OHSU Knight Cancer Institute Graduate Program

Overview
The Graduate Program in Cancer Biology is designed to train students for a career in basic and applied cancer research. Modern cancer research is based on a broad range of technical skills including: Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Biochemistry, and Bioinformatics, which the students will learn through course work and extensive laboratory training. Students in this program will receive training in the application of biotechnology to basic and applied cancer research, and to the dissemination of information to the next generation of scientists and the lay public.

Training will include exercises designed to develop independent thinking, oral and written presentation skills, data and information analysis, and dissemination of information through teaching. Students in this program will enter their graduate careers at OHSU through the Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (PMCB). PMCB is an interdisciplinary program that brings together over 150 faculty from five basic science departments and research institutes to provide graduate students with rigorous training in chemical, molecular, cellular, and systems biology during their first two years at OHSU.

The first-year curriculum, consists of a series of courses that all students will take, and emphasizes all aspects of cancer biology (cellular, molecular, systems, and disease). The curriculum is flexible and courses are largely completed in the first year, permitting students to focus on the essence of graduate training, independent research in a mentor's laboratory, as soon as possible. During the first year, students will be advised by faculty members, who guide them through courses, including advanced electives and rotations. Students also participate in laboratory rotations in the first year, using these rotations to help choose a thesis lab. At the end of the first year, students will take a comprehensive written exam, which tests students on their grasp of the core curriculum and on their skills in understanding the primary literature. Also at the end of the first year, the students choose a mentor and officially enter the Program in Cancer Biology. At the end of their second year, students take the oral qualifying exam, which allows them to become a Ph.D. candidate.

The qualifying exam consists of a written component, which is a thesis proposal in the format of an NRSA grant, and an oral defense. Subsequently, the student chooses a thesis advisory committee, who guides their dissertation research. Students are evaluated at several points during their participation in the program, and are subjected to several yearly requirements, including a thesis committee meeting and a talk on their research. Finally, the culmination of a student's graduate career is the assembly of a written Ph.D. thesis and its oral defense. Thus, the proposed program combines rigorous course work with laboratory training and exercises in writing, speaking, and teaching, designed to provide students with the necessary theoretical and practical skills to launch productive careers. Graduating students will be in a position to competitively pursue a wide range of potential careers including: basic and applied research in the academic, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, as well as in undergraduate and graduate level teaching and science writing.

Graduate Program in Cancer Biology Course Requirements
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 * align="left" |Year 1
 * CONJ 665
 * Development, Differentiation and Cancer (Spring)
 * 3 credits
 * Must be completed by end of year 2
 * align="left" |Year 2
 * Fall Term MGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * CANB elective courses (see list below)
 * x credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * Winter Term MGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CELL 622
 * Topics in Transcriptional Regulation OR
 * 2 credits
 * BMB 625
 * Advanced Topics in Molecular Biology
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * CANB elective courses (see list below)
 * x credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * Highly recommended if offered, otherwise substitute with an additional PCB elective course
 * Spring Term MGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CELL616
 * Advanced Topics in Cancer Biology
 * 4 credits
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * CANB elective courses (see list below)
 * x credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * Summer Term CONJ 608B
 * PMCB Qualifying Exam
 * 8 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * 8 credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * align="left" |Year 3+
 * All TermsMGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * x credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * Highly recommended if offered, otherwise substitute with an additional PCB elective course
 * Spring Term MGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CELL616
 * Advanced Topics in Cancer Biology
 * 4 credits
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * CANB elective courses (see list below)
 * x credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * Summer Term CONJ 608B
 * PMCB Qualifying Exam
 * 8 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * 8 credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * align="left" |Year 3+
 * All TermsMGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * Summer Term CONJ 608B
 * PMCB Qualifying Exam
 * 8 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * 8 credits
 * align="right" | total
 * 16 credits
 * align="left" |Year 3+
 * All TermsMGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * All TermsMGEN 606
 * Mechanisms of Cancer Journal Club
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 607
 * Knight Cancer Biology Seminar Series
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * 1 credit
 * CANB 601
 * Research
 * x credits
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * x credits
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only
 * Summer term requirement PCB 601 only

{| border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10"; width:750px"}


 * CELL 611
 * Histology: The structure and function of cells in tissue
 * fall term
 * align="right" |4 credits
 * CELL 620
 * Model Systems Biology
 * summer term
 * align="right" |3 credits
 * CELL 618
 * Mechanisms of Development
 * winter alt
 * align="right" |3 credits
 * MBIM 610
 * Introduction to Immunology
 * align="right" | 2 credits
 * PHPH 617
 * Pharmacokinetics
 * align="right" |2 credits
 * PHPM 524
 * Introduction to Biostatistics
 * align="right" |4 credits
 * BMCB 625
 * Advanced Molecular Biology: Topics and Methods to Modern Molecular Biology
 * winter term
 * align="right" |3 credits
 * PHPM 524
 * Introduction to Biostatistics
 * align="right" |4 credits
 * BMCB 625
 * Advanced Molecular Biology: Topics and Methods to Modern Molecular Biology
 * winter term
 * align="right" |3 credits
 * winter term
 * align="right" |3 credits

Elective Courses
A total of 4 credit hours of upper level elective courses are required to be eligible for the Program in Cancer Biology Ph.D. degree.

The following are only a few of the popular graduate elective courses offered in the school of medicine. Other courses available are listed in the course catalog. Graduate students are encouraged to seek advice from their mentor and/or graduate program director when considering taking other courses. Some of the elective courses are offered every other year.