Professional Science Masters in Molecular Biosciences
- Fall June 1 (Domestic) --- March 1 (International)
- Spring November 1 (Domestic) --- June 1 (International)
- Summer March 1 (Domestic) --- November 1 (International)
- Pullman: Yes
- Global Campus: Yes
- 600 TOEFL Minimum score
- 100 TOEFLI Minimum score
Degree Description:
The Professional Science Master’s in Molecular Biosciences (PSM-MB) is designed to help students transition into the workplace by training them in skills that employers need. This master’s degree (PSM-MB), offered in the School of Molecular Biosciences (SMB), combines science with training in ethics and business, bridging the gap between academia and the workplace. An important career-oriented aspect of the program is that it requires an internship with practical training, rather than a thesis.
Admission Requirements:
Applicants will need to submit the Graduate School application, including a personal statement and video recorded response to two questions; official transcripts from all colleges attended; and three letters of recommendation.
Student Learning Outcomes:
All graduates will be able to:
- Application of Science Learning.
- Critical Thinking.
- Independent Learning.
- Teamwork.
- Biosciences Design.
- Experimentation.
- Professional Ethics.
- Communication.
- Career Awareness.
Student Opportunities:
Students must identify and participate in an 8 week full-time (40 hours per week) internship, with an identified internship mentor. The internship can be paid or unpaid, and will usually be conducted in a non-academic workplace. The objectives of the internship are to encourage students to integrate elements of the course work into the workplace and to capitalize on the transitional aspects of the PSM-MB program. The internship will include an Internship Proposal, and an Internship Log. After completion of the internship an Internship Report will be written to show that the student was challenged; 1), to complete an assigned internship and 2), to interpret and integrate course work and the internship experience.
Career Opportunities:
Industry, government and non-profit agencies involved in science and technology require science trained professionals with applied skills to help fuel innovation and ensure global competitiveness.
Career Placements:
VMRD, Inc.
Tacoma Hospital.
Roche Diagnostics
Center for Disease Control
US Air Force
Biodrill Technical Solutions
University of Washington
Bellevue College
Philadelphia Health Management Corporation
Promega
Prevention Genetics
Faculty Members:
Black, Margaret, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Molecular evolution, pathway engineering and extensive in vitro and in vivo analyses to improve and evaluate suicide genes for gene therapy of cancer.
Brosemer, Ronald W, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Carabeo, Rey, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Chlamydia trachomatis-epithelium interaction using 3D cell culture systems, Molecular biology of iron-dependent repression of transcription in Chlamydia
Cooper, Cynthia, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Zebrafish developmental mechanisms.
Davis, William C, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Gloss, Lisa M, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Goodman, Alan, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Animal models of microbial infection, Computational models for functional genomics and signaling pathways
Griswold, Michael D, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biochemistry and molecular biology of mammalian spermatogenesis with emphasis on testicular somatic cells.
Haseltine, Cynthia A, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Mechanisms of homologous recombination and cellular responses to DNA damage in hyperthermophilic archaeal microbes.
Hassold, Terry, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Meiotic chromosome abnormalities.
Helmick, Consetta M, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Her, Chengtao, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Application of the state-of-the-art genomics and proteomics approaches to address fundamental questions related to mammalian DNA mismatch repair pathways.
Hunt, Patricia Ann, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Meiosis in mammalian germ cell development.
Hunzicker-Dunn, Mary, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
The focus of my lab is to elucidate the signaling pathways by which the glycoprotein hormones follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) initiate cellular responses of differentiation and proliferation. In response to FSH, granulosa cells produce steroid hormones, protein hormones, and growth factors that regulate the hypothalamic/pituitary axis and promote oocyte maturation, development of the follicle to a preovulatory phenotype, and uterine receptivity. All of the documented responses to FSH appear to be mediated by cAMP and its predominate intracellular target, cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Indeed, granulosa cells offer one of the best examples of a cellular model whose responses are orchestrated by PKA. Signaling by PKA is confined to specific locations in cells by virtue of a multi-gene family of A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) that localize pools of PKA, their substrates, and interconnected signaling enzymes such as phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that limit the broadcast of cAMP and phosphatases that dynamically regulate substrate phosphorylation. Our studies focus on the signaling pathways and downstream transcriptional targets by which FSH initiates maturation of granulosa cells as well as the AKAPs that anchor PKA to facilitate these responses. We are also interested in pathways by which LH signals to initiate ovulation and luteinization and the associated AKAPs that participate in these pathways.
Jones, Jonathan, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Understanding how the behavior of epithelial cells is regulated by signaling initiated by ligand (extracellular matrix)-receptor interaction.
Magnuson, Nancy S, Emeritus Professor
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
One of the first to identify how th ePIM-1 gene contributes to cancer development.
McCabe, Norah Rosaleen, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Mixter, Philip Fowler, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Nilson, John
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Oatley, Jon Michael, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Molecular mechanisms that control the fate of germline stem cells and the determinants of the stem cell niche in mammalian testes.
Offerdahl, Erika, PhD
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Cognitive mechanisms that lead to deep conceptual learning in undergraduate life sciences
Reeves, Raymond, Emeritus Professor
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Sanchez-Lanier, Mary, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Shelden, Eric A, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Cytoskeletal regulation and dynamics during injury, migration and differentiation of mammalian cells.
Smerdon, Michael J, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Our broad objective is to understand the molecular details of an important defense mechanism (DNA repair) against phenotypic changes in cells, and its modulation by different chromatin domains.
Sylvester, Steven, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
In my laboratory, we view the world at the molecular level with a bent toward reproductive processes. We try to identify molecules in the environment that may alter reproductive processes in plants and animals. We are currently trying to identify pheromones in a introduced predatory snail that costs the oyster industry millions of dollars per year. We are also trying to regulate reproduction in fish to improve protein production, reduce wastes, and restore populations. On the human side, we are trying to understand the processes by which contaminants accumulate in breast milk.
Winuthayanon, Wipawee, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Ovarian hormonal regulation in the female reproductive track during early pregnancy
Wyrick, John Jason, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Regulation of eukaryotic genome expression, histone acetylation, and the development of new functional genomic and bioinformatic tools.
Xun, Luying, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Molecular biology and biochemistry of microbial degradation and biotransformation of xenobiotics and environmental pollutants.