The Molecular and Cellular Pathology (MCP) graduate program is a multidisciplinary program supported by the Department of Pathology. Our focus is to mentor and train the next generation of leading scientists with a focus on the pathogenesis of human diseases, their prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Students will be trained under the supervision of an exceptional group of basic, clinical and translational researchers with national and international reputations in their field of research.
The Department of Pathology's MCP graduate program bridges basic and clinical sciences to encourage interdisciplinary projects and interdepartmental cooperation while providing an enhanced educational experience. The MCP program provides a strong background in pathology, related basic sciences, and translational research to prepare students for academic, research, teaching and biotechnology careers. Recent statistics indicate that our Ph.D. graduates from the department have a time to degree of approximately 4.9 years and an average of 2.5 papers that are published in highly ranked top tier journals. This allows our graduates to find post-doctoral fellowships in outstanding academic and industry laboratories giving them a competitive edge for additional training toward their career objectives.
Areas of study The Pathology Department also invested in building research core facilities that enhance our ability to perform cutting edge translational research. For example, proteomics and informatics facilities, microarray and histology cores give our faculty laboratories an expanded ability to design top research programs. These facilities along with the Medical School core facilities, allow our trainees to gain experience that will be critical for developing expertise in biomedical research.
The University of Michigan Medical School ranked #10 overall nationally for NIH grant support in 2015 with over $287.7 million in funds for research. The Department of Pathology ranked #7 overall in departmental rankings with over $19.1 million in funding with grants distributed throughout the 39 research laboratories. While funding rankings alone do not tell the entire story, it is important to be in an environment where funds are available to support state-of-the-art research for trainee development.
We look forward to meeting you!
The Department of Pathology offers the Molecular and Cellular Pathology Graduate Program (MCP) for students who are interested in translational research – the step between basic science research and clinical care, the “bench-to-bedside” transition. Sahiti Marella is a graduate student in the MCP who was recently awarded her first F31 grant. This is an NIH-funded predoctoral grant that provides awardees with a monthly stipend to support tuition and fees, and funds for training-related costs while they conduct their PhD research project, for up to five-years of funding.
At Michigan Medicine, many of our faculty serve across multiple departments, which opens up opportunities for students to also experience not just Pathology, but also other disciplines. The Department of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics is one of the departments with which several of our Pathology faculty and students collaborate. In honor of the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the DCMB featured one of our joint students as shared below.
This Molecular and Cellular Pathology graduate student event showcases research within the department by faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and PhD students. The day is highlighted by the keynote presentation by James Olson, MD, PhD.
Congratulations to Molecular and Cellular Pathology Graduate Student Siva Kumar Natarajan on being awarded the Mistletoe Research Fellowship (MRF). Established in 2018, the Momental Foundation awards 20 MRF positions to exceptional postdoctoral fellows and advanced PhD candidates from the United States, Japan, and Singapore.