The Translational Biomedicine Program prepares skilled clinicians to pursue new knowledge about health and disease through patient-based research. The program's goal is to support the medical research enterprise in its efforts to advance the prevention, treatment, and cure of disease.
Students in the program are trained to conduct rigorous, original clinical investigations using basic biological and physiological principles. They receive didactic training and engage in substantial mentored research opportunities in the areas of disease mechanisms, or etiology; new clinical insights into diagnosis or natural history of disease; objective assessment and outcome of therapeutic intervention; medical informatics; and development of new approaches to therapeutics.
The Translational Biomedicine Program offers both a Masters and a Doctor of Philosophy in translational biomedicine.
The Masters degree in translational biomedicine requires coursework and research equivalent to 54 semester hours of graduate credit. Each student's plan of study for the three-year program is based on his or her chosen discipline. All students take background courses in epidemiology, study design, and statistics as well as advanced courses in basic sciences relevant to their individual research areas.
Students also must write a proposal for a K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. For M.S. students, the K23 proposal replaces the thesis. A draft of the K23 proposal must pass an internal review by the end of the student's second year.
Students may choose to pursue research areas in any of the health sciences disciplines, and they enjoy considerable flexibility in scheduling coursework and beginning research.
The following courses are required. All students must register for 050:225 and 173:163 each semester in the program.
Masters in Translational Biomedicine Research Study Plan (Minimum 54 credit hours)
The Doctor of Philosophy in translational biomedicine builds upon the Master of Science plan of study and requires a minimum of 72 semester hours of graduate credit. Students must enroll in a minimum of six additional semester hours of elective coursework, with the remainder required semester credit earned in mentored research effort.
PhD in Translational Biomedicine Research Study Plan (Minimum 72 credit hours)
The Translational Biomedicine Program welcomes students with diverse educational and scientific backgrounds and varied research interests. Applicants to the program should have strong interest and background in a health science profession and knowledge of basic sciences and medicine. They should hold an advanced degree in one of the health sciences (e.g., M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.V.M., M.S.N., Pharm.D., Ph.D.).
Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations of the Graduate College or the Graduate College section of the Catalog. Admission is based on applicants' undergraduate and graduate academic achievement, personal statement, curriculum vitae, and letters of recommendation. Applicants whose first language is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
The program helps applicants find suitable mentors. All prospective students, and their mentors, must guarantee that once they are accepted as students in the program, they will be able to devote essentially all of their time over a three- to five-year period to training. For instance, a fellow in the Carver College of Medicine could spend no more than two months each year working on clinical assignments (e.g., two months of inpatient assignments or one month of inpatient assignments and one-half day per week in a clinic).
Application deadlines are as follows:
Fall semester - July 15 (April 15 for international students)
Spring semester - December 1 (October 1 for international students)
Summer session - April 15 (March 1 for international students)
To apply to the Translational Biomedicine Program please click here. Please direct any questions to tbradmissions@uiowa.edu.
