Molecular & Integrative Physiology

Guidelines for Graduate Study

The Ph.D. Program Timeline outlines the process and provides a detailed structure for the first two years of the Ph.D. program. Thereafter, the time to completion of the Ph.D. varies largely on the progress and nature of the research project.

Ph.D. students: (4-5 years is typical)

Year 1 – IGPBS course work, select a mentor and Student Advisory Committee (SAC).

Year 2 – Conduct research, have 1st SAC meeting during the fall semester (second in the Spring), Abstract for Written Proposal due May 1, Final approved abstract for Written Proposal due June 1, Written proposal due ~August 15, Response to proposal critique due ~October 1, Oral Exams scheduled for ~November 1-15.*

Year 3-5 – Continue research, have mandatory Dissertation Committee meetings every 9-12 months, prepare and defend dissertation.

M.D./Ph.D. students:

Enter the Ph.D. program after completing their first two years of medical school, during which time they select their mentor. Students typically spend 3-4 years completing their PhD before returning to finish their final two years of medical school.

Year 1 – Conduct research, select Student Advisory Committee (SAC) and have 1st SAC meeting during the fall semester (second in the Spring), Abstract for Written Proposal due May 1, Final approved abstract for Written Proposal due June 1, Written proposal due ~August 15, Response to proposal critique due ~October 1, Oral Exams scheduled for ~November 1-15.*

Year 2-4 – Continue research, have mandatory Dissertation Committee meetings every 9-12 months, prepare and defend dissertation.

*A petition process to reconsider this timeline is available for students that don’t fulfill the Graduate School Enrollment and Academic Requirements by the end of their 2^nd fall semester or who encounter unforeseen personal issues. The Molecular & Integrative Physiology (MIP) graduate program Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC) will evaluate submitted petitions. Transfer students will follow a similar timeline, but will be initiated at a date consistent with Graduate School requirements.

Faculty Oversight: Student Advisory and Dissertation Committees.

The student selects a Student Advisory Committee (SAC) with mentor assistance and a meeting is scheduled during the first months of joining the lab. The MIP Graduate Program Director must be notified of these members once selected to determine their eligibility. The committee will evaluate progress, sets future goals, and identifies and addresses issues/concerns during the course of the student's graduate program. The committee consists of the Mentor and at least four faculty members selected by the student. The makeup of this committee is described in the Supplement to Guidelines for Graduate Study. The SAC typically becomes the Dissertation Committee following successful completion of the comprehensive exam. Rules governing faculty membership in these committees are provided in the Supplement to Guidelines for Graduate Study. The student will provide faculty names and update the MIP Graduate Program Director of changes in the Dissertation Committee when they occur.

The Comprehensive Examination

The Oral Comprehensive Exam will typically be completed during the 2nd Fall Semester after joining the MIP Graduate Program. It consists of two parts: a written proposal (Program requirement) and an oral examination (University requirement). The written portion is composed of an abstract and a NIH style grant proposal, both of which require committee approval of completion before proceeding on to the oral exam. The process of preparing the abstract and research proposal is designed to mimic the process of writing and revising a NIH grant. The proposal typically describes the research project that will be the student’s dissertation research project; however, by no means does this require that the student ultimately follow this plan for their dissertation.

Abstract: During their first year in the department, the student will have 1-2 SAC meetings where their proposed research will be discussed. These discussions will help guide the student towards his/her research direction and topic of the written proposal. The student prepares an abstract that describes the overall concept of the proposal and submits it to their SAC and the MIP Graduate Program Director by May 1. The SAC will review the abstract to determine whether it constitutes a good basis for a proposal. The SAC will request changes such that by June 1 an approved abstract can be attained. The approved Final Abstract must be forwarded (via email) to the MIP Graduate Program Director by June 1. The abstract should:

State the broad, long-term research objectives.
Explain what the research in the application is intended to accomplish.
State the hypotheses to be tested.
Include 2-3 specific aims.
Avoid general excessive experimental details.
The abstract must be double-spaced and less than 500 words in length with 0.5 inch margins; Arial 11pt font).

Written Proposal: The scientific problem and general research approaches are identified, developed, clarified and refined by frequent discussions with the mentor, the SAC, other faculty and students, and the reading of relevant literature. The written proposal must be the student's own work, though the direction of the research will be determined in conjunction with the mentor. The student can and should seek feedback from faculty and other students regarding the written proposal.

The student will submit their NIH style grant proposal to the Graduate Program Director by ~August 15. The MIP Graduate Program Director will forward the proposal to their SAC along with a proposal review form. The student will receive a summarized written critique and score of the proposal during the 2nd week of September. The student is encouraged to discuss the critique with the mentor, but must revise the written proposal independently. The revision of the proposal will include a preface (<2 page; Introduction to the Revision) with replies to the comments in the critique and changes to the proposal must be identified using the Track Changes option. The student will submit this revised proposal to the MIP Graduate Program Director by ~October 1. The proposal will be reviewed/approved within a couple of days and the Oral Comprehensive Exam date will be set by the Graduate Program Director to occur between ~November 1-15. (If the proposal is not approved - then the Oral Exam must be postponed).

Format of written proposal: Specific Aims (< 2 pages, double spaced) will precede the Research Strategy Section of the proposal (< 22 double spaced pages) and is comprised of the following sections - Significance, Innovation, and Approach (total length <24 pages). The student should not feel compelled to use the full 24 pages permitted; conciseness and clarity carry far more value than length in judging these proposals; note the title page, abstract page, and references, do not count in the 24 page count. The NIH provides useful information for writing a good grant proposal at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/writing_application.htm. The proposal contains the following sections: (All documents - 0.5 inch margins; Arial 11pt font).

Title page.
Abstract page – final SAC approved version.
Specific Aims (< 2 pages) – Should state concisely: 1) The broad, long-term research objectives, 2) what the research in this application is intended to accomplish, 3) hypotheses to be tested, and 4) rationale for research.
Research Strategy (< 22 pages, including figures/tables)
1. Significance (4-6 pages) – Briefly, describe the existing knowledge, and specifically identify gaps, which the project is intended to fill. State concisely the importance of the research described in this application by relating the specific aims to the broad long-term objectives and to health relevance.
2. Innovation (< 1 page) – Describe how the application challenges and seeks to shift current research paradigms by using novel concepts, approaches, methods. Are concepts, approaches, methods, new to the field of study, or is a refinement, improvement, or new application of theoretical concepts, approaches, or methods being proposed?
3. Approach (15-18 pages) - Describe the research design and the procedures to be used to accomplish the specific aims of the project. Include the means by which the data will be collected, analyzed, and interpreted. Describe any new methodology and its advantage over existing procedures. Include alternative approaches to achieve the aims. For each specific aim, the aim should be restated and include the following subsections: Overview/Rationale, Experimental Design, Expected Results and Interpretation, Potential Pitfalls and Alternative Approaches.
References – Include complete references to all cited literature (does not count in page limits).
Introduction to the Revision (1-2 pages) – The student will answer questions, address concerns and resolutions to concerns based on the critiques from their SAC and submit this with the changes tracked on the original proposal to the Graduate Program Director by ~October 1.

Proposals not following these guidelines will be rejected by the MIP Graduate Program Director and returned to the student for immediate correction.

Oral exam: The purpose of the oral examination is to test the student's 1) ability to defend the written proposal, 2) knowledge of relevant background material (e.g. techniques, statistical approaches), 3) grasp of IGPBS and/or medical school course work as well as advanced graduate courses, and 4) command of the relevant scientific literature. The Oral Examination Committee (5 members) will consist of selected members of the student’s SAC (in particular the member outside of the MIP graduate program), 1-2 members of the departmental GSAC and 1-2 MIP faculty members. The MIP Graduate Program Director appoints a tenure track Physiology faculty member to serve as the Examining Committee Chair typically a MIP GSAC member. The MIP Graduate Program Director will inform the student of the date, time and makeup of their oral examination committee in October. During the examination, the Examining Committee Chair acts as an impartial mediator. Students are strongly encouraged to practice their presentation during a mock exam using fellow students as examiners.

Conduct of the exam: The Chair of the Examination Committee will instruct the student and the committee as to the way the examination is to be conducted. The student begins with an oral presentation in which the essence of the proposal is presented to the examining committee; audiovisual aids are encouraged (presentation should be 30 minutes or less). The objective of the examination is to ascertain the student's facility with the chosen area of research and ability to defend the rationale and scientific approach of the proposed research. The examining committee will also explore the depths of the student's knowledge of basic science relevant to the research proposal and material presented in courses completed with particular emphasis on courses required in the MIP Graduate Program. The examination is not open to the public.

At the conclusion of examination, the student is excused. The examination committee evaluates the student's performance with respect to the following components: the written proposal scores, the formal presentation, the defense of the proposed research, and the general knowledge of science exhibited by the student during the examination period. Next, committee members cast votes of satisfactory or unsatisfactory to determine the student's performance. The Committee Chair votes only in the case of a tied vote. The Committee Chair writes a brief summary of the performance (including deficiencies) after a decision has been reached. The student returns and is informed of the committee’s evaluation (satisfactory or unsatisfactory), but not the distribution of voting. The Chair provides feedback regarding areas of strength or any deficiencies. In the case of an unsatisfactory performance, the student may apply for reexamination on a date no less than 90 days or more than 180 days from the date of the previous examination. The Oral Examination Committee determines the nature of the reexamination. In the event of a second failure, the student will not be allowed to continue in the Ph.D. program. After successfully completing the exam, the student must maintain continuous full time enrollment until completion of all requirements for the Ph.D.

Ph.D. Candidates

Dissertation Committee Meetings: After passing the comprehensive exam, the student, now a Ph.D. candidate, must convene a meeting of their Dissertation Committee at minimum once a year, but preferably every 9 months. Members of the SAC typically become members of the Dissertation Committee, the MIP Graduate Program Director should be notified who the members of the Dissertation Committee members are and when changes in membership occur. In those cases where the Mentor is not a KUMC faculty member, as per University regulations, a MIP Faculty Representative must serve as a co-chair.

Dissertation Defense: The student is eligible to proceed to prepare their dissertation and subsequently defend their dissertation when: 1) they have one manuscript accepted on which they are first author, and 2) their SAC has given approval to proceed. The student writes their dissertation under the advisement of their mentor. The mentor is responsible for reviewing/critiquing the document prior to it being submitted to the student’s SAC/Dissertation Committee. The student sends the mentor-approved dissertation (along with the signed Mentor Dissertation Approval Form) to each member of the SAC as well as the MIP Graduate Program Director. Within 3 weeks of receiving the dissertation, each committee member should provide corrections and suggestions for improvement to the student and mentor via email. The student will subsequently revise the dissertation and the review process by the SAC will be repeated. The student may begin the process of identifying a defense date while the SAC is reviewing the revised version of the dissertation. Once all members approve the dissertation (and sign the SAC Dissertation Approval Form), the student submits a request to the MIP Graduate Program Director to apply for the Final Defense*. The student will provide the following:

Signed SAC Dissertation Acceptance form.
Title of the dissertation.
Date**, time and place for the defense (1 hr for the seminar and ~3 hr for questioning by the committee; the CAS can assist in reserving a room and will provide information to the student with regard to defense brochure and announcement).
Names of all members of the dissertation committee.

The student must provide this information to the Graduate Director at least 3-4 weeks prior to the defense in order to allow time to file the Progress-to-Degree Form with Graduate Studies or the defense will have to be postponed. The Defense will consist of a 50-minute public presentation and 1.5-3 hours of questioning by the Dissertation Committee.

Information regarding the defense can be found in the KU Graduate Catalog (university rules)

*The Graduate Director/CAS will not submit a Progress-to-Degree Form until the SAC has accepted the dissertation and signed the acceptance form.

**The defense must be scheduled to occur at least one week prior to the Graduate Studies deadline for electronically filing the dissertation.

Dissertation Format: The product of the student’s research forms the basis of the dissertation. The dissertation typically contains several manuscripts (published, submitted, or are in preparation) that describe the student’s research. Each manuscript forms a chapter in the dissertation. Additionally, the student provides an introductory chapter that provides the background and significance of the research project, and a final chapter that summarizes the conclusions of the studies. The KUMC Office of Graduate Studies has a number of documents that explain formatting, academic calendar, graduation checklists, etc. Additional graduation information can be found on the Graduate Studies website as well as in a Graduation Checklist document for the MIP Graduate Program.

Enrollment and Other Departmental Requirements

Students must meet all Graduate School Enrollment and Academic Requirements (i.e., Graduate School English Requirement, not on academic probation) such that they can complete their Oral Exam before the end of 2nd year in graduate school.
Students are required to attend the Cell Biology & Physiology Departmental seminars**.
Students are required to present one departmental seminar as part of the PHSL 851 Course.
Students are expected to participate in the Student Research Forum after the first year in the laboratory.

Course Work requirements:

Pre-comprehensive exam students must enroll in a minimum of 6 credit hours during the Spring and Fall semesters, and 3 credit hours during the Summer semester (courses dictated by the department, SAC and/or PHSL 850).
Students are required to take the Human Physiology I-IV courses (PHSL 821-824) that occur during the Fall and Spring semesters
Students are encouraged to enroll in the Fellowship Grant Development course (ANAT 831). This course will assist students in completing their written comprehensive exam and preparing this proposal for fellowship submission.
All MD/PhD students are required to enroll in an Ethics course. This can be GSMC 856 (Introduction to Research Ethics, 1 cr) or the ethics course administered at Stowers.
All other course work shall be determined by the student, student’s mentor and advisory committee.
Post-comprehensive exam students must enroll in PHSL 851 Seminar, for 1 credit hour in the Fall or Spring semester, with the balance of credits in PHSL 850 or other courses they choose to take.
At the beginning of the student’s fourth year, a petition should be made to reduce their minimum credit hour requirement to 1 hour (completed 18 credit hours since passing their comprehensive exam). The petition requires approval by the MIP Graduate Program Director and KUMC Graduate Studies. An approval form is available at the Office of Graduate Studies web site and will require a signature by the MIP Graduate Program Director. Students should then enroll in 1 credit hour of PHSL 999 Dissertation Research each semester thereafter. If on track, the student will be finishing up their research and completing their dissertation during their fifth year.
7. If a student is going to graduate prior to completion of the 18 post comp hrs, they must enroll in 999 Dissertation Research in the semester of graduation.

Graduate Student Advisory Committee

Michael W. Wolfe, Ph.D., Director of the MIP Graduate Program
Lane Christenson, Ph.D.
Paige Geiger, Ph.D.
John Stanford, Ph.D.
Steve LeVine, Ph.D.
Vargheese Chennathukuzhi, Ph.D.

**All Stowers Physiology graduate students must attend Stowers Wednesday seminars, Friday science club and dissertation defenses by their fellow MIP students at Stowers. Active participation is encouraged. This replaces the requirement for attendance at the Cell Biology & Physiology Departmental seminars.