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Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

Welcome to the PhD graduate program in Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. Our location in the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest biomedical center, provides an excellent research environment.

Program Requirements

In addition to the general GSBS course requirements, the MID Program requires the following courses

  • GS07 1741 Literature Survey in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
  • GS07 1751 Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Seminar Series
  • GS07 1092 Topics in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
  • GS07 1015 Microbial Genetics and Physiology

Additional courses offered by the MID Program:

  • GS04 1051 Fluorescence and Electron Microscopy: Imaging Cells and Molecules

Program course requirements for MS students

Course Descriptions

  • Fluorescence and Electron Microscopy: Imaging Cells and Molecules
    Course Detail

    GS04 1051 (1 credits)
    Spring

    Fluorescence and electron microscopes permit the examination of cellular features at high magnification. This laboratory-based course is designed to provide the theory, fundamental operating principles, specimen preparation techniques of fluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy. At the end of the course, students with no prior experience will be able to prepare specimens, operate the instruments, and collect and interpret data. In addition, students will also learn how to write part of manuscripts. While this course is intended for students in the Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Program, other GSBS students are encouraged to enroll as these advanced microscopic techniques are broadly used.

  • Literature Survey in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
    Course Detail

    GS07 1741 (1 credits)
    Spring and Fall

    This is a required course for all MID Program students except for those in their final thesis/dissertation writing semester. In this course, students will present and critically evaluate recent journal articles. The specific articles are to be chosen by the presenter from the literature in the fields of microbiology and molecular genetics. Students will be evaluated on their presentation and participation in discussions.

  • Microbial Genetics and Physiology
    Course Detail

    GS07 1015 (5 credits)
    Spring

    The objective of this course is to provide our second-semester, first-year students with a broad knowledge of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial biology. Topics covered include genetics, gene expression, signal transduction, and stress responses, cell biology, pathogenesis, host responses, and antimicrobial therapy. The course is divided into 15 one-week units composed of at least two faculty-led lectures and two roundtable discussions of the primary literature. Letter grades are based on participation (25%), writing exercises focused on the papers discussed in class (50%), and a weekly problem set (25%).

  • Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Seminar Series
    Course Detail

    GS07 1751 (1 credits)
    Spring and Fall

    This is a required course for all MID Program students except for those in their final thesis/dissertation writing semester. 

    Students registered for this course will attend the weekly departmental seminars series in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. Attendance of at least 75% of the seminars is required for a passing grade.

    NOTE:

    Seminars will be a combination of fully in-person with local speakers and fully Zoom with international speakers.  Students are expected to physically attend the in-person seminars.

  • Topics in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
    Course Detail

    GS07 1092 (2 credits)
    Fall

    This course provides cutting-edge information on selected topics in microbiology and infectious diseases and develops the student’s ability to critically review research and develop a research program. The course primarily consists of student presentations and discussion of recent scientific articles. The list of articles for each session will be provided in advance. Students will also be required to develop and write a full NIH style grant proposal.

    >> This course fulfills the GSBS Scientific Writing requirement <<

Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Candidacy Exam

Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (MID) Program students take an on-topic exam and the format follows the GSBS on-topic format except for the following features:

Step 1) Consultation with Chair of the Advisory Committee 

The student submits a 1-page thesis proposal abstract and a proposed Exam Committee to the chair of their Advisory Committee. At least three members of the Exam Committee must be MID Program faculty, and at least one member must be outside the Program. The committee must be chaired by a MID Program faculty member. The Advisory Committee chair obtains approval from the Advisory Committee and informs the student and the Exam Committee. The student should be certain that all members of the proposed Exam Committee are available to participate in the exam at the expected time.

Step 2) Petition to Academic Standards Committee 

The student submits their abstract, Exam Committee roster (signed by all Exam Committee members) and Petition to Advance to Candidacy form (signed by all Advisory Committee members) to the Program Director for approval. It is then forwarded to the Academic Standards Committee (ASC) of the GSBS for approval at their next scheduled meeting (the deadline is 12:00 noon on the First Wednesday of each month). This should be done immediately after obtaining signatures to ensure that ASC has time to review the application.

Step 3) Consultation with Chair of the Examination Committee 

The exam clock starts upon notification of the ASC’s approval. Immediately after obtaining this approval, the student meets with their Exam Committee chair to discuss the three areas of breadth on which to be examined and to set the schedule for the exam to be held in 6-7 weeks. The Exam Committee chair approves the areas of breadth in consultation with the Exam Committee. Example breadth areas include microbial pathogenesis, membrane biology, transcription, metabolic regulation, bioenergetics, signal transduction, protein-protein interaction. Given the diversity of MID faculty and student research areas, a large latitude will be given in the three areas, as long as they are reasonably distinct and general. Ideally, the breadth areas will match the expertise of the committee members.

Step 4) Submission of the Proposal 

The 7-page proposal (see below) is submitted to the chair of the Exam Committee after three weeks. The Exam Committee briefly reviews the proposal and decides whether it is adequate to proceed. If judged below the minimum quality required to proceed, the student has three weeks to revise it for a second, and final, attempt.

Step 5) The written component of the exam 

If the proposal is acceptable, the Exam Committee Chair will provide the student with three questions within three days. The questions are prepared by the Exam Committee and will cover the student’s chosen areas of breadth. The student has two weeks after receiving the three questions to prepare an up to five page answer to one of the questions (single spaced, excluding references). The student turns in the answer to each member of the Exam Committee. The student must research the literature and prepare the answer entirely independently, without consultation with others. The student is also responsible for a general understanding of the other two questions, to be explored during the oral exam.

An example question might be: "A fundamental question in bacterial chemotaxis is the mechanism of transmembrane signaling, i.e., how chemoeffector binding in the periplasm modulates the activity of the cytoplasmic histidine-kinase. Review current models for this process and propose an experimental strategy to distinguish them. Identify possible outcomes and pitfalls in your experimental design."

Step 6) The oral exam 

In the oral exam, the student will be tested on (i) the proposal, (ii) the written answer, (iii) the other two questions, and (iv) other aspects of the areas of breadth. The student is expected to have a good command of the material taught in our curriculum, which is implicitly tested in the proposal, the breadth answer, and the oral exam.

 

Ph.D. RESEARCH PROPOSAL

It is the student's responsibility to submit a Research Proposal in the form of a research grant proposal to each member of the Exam Committee. For MID program students, the research proposal should be “on topic”, i.e., on the actual thesis topic the student is planning to pursue. Unlike the general GSBS policy on faculty guidance, MID Program students MAY NOT receive feedback from their advisor or members of their Exam Committee. They may, however, seek feedback on the proposal from peers and other faculty. The format of the proposal follows the research section in NRSA F31 Fellowship applications as follows:

  • 1 page for Specific Aims
  • 6 additional pages for research strategy (including Significance, Innovation and Approach)
  • These page limits do not include the Bibliography
  • Other components of the F31 are not needed
  • Additional notes
    • Margins should be 1/2" on all four sides and font size should be Arial 11 point
    • Smaller type may be used for figures, but they must be clear and legible when printed at the normal size