Master of Science in Molecular Biosciences
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- Fall December 1
- Pullman: Yes
- 600 TOEFL Minimum score
- 100 TOEFLI Minimum score
Degree Description:
Molecular Biosciences is a dynamic continuum of disciplines, which uses the approaches of chemistry, physics, and biology to understand the fundamental mechanisms of living organisms. The School of Molecular Biosciences offers many exciting opportunities for graduate students to explore the vast range of life science research. Representative disciplines include biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, structural biology and virology.
Admission Requirements:
Students wishing to pursue graduate studies in Molecular Biosciences should have an undergraduate major in biochemistry, biophysics, cell biology, genetics, microbiology, biology, chemistry, or closely related fields. Applicants will need to submit the following: the Graduate School application, which will include a personal statement describing your qualifications, goals, and objectives in pursuing graduate research in molecular biosciences; official transcripts from all colleges attended; and three letters of recommendation.
The deadline for your application to the Molecular Biosciences graduate program is December 1. Late applications may be considered depending on space availability.
Student Learning Outcomes:
All graduates will be able to:
- Trainees will gain research expertise that is interdisciplinary, spanning the areas of cellular, molecular and structural biology, and receive focused training in biochemistry, cell biology, genetics or microbiology. This outcome will be demonstrated by their ability to:
- Develop the skills to critically read and evaluate molecular biosciences literature and place new findings in the context of the previous and current research in their general discipline and specific field of expertise.
- Develop testable hypotheses based on an in-depth understanding of previous and current research, and design experimental approaches to successfully test the hypothesis. Evaluate experimental results critically, including quantitative analyses, and formulate a defensible conclusion. Demonstrate technical competency in appropriate methodologies from the disciplines of biochemistry, genetics and microbiology.
- Trainees will have opportunities to master various professional skills, particularly in the areas of communication, mentoring and leadership. Success in this outcome will be demonstrated by students’ ability to:
- Communicate their research results and its importance to experts in their field as well as general lay audiences, effectively in both written and oral form.
- Understand and follow norms of scientific ethics, including concepts of publication ethics and responsible conduct in research.
- Exhibit proficiency in mentoring and teaching, including development of leadership skills.
- SMB will enhance the quality and the number of its graduate student cadre by demonstrating the value of the SMB graduate training experience. Achievement of this outcome will be demonstrated by:
- Maintaining and improving the quality of applicants who are recruited into the SMB graduate program, including successful recruiting of underrepresented minority students and participating in Research Assistantship for Diversity Scholar program (RADS) through the Graduate School and recruiting to NIH-funded pre-doctoral training grants in Protein Biotechnology. Additionally, being proactive in increasing the success of the STARS program.
- Providing effective technical and professional training that allows students to complete their participating in Research Assistantship for Diversity Scholar program (RADS) through the Graduate School and recruiting to NIH-funded pre-doctoral training grants in Protein Biotechnology. Additionally, being proactive in increasing the success of the STARS program.
- Sustaining a research infrastructure built around accomplished, innovative faculty dedicated to research and training in an interdisciplinary environment.
Student Opportunities:
Students entering into the School of Molecular Biosciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine will pursue an interdisciplinary M.S. degree in Molecular Biosciences. Entering students do rotations through three research laboratories to choose a dissertation/thesis advisor. Over 50 research laboratories (see the faculty interest page) are associated with the School of Molecular Biosciences, investigating problems in diverse systems, including bacteria, yeast, plants, and animals. Graduates acquire a breadth and depth of knowledge that allows them to adapt quickly to new information and approaches developed in the rapidly changing field of molecular biosciences.
Career Opportunities:
Alumni have gone on to opportunities and successful careers in academic and industrial science, especially in the biotechnology industry. Career opportunities include positions in food, agricultural, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries, private or government laboratories and departments, and nonprofit institutions such as clinical and hospital laboratories and research institutes. With the advent of the “biological revolution,” which will continue well into the 21st century, new opportunities with links to the worlds of public, health, business, law, and government are ever expanding.
Career Placements:
Master’s degree alumni have received many placements including the following: pursuing higher education degrees at Gonzaga University, School of Law; Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine; doctoral programs at Pennsylvania State University, Taiwan University, University of Denver; California State University, Davis; and many others. Alums have also gone into industry to renowned laboratories at Amgen, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Battelle, Pacific Northwest Research Labs; Infectious Disease Research Institute, Seattle; and many academic research labs.
Faculty Members:
Browse, John A, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Lipid and membrane biochemistry, pathways and regulation of lipid synthesis and membrane formation in higher plants, chilling and freezing tolerance in plants.
Celli, Jean, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Molecular mechanisms of Brucella abortus modulation of host cell functions.
Cooper, Cynthia, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Zebrafish developmental mechanisms.
Cornejo, Omar Eduardo, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Evolutionary genomics and population genetics
Driskell, Ryan, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
The core mission of the Driskell Laboratory is to investigate mechanisms that will induce regeneration in skin wounds utilizing fibroblast lineages.
Du, Min, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Our research is focused on the development of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Specifically, we are interested in exploring epigenetic mechanisms regulating the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into myocytes and adipocytes. Our studies have applications to both animal agriculture and human health.
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.
Hayashi, Kanako
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
The primary goal of my current research is to discover and understand the cellular, molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of gynecological diseases and reproductive functions influenced by environmental toxicants, as well as to develop novel therapeutic strategies that are more effective than those currently employed by the medical community.
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.
Jiang, Zhihua, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
COMPARATIVE RNA BIOLOGY
Knodler, Leigh, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Salmonella-intestinal epithelial cell interactions.
Krueger, James, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biochemical regulation of sleep, sleep and inflammation, sleep function, brain organization of sleep.
Lange, Bernd M, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Characterizing the interface between primary and secondary metabolic pathways, with particular emphasis on the biosynthesis of terpenoids.
Law, Nate
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
DEVELOPMENTAL STEM CELL BIOLOGY AND REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY. Our research focuses on the development, function, and fate of tissue-specific stem cells. Specifically, we are interested in stem cells within the male germline that ultimately contribute genetic and epigenetic information to the next generation. Our goal is to understand the mechanisms driving specification and formation of germline stem cells, population dynamics of the stem cell pool, and the factors that control fate determination and stem cell maintenance. Using a variety of cutting-edge technologies, including single-cell RNA-sequencing, high-resolution microscopy, and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing as well as molecular and transgenic approaches, we hope to identify the underlying etiologies of male-factor infertility and understand the broader influence of germline fate decisions on overall inheritance among humans and livestock.
Nicola, Anthony, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Cell biology of virus-host interactions, herpesviruses, viral entry, membrane fusion, envelope glycoproteins, viral pathogenesis
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
Omsland, Anders, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Biology of bacterial obligate intracellular parasites, virulence, metabolic capabilities, and regulation of bacterial morphological transitions
Peixoto, Lucia, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Accepting Graduate Students for Fall 2023
Genomic and molecular biology approaches to understand interaction between genes and experience in Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Pru, James K, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Maternal embryonic interactions and endometrial regeneration.
Roberts, Steven, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Genome dynamics: mechanisms of mutation and chromosome alteration that contribute to human disease. Mutagenesis of ssDNA in cancer.
Shaw, Dana, PhD
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Tick-borne pathogens; innate immunity; vector competence; molecular microbiology
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.
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.
Tanner, Bertrand, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Accepting Graduate Students for Fall 2023
Research focus on normal, mutated, and diseased proteins that influence muscle contraction and relaxation dynamics. We often integrate mathematical modeling, computational simulations, biochemical assays, and biophysical system-analysis to investigate complex network behavior among muscle proteins.
Thomas, Kawula, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Watts, Jennifer L, Ph.D.
Serves as: chair, co-chair, or member of graduate committee
Research Interests
Genetics and genomics of lipid metabolism and fat storage in C. elegans.
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.
Contact Information:
99164-7520
- Graduate School
- Washington State University
- Stadium Way, 324 French Administration Building
- P.O. Box 641030
- Pullman, WA 99164-1030
- gradschool@wsu.edu
- P: 509-335-6424, F: 509-335-1949