1-week period. It is designed to acquaint incoming graduate students with the research topics and research philosophy of each laboratory. This class helps students choose potential labs in which to conduct their research rotations.
Instructors: Staff
Fall, 1 credit
020.607 Quantitative Biology Bootcamp
Quantitative methods are increasingly essential to all disciplines of modern biological research. The goal of this intensive week-long “boot camp” is to empower students to apply quantitative, statistical, and computational methods to large-scale datasets, as well as to connect them to resources, and further develop their knowledge base and abilities. The format of the course emphasizes hands on learning. The course demonstrates the importance of testing, documentation, version control, and other methods for enhancing rigor and reproducibility, reliability, and usability of software. This is achieved using active learning exercises, where students perform data analysis to address biological questions and reinforce core bioinformatic concepts. Upon completion, students gain a high level of proficiency using and writing software to work with large- scale biological data. The computational and statistical competence they develop prepares them for the core courses, research rotations, and thesis research.
Instructors: Rajiv McCoy, Fred Tan, Michael Sauria
Fall, 3 credits
020.617 Quantitative Biology Lab I
Quant Bio Lab I builds upon the foundations established in Bootcamp, reinforcing and expanding upon mathematical and computational methods for analysis of biological data. Students perform guided research with real genomic data, uploading their results and code to repositories where they receive feedback. Upon completion, students will acquire familiarity with workflows for common genomic analyses, including organizing and preprocessing data, developing analytical pipelines, implementing statistical models, and understanding key algorithms and data structures that are commonly encountered in computational biology. In addition, they will be introduced to practices that promote rigor and reproducibility and identify pitfalls in interpretation by using common probability distributions, statistical tests, and correction for multiple hypothesis testing.
Instructors: Rajiv McCoy, Fred Tan, Michael Sauria
Fall, 3 credits
020.618 Quantitative Biology Lab II
Quant Bio Lab II focuses on topics that are aligned with subjects taught in the Quantitative Biology and Biophysics core course. Accordingly, the lab covers quantitative and computational modeling at different conceptual scales, from biophysical modeling of single molecules to the kinetics of cellular signaling, and Bayesian analysis of genomes and phenotypes.
Instructors: Andrew Gordus
Spring, 3 credits
020.637 Genomes and Development
Students acquire a comprehensive understanding of how molecular and cellular processes are used during animal development and evolution. The application of modern microscopy and molecular, biophysical, and genomic tools are emphasized throughout the course. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of metazoan development, as well as an understanding of open questions in the field, and how to pursue them using cutting-edge techniques.
Instructors: Xin Chen, Erin Jimenez, Mark Van Doren
Spring, 3 credits
020.668 Advanced Genetics and Molecular Biology
This course introduces students to the fundamental tenets of molecular biology and genetics. Using the Central Dogma as the conceptual framework, students are introduced to essential concepts in gene expression and regulation. Experimental evidence is used to illustrate concepts, both from landmark studies and modern techniques. Finally, students acquire proficiency in robust, rigorous experimental design that allows them to interrogate novel biological problems.
Instructor: Robert Johnston, John Kim
Fall, 3 credits
020.674 Quantitative Biology and Biophysics
The goal of this core course is to provide students with a quantitative understanding of biological phenomena. A strong emphasis is placed on experimental analysis, and appropriate analytical tools to use in different contexts. Students will gain an understanding of fundamental physical and quantitative concepts used in experimental research. The concurrent Quant Bio Lab II course will provide students with the opportunity to reinforce these concepts and apply them to experimental data.
Instructors: Gira Bhabha, Damian Ekiert, Andrew Gordus
Spring, 4 credits
020.686 Advanced Cell Biology
Key concepts in cell biology are conveyed from the perspective of classic experiments, as well as current advanced techniques such as super-resolution microscopy and single molecule FISH. Students develop a strong practical knowledge base in cell biology and gain experience in critical analysis of experimental data and application of cell biological tools to address new biological problems.
Instructors: Yumi Kim, Kavi Rangan
Fall, 3 credits
020.699 CMDB Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) Training
This course involves discussions of ethical conduct and the responsible practice of scientific research and is taught by numerous CMDB faculty. Topics covered include: Success in graduate school, Authorship & peer review, citations and attributions, Animal and human experimentation, Scientific record keeping, Appropriate handling of data, Misconduct and fraud, Mentorship, and Collaborative science.
Instructors: Staff
Fall, 1 credit
020.823-826 Introduction to Research (Laboratory Rotations)
The laboratory rotation system has been designed to expose students to a variety of research projects, techniques and research approaches. During the first year, students are required to do rotations in at least four different laboratories; this is accomplished through two rotation periods in the Fall Semester and two rotation periods in the Spring Semester. Students are required to present their rotation project as a short talk at the end of each rotation.
Instructors: Staff
Fall & Spring, 5 credits each