Due to our program reorganization, the information below applies only to students who joined the Cancer Biology Program prior to Fall 2017!
Prospective students, please click here to find a listing of our current reorganized Programs and the latest Cancer Biology Program information.
Contacts
Dr. Menashe Bar-Eli
Program Director
713.794.4004
mbareli@mdanderson.org
Dr. E. Scott Kopetz
Program Co-Director
skopetz@mdanderson.org
Dr. Paul Chiao
Program Co-Director
pjchiao@mdanderson.org
Course Requirements
In addition to the general GSBS course requirements, the Cancer Biology Program requires the following courses:
- Cancer Biology or Translational Cancer Biology [no longer taught after Spring 2016]
- Basic and Translational Cancer Biology
- The Biology of Cancer Metastasis
- History of Biology and Cancer Science [required of students who joined the Program between Fall 2015 and Summer 2017 -- course will be taught next in Fall 2018 and annually thereafter -- the course may be taken post-candidacy, i.e., after the PhD candidacy exam]
- Cancer Biology Science Writing and Speaking [under development]
Electives:
- History of Biology and Cancer Science [strongly encouraged for students who joined the Program prior to Fall 2015]
- Immunology I
- Mechanisms in Cancer Therapeutics
- Human Pathobiology
- Cellular Neurophysiology
- Basic Concepts of Tumor Biology [no longer taught]
- Principles of Therapeutics
- Methods in Cancer Metastasis Research [no longer taught]
- Seminar in Cell Signaling and Regulation
- Current Topics in Tumor Progression
- G&D Scientific Writing
- Seminars in Molecular Mechanisms of Human Cancer
- G&D Oral Scientific Presentations
- Topics in Molecular Medicine [MD/PhD students only]
Candidacy Exam Information -- Format: On-Topic Exam
Students who joined the Cancer Biology (CB) Program after 05/01/2015 are required to take an on-topic candidacy exam in which the research proposal is based on the student’s intended dissertation project. The CB on-topic format follows the GSBS on-topic format except for the following features:
- Examining Committee composition:
- Two members should be selected from the faculty who are part of the Cancer Biology Program
- Breadth of knowledge:
- At least 6 weeks prior to the exam, the student will contact the Exam Committee Chair to discuss and agree on 3 "areas of breadth" that are distinct from their dissertation research
- At least 4 weeks before the exam, the committee will provide the student with a question on each of the 3 areas
- The student will select 1 question and write a 3-page answer that is provided to the committee along with the on-topic proposal 2 weeks prior to the exam date
- During the last third of the oral exam, the committee will query the student regarding his/her knowledge of the breadth areas