Graduate Program

What Does our Program Offer?

The faculty has developed a robust course of study intended to prepare students with all of the necessary tools to compete effectively for academic and non-academic positions in the biomedical sciences. Our goal is to educate future health science professionals in the area of physiological and biophysical sciences who demonstrate integrity, think critically, and communicate effectively. The faculty strongly believes that this is best achieved by partnerships between faculty mentors/advisors and individual students that are mutually beneficial. Faculty and students both succeed when students are treated as promising junior colleagues deserving the best training possible in an environment where academic freedom and expression are valued and encouraged. Faculty and students each have important obligations to gear up students to be life-long scholars.

Admission to our graduate program is a privilege that will provide lasting opportunities for growth throughout your professional career. A graduate student’s success depends on everyone involved. This includes the department, School of Medicine and university, as well as faculty. But most importantly, it depends on you, the student, taking primary responsibility for your educational and research progress.

Program of Study 

Our graduate program is a research program, with specialties covering all levels of physiology and biophysics, including:

• Circadian and visual circuits
• Epigenetics
• Fungal infections
• Ion channels & Transporters
• Metastatic breast cancer
• Muscle physiology
• Protein modifications and interactions
• Stem Cells

Students are actively engaged in research throughout their training: In the first year, laboratory rotations ensure exposure to a variety of techniques and research problems. At the end of the second year, students are considered for advancement to PhD candidacy based on academic standing, laboratory performance and a qualifying examination. After advancement to candidacy, students devote their time to the completion of an original research thesis.

Students typically complete their graduate education in four to five years. Candidates for the MD/PhD degree normally begin by completing the first two years of the medical school curriculum. Advanced graduate training, dissertation research and clinical training occupy the next four to five years. Students are eligible for both the MD and PhD degrees at the end of seven years provided the degree requirements for both the School of Medicine and the graduate school have been fulfilled.

Graduate students typically enter the Department of Physiology & Biophysics (P&B) through the following gateway programs: Cellular & Molecular Biosciences (CMB), Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program (INP), Mathematics, Computational and Systems Biology (MCSB) and Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP). 

Students in these umbrella programs have the opportunity to train with any faculty member from a participating department and are exposed to a variety of approaches before deciding on a research area for focused dissertation work. After the initial year of scientific training, students join the more specialized graduate program of their chosen thesis advisor. Graduate students in MCSB may or may not formally join the department but can participate in P&B graduate program curriculum at the discretion of their thesis advisor.

Individuals who do not enter through a gateway program may apply for direct admission to P&B.

Prospective students interested in pursuing graduate education with a specific faculty should contact the faculty of interest to inquire for opportunities. Should the faculty be open to direct admission, they will notify the department’s Graduate Faculty Advisor to initiate the admissions process. 

Candidates will be provided specific instructions to complete the online application for UCI Graduate Admissions. You will be asked to provide official post-secondary academic transcripts, three letters of recommendation, and GRE scores (GRE subject tests are not required). 

Additionally, international candidates are required to provide proof of English language proficiency by taking and passing a UCI-approved English proficiency test (TOEFL iBT or IELTS). UCI requires an overall minimum score of 80 for the TOEFL iBT, and an overall minimum score of 7 with a score of 6 or better on any individual module for the IELTS. The English language proficiency requirement may be waived for individuals who earned their undergraduate or master’s degree from an institution at which English was the sole language of instruction according to the World Higher Education Database (WHED). Please see WHED’s instructions on how to search for your institution. For further information, see UCI’s Academic Qualifications for International Students.

Applications are due on December 1st, admission decisions are sent out throughout February and March, and enrollment must be decided right after receiving admission decisions.

Financial Support

All students in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics receive financial support in the form of monthly stipends and complete coverage of tuition and fees, including health insurance (GSHIP). This funding comes in part from individual fellowships, departmental training grants, and teaching assistantships. International and out-of-state students are encouraged to transition to California residency as early as possible (minimum 1 year living in the state) in order to qualify for in-state tuition. Financial support is incumbent on the student maintaining good academic standing.

Year 1.  Complete the required coursework for the gateway program you are entering UCI (CMB, INP, MCSB, MSTP). Students rotating in P&B faculty labs will enroll in the faculty’s respective PHYSIO 200R section. By the end of the year, students should choose a lab in agreement with the Principal Investigator (PI) of that laboratory.

Direct admit students will take courses as required by their faculty mentor/PI. Additionally, students are required to enroll in journal club (PHYSIO 290), which includes attendance and participation in departmental seminars as well as graduate-student led Research in Progress (RIP) seminars. Students should prepare to take and successfully pass their Preliminary Exam by the end of Year 1. 

The first-year Preliminary Exam requirement applies to all students who are transferred from gateway programs (e.g. INP) that do not offer such exam*. 

Year 2. From year 2 onwards until the year of your dissertation defense, you are required to enroll and participate in the following:

• PHYSIO 200 – credit for laboratory research [Graded, based on performance]
• PHYSIO 290 – department journal club course
• P&B RIP seminars – seminars given by graduate students and postdocs
• P&B departmental seminars – seminars given by faculty and invited speakers

PHYSIO 200 classes are specified for each faculty member and may vary quarterly. Make sure you enroll in the correct course.

*Effective Fall 2023, transfer students who do not take the preliminary exam in their first year are required to take their exams by the end of the first quarter they enter P&B. Details can be found in the P&B Graduate Student Handbook.

You must enroll in a minimum of 12 units per quarter.

Year 3. Following the successful completion of the second year of graduate study, the next step in the progression toward the doctoral degree is the “Advancement to Candidacy”. The purpose of the “Advancement to Candidacy” is to ensure that the student has selected an appropriate topic for the dissertation and that the experimental work that has been completed or is contemplated is scientifically rigorous and likely to be completed successfully and within the normal period of graduate study (approximately 5 years). Details about the “Advancement to Candidacy” can be found in the P&B Graduate Student Handbook. 

Required classes/activities:

• PHYSIO 200 – credit for laboratory research [Graded, based on performance]
• PHYSIO 290 – department journal club course
• P&B RIP seminars – seminars given by graduate students and postdocs
• P&B departmental seminars – seminars given by faculty and invited speakers

Year 4. Continue with your dissertation research.

Required classes/activities:

• PHYSIO 200 – credit for laboratory research [Graded, based on performance]
• PHYSIO 290 – department journal club course
• P&B Research in Progress (RIP) seminars – seminars given by graduate students and postdocs
• P&B departmental seminars – seminars given by faculty and invited speakers

Year 5+. As you near degree completion, you will need to meet with your doctoral committee for a pre-defense “green light” meeting (this can be in year 4 or 5) at which you present a timeline for dissertation completion. Complete your dissertation and prepare for your dissertation defense. You need to present a complete draft of your dissertation to your committee to receive their approval and, after approval, you can schedule a date for your defense! More details can be found in the P&B Graduate Student Handbook.

Required classes/activities:

• PHYSIO 200 – credit for laboratory research [Graded, based on performance]
• PHYSIO 290 – department journal club course
• P&B Research in Progress (RiP) seminars – seminars given by graduate students and postdocs
• P&B departmental seminars – seminars given by faculty and invited speakers

Teaching

There is no formal teaching requirement for the Department of Physiology & Biophysics; however, UCI offers many opportunities to gain valuable teaching experience.

TA Opportunities

Entering graduate students are required to receive TA Professional Development Program (TAPDP) training offered through UCI’s Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI). It is a university requirement that all students complete TAPDP only once even if they will never TA.

Since the School of Medicine does not offer its own undergraduate courses, TA opportunities are requested through the School of Biological Sciences. Students who request to TA are not guaranteed a TA slot and are further unable to choose which courses they TA. Students assigned to TA are required to accept the position. 

The Office of Graduate Studies will send TA Agreement forms to graduate students quarterly. Students interested in TA opportunities must discuss and obtain approval from their PI prior to completing and returning the form.

This course is designed for individualized research directed toward a candidate's doctoral dissertation. Independent research is conducted within the laboratories of graduate training faculty in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics for first-year PhD students. 2-12 units.

Course Director: Department Faculty

Introduces modern methods in circuit neuroscience and how they are used to explore questions relating to the neurological basis of animal behavior. Emphasis is on rodent models but other model systems are incorporated where relevant. 3 units

Course Director: Beier

Provides an introduction to immunology, but focuses on providing in-depth analysis of selected topics within the broader field of immunology, including relevant research techniques, while improving critical thinking skills. 4 units.

Course Director: Pearlman

The course provides instruction and practice of writing NIH fellowships. The format is designed to help PhD students & postdocs to write NIH F30/F31/F32 fellowship applications (National Research Service Awards; NRSA). Improving successful NRSA submissions is a priority for individual students, faculty research advisors, training grant directors, and the campus in general. The course is offered annually in the spring quarter, with the primary goal of preparing trainees to submit new or revised applications for the August 5 NIH deadline. Several of the students and postdocs from previous years have been successful at obtaining F-series awards.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the grant review criteria and the principles of grant peer-review
• Become familiar with each required component of grant application
• Develop practical experience writing Specific Aims and Background/Significance sections, Goals for Training section
• Practice peer-review skills

Course Directors: Drs. Harinder Singh (Physiology & Biophysics) & David Fruman (Molecular Biology & Biochemistry)

This course covers both how ion channels function at the molecular level, incorporating structural biophysics principles into these descriptions, as well as what ion channels do and are responsible for at the cellular physiology level. 4 units

Course Director: Tombola / Pathak

This course introduces students to modern concepts and methods in proteomics. These topics range from protein identification, protein expression proteomics, mass-spectrometry based methods, structural biology, and protein-protein interactions, and computational methods. 4 units.

Course Director: Lan Huang (Graduate Teaching Award 2021 and Graduate Advisor)

Introduces the anatomic and physiological basis of vertebrate vision and disease states in which the structure and function of the eye is disrupted with emphasis on current and developing research areas. 3 units

Course Director: Kiser

Contemporary research problems in physiology. Students review research articles in current literature and present ideas contained therein, focusing on groundbreaking discoveries and methodologies. Students present results of their own research and attend presentations given by other students and departmental researchers.

Course Director: Department Faculty