Revised 3/11/2024
PROGRAM IN MOLECULAR AND TRANSLATIONAL BIOLOGY
BYLAWS
I. Introduction
The Molecular and Translational Biology (MTB) Graduate Program is an interdisciplinary graduate program that focuses on understanding the fundamental basis of life and disease at the molecular and cellular level. Our faculty are representative of almost all biological sciences across the university, including neurobiology, cancer biology, immunology, cardiology, pharmacology, genetics and many other disciplines. Didactic training in the program focuses on a foundation in basic and translational research combined with practical skill development such as grantsmanship and oral presentation skills. In addition to classroom and laboratory training, students will also participate in many other activities including a seminar series and research workshop.
II. Program Organization
The administrative organization of the MTB Graduate Program is as follows:
A. Program Director
The Director of the Program shall be elected to a three-year term, starting on July 1st and ending June 30th. Department Chairs will be prohibited from the Director and Co-Director positions. The Director will be responsible to the MTB Graduate Program faculty and the Dean of the GSBS. The Director will act as a liaison to the Medical School and GSBS as a member of the Graduate School Education Committee at the Medical School, and the Program Directors Committee of the GSBS.
The Director will oversee all administrative activities of the Program. These activities include:
- Coordinate the activities of all standing and ad hoc committees
- Counsel students
- Organize program faculty meetings
- Present applications for membership in the Program
- Review Program faculty
Program Co-Director. A Program Co-Director will be elected to assist with the administrative activities of the Director. The Co-Director will be elected for a three-year term, starting July 1st and ending June 30th and is expected to conduct business in the Director’s absence. It is the expectation that the Co-Director will serve as Director when the Director’s term expires, however, this is not automatic and an election which includes potential new nominees will be performed with the assistance of the GSBS.
B. Program Steering Committee
The Program Steering Committee will be composed of the Director, Co-Director, and four to six other elected faculty members and one to two students. The faculty members of the Steering Committee will be elected by Program faculty and serve staggered terms of two years. The student member(s) of the Steering Committee will be elected by Program students and serve a term of one year.
All major policy issues concerning the graduate program are considered by the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will formulate policies related to the academic and administrative aspects of the Program and present them to the Program faculty for approval or modification. The Steering Committee will be required to meet at least semi-annually to conduct program-related matters and there will be a Program-wide faculty meeting semi-annually at which the Steering Committee will present their report and Program business will be conducted with minutes recorded for public dissemination. The Steering Committee will empanel subcommittees to advise on Program matters. To guarantee both institutional and departmental representation, the committee must include at least one faculty member from UTHealth Houston and one from MD Anderson Cancer Center. Additionally, there should be no more than two faculty members from any single department serving on the committee at the same time.
Election of MTB Program Leadership. To preserve the integrity and anonymity of the elections for leadership positions, the Graduate School will conduct the elections. GSBS will solicit nominations, including self-nominations, from the Program faculty at-large to serve as Director or Co-Director. Once the slate of candidates has been approved by the Deans’ Office, GSBS will conduct the election and report the results to the Program members.
Election of Program Steering Committee. The program leadership will solicit nominations including self-nominations from the Program faculty at large to serve as members of the Steering Committee. The program leadership will also solicit volunteers from Program students to serve on the Steering Committee. To be eligible to serve, students must be in good academic standing and in their second year or beyond at the GSBS. Once the slate of faculty and student candidates has been approved by the Program Leadership, the Program Manager will conduct the election and report the results to the Program members.
C. Program Curriculum Committee
The Curriculum Committee will be composed of the course directors for the required courses in the MTB Graduate Program curriculum and up to four other Program faculty and two students who will be appointed bi-annually by the Director. The Curriculum Committee will report to the Director and the Program Faculty. The primary role of this committee is to develop and maintain the MTB Graduate Program curriculum. The Curriculum Committee will also administer the Program’s academic policies and activities, and to monitor the quality of education. The Curriculum Committee is also responsible for periodically evaluating, developing, and modernizing the curriculum of the MTB Graduate Program. To guarantee both institutional and departmental representation, the committee must include at least one faculty member from UTHealth Houston and one from MD Anderson Cancer Center. Additionally, there should be no more than two faculty members from any single department serving on the committee at the same time. An exception will be granted for Course Directors of program-required courses.
Faculty developing new courses that intend to expand the academic offering of the program should seek guidance from the MTB Curriculum Committee. Any changes to the program course requirements are to be reported to the GSBS Curriculum Committee for review and approval.
D. Program Admissions and Recruitment Committee
The Chair of the Program Admissions committee is appointed annually by the Director and will also serve as the GSBS Admissions Committee Program representative. The Admissions and Recruitment Committee will be Program faculty that will be appointed annually by the Chair of the Program Admissions Committee. The Admissions and Recruitment Committee will report to the Director and the Program faculty. The Admissions and Recruitment Committee will work closely with the centralized GSBS Admissions Committee to aid in evaluating prospective students with interests in Molecular and Translational Biology. This Committee may also coordinate the Program’s advertising and recruiting efforts to attract highly qualified students to the MTB Graduate Program.
The specific duties of the Admissions and Recruitment Committee are:
To review applicants who have a primary, secondary, or tertiary interest in the MTB Graduate Program as self-identified in the application materials.
- To make recommendations regarding the suitability of these students to the GSBS Admissions Committee Program representative.
- To organize MTB Graduate Program efforts to recruit students. These efforts may include participating in student interviews, communicating with prospective students, participating in orientation activities, and organizing recruitment events for the first-year students.
E. Program Examination Committee (PEC)
The Program Director will appoint a Program Examination Committee (PEC) Chair for a three- year term. The Chair will select approximately 10 program faculty members who are representative of the research interests at large of the program. Committee members are to be available for service on MTB student candidacy exams. MTB students are required to choose 4 of their 5 examination committee members from this roster (including the Chair). The 5th member must be from outside the MTB Program. A maximum of two members of the student’s Candidacy Exam Committee may also be members of the student’s Advisory Committee. One member of the student’s Exam Committee must have significantly different expertise than the topic of the proposal; this member can be the person from outside the program or one of the PEC members. The petition for candidacy must be approved by the GSBS Academic Standards Committee for who will also review and approve the composition to the Exam Committee.
The PEC Chair serves for the academic year and must chair all MTB student exams for that academic year unless a conflict of interest or scheduling exists, in which case an Alternate Chair will serve. The committee is responsible for ensuring consistency and high standards of both the written and oral portions of the candidacy exam. Students are strongly encouraged to consult with the Program Director and/ or the PEC Chairperson while selecting committee members, prior to requesting that individual faculty serve on the exam committee in order to ensure adequate research representation and expertise. If the student and mentor feel strongly that particular critical expertise is not represented by the faculty listed on the PEC roster to permit a thorough and fair examination, the student should contact the Program Director to determine whether ad hoc PEC members should be appointed.
F. Ad Hoc Committees
In addition to the above committees, the Program Director may appoint other ad hoc committees to help with the various program efforts. The membership roster of all the committees will be presented at least once per year at a faculty meeting and the Program faculty are encouraged to provide feedback.
III. Program Faculty
The central goal of the Program is to promote scientific excellence by providing rigorous and modern training in the broad disciplines of Biochemistry, Cell, Molecular and Translational Biology. These goals require enthusiastic Program faculty committed to graduate education, and the financial resources to support graduate trainees in the laboratory. The Program Faculty consists of Regular Members, Associate Members, or Distinguished Senior Lecturers. Members must also hold a faculty position within the GSBS, and must have the same title in the GSBS (Regular Member, Associate Member, or Distinguished Senior Lecturer). Program membership will be open to all GSBS Faculty pending approval of a formal application to the Program. The MTB Graduate Program faculty will:
- Establish Program policy
- Train and mentor students
- Serve on student committees as requested
- Lecture in Program courses as requested
Applications for membership in the MTB Graduate Program are to be submitted to the Program Director and will be reviewed by the Steering Committee. Applications for Program membership should include the applicant’s CV as well as a letter which states the reasons why the applicant wishes to join the Program. The letter should clearly state the expectations of the applicant from the Program and areas in which the applicant can contribute to the Program. Applications will be reviewed and voted on by the Program Directors and the Steering Committee for a majority vote. The Program will notify GSBS Faculty Affairs of all new faculty members. Criteria for membership will include, but are not limited to
- Scientific independence
- Active and internally or extramurally funded research projects aligned with the scope of the MTB program
- A willingness to participate in Program activities and assume the responsibilities of Program Faculty as outlined above
- Membership in good standing with the GSBS
Program Faculty Review
The MTB Graduate Program Steering Committee will review each member’s contributions or activities, using the GSBS Membership Committee criteria as a guideline. Faculty review will occur every five years concurrent with the GSBS Membership Committee review, on a schedule determined by the MTB Steering Committee. Faculty participation will be assessed by a self-reported survey and by reports provided by the GSBS. Program faculty are expected to participate in all major Program scientific activities (symposia, retreats and recruiting events) and to participate on ad hoc committees. The Director will consult the Steering Committee regarding faculty s/he suggests are inactive. If the Steering Committee concurs, GSBS and the inactive faculty member will be notified that the faculty member is on probation for program membership for a year. At the end of this time, if there is no increase in activity, the Program Steering Committee may vote to terminate membership. Faculty who are asked to leave the Program or who apply for program membership in later years but are denied may appeal the decision to the GSBS Deans directly. The Program will notify GSBS Faculty Affairs of any terminated faculty.
IV. Program Students
Entrance into the Program
Any GSBS doctoral student in good standing can join the MTB Graduate Program. All students within the Program will be expected to complete all Program and GSBS requirements. Exceptions towards fulfilling the required program courses may be made by the Director, on a case-by-case basis, for students (including MD/PhD students). Students are recommended to join the MTB program once they have identified an advisor, by signing the Accountable Mentorship Agreement form. Students are welcome to join the MTB program independently from the affiliation of their advisor(s).
V. Student Governance
The MTB Graduate Program has an educational organization, the MTB Student Council (SC), led by and composed of five student representatives elected by the MTB students. The responsibilities of the MTB-SC are:
- chair and recruit student organizing committees for the MTB Fall Retreat, MTB Spring Symposium, and MTB student invited speaker, with advice and consent of the Director;
- develop and maintain the schedule for MTB student meetings;
- assist the MTB faculty in program orientation and recruitment initiatives;
- advise the MTB Director on matters that impact MTB student development or education;
- organize social activities to promote interactions among students and between students and faculty;
- further the interests of the students and program by promoting active participation in the program, GSBS, university affairs, and community service activities;
- disseminate pertinent information to the MTB Program students and the broader community via email and/or social media.
The MTB-SC members will be elected each March by current MTB students from a slate of nominees (self-nominees or students nominated by program members; all nominees must be in good academic standing with GSBS and approved by their faculty research mentors). MTB-SC members will serve one-year terms extending May 1 – April 30 annually; students may serve a maximum of three terms on the MTB-SC. It is the expectation that the sitting Vice-President will serve as the next President. However, this is not automatic and other individuals will be free to self-nominate to serve as President. To preserve the integrity and anonymity of the elections, the MTB Program Coordinator or Director will collect nominations, verify mentor approval and academic standing, and conduct the elections of MTB-SC President, Vice President and three elected member. Elected members will then self-select chairperson roles. Roles are as follows:
President (Student Meeting and Invited Speaker Chair)
- Vice-Presidents
- Up to 4 Chairs that may include chair for social media, chair for MTB symposium, chair for MTB retreat
Chairs for major events will be responsible for assembling organizing committees composed of volunteers from the MTB student body and interacting with the faculty coordinator for that event. Faculty coordinators will be designated by the Director and will mentor the student organizing committee, help communicate with the Program Coordinator and Director, and assist with logistics on the day of the event.
VI. Program Meetings and Bylaws
A. Faculty Meetings
At least two annual meetings of the MTB Program faculty will take place. The Steering Committee will present its report to the Faculty and Program business will be conducted. Minutes will be recorded for public dissemination
B. Student Meetings
At least one annual meeting between the students and the Program Director will take place. Minutes and recommendations to the Program will be made based on student feedback.
C. Amendments to Bylaws
An amendment to the Bylaws of the MTB Program may be accomplished by a majority vote of the respondents of the Program faculty after the following procedure has been followed. The proposed amendment will be discussed and approved by the Steering Committee. The Program Director will send it to the GSBS Dean's Office for review to ensure that it meets GSBS guidelines. The Program Director will then send the amendment electronically to the Program Faculty for consideration at least two weeks before it is to be voted upon. If the amendment is to be discussed at a faculty meeting, a final vote may be taken at the meeting. If the amendment is to be approved electronically, GSBS will send the final version of the amendment to the Program Faculty to approve by electronic ballot to allow for a program wide election.
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