DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY PROGRAMS Graduate Program  Graduate Program Brochure The Department of Pathology Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Pathology provides training in basic research relevant to the study of normal and abnormal tissue and cellular functions at the molecular level. This PhD program combines both basic science and clinical research to explore fundamental questions related to the biology of normal tissue differentiation and growth, as well as the cellular and molecular pathways leading to pathobiology of disease in human and animal models. Active research programs investigate diverse topics such as liver development, liver disease and transplantation, developmental neuroscience and neurologic diseases, mechanisms of gene regulation, cancer biology, human genetics, lung disease, bioinformatics, and molecular diagnostics. Students are exposed to a variety of research topics and truly develop into biomedical research scientists. A strength of our program is the active participation of both basic and clinical researchers that provides insight and exposure to the clinical aspect of biomedical research. The program is dedicated to the development of each student as an independent biomedical research scientist. The majority of the student's time is focused in the laboratory on the development and completion of a thesis project. The department faculty offers and/or participates in several courses that emphasize the themes described above. These courses cover topics from basic mechanisms to normal and abnormal tissue function. Required course work is generally completed by the end of the second year, permitting the student to then concentrate his/her efforts on the dissertation project. The doctoral dissertation is planned and conducted with the close consultation of the student's mentor and thesis advisory committee. The dissertation is an original contribu-tion into the field of cellular and molecular pathology. Publication of the dissertation research in leading scientific journals provides a major step in the student's career development. The main office and laboratories for the Department of Pathology are located in the Biomedical Science Tower. Additional laboratories are located in Presbyterian University Hospital and Scaife Hall, the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Magee-Womens Hospital, and Magee-Womens Research Institute. All buildings are either interconnected or in close walking distance. All laboratories contain state-of-the-art equipment, and the Department of Pathology has centralized core facilities for electron microscopy, laser confocal microscopy, DNA sequencing, photography, and histology. These facilities are strengthened by the close proximity with the Molecular Diagnostics Laboratories of the UPMC-HS hospitals, directed to the analysis of molecular components needed for diagnostic evaluation of tumors, genetic diseases, infectious agents, etc. For additional description of the basic science and clinical facilities of the Department, please check our Web site at http://path.upmc.edu/ The Cellular and Molecular Pathology Graduate Training Program is part of the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program comprises eight departments at the School of Medicine that collectively recruit and train the next generation of biomedical research scientists. Students take a common course during the first semester and by the end of the first year select an individual Graduate Training Program and laboratory to begin their thesis dissertation work. This interdisciplinary teaching approach enables students to enjoy world-class basic research programs and clinical resources from multiple departments.