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Course Descriptions

Dental/Fundamental Physiology (PHYSIO 725)

• Course information
• Tentative lecture schedule

The course director is Dr. Thomas Adair. For more information, email Jennifer Duckworth.

Required courses for PhD

The following is a brief description of courses included in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics curriculum for PhD candidates.

• ANAT 713. Histology and Cell Biology. A study of the structure and function of cells, tissues and organs. (6 semester hours)
• BIOCH 710. Biochemistry. Comprehensive course in biochemistry including chemistry of amino acids and proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids; enzymology; metabolism and metabolic regulation; membrane structure and function; physical biochemistry; cellular energy production; hormonal control mechanisms; differentiation; molecular genetics; and protein synthesis. This course extends over two quarters. (10 semester hours)
• ID 709. Responsible Conduct of Research. A course designed to provide an understanding of ethics in scientific research and the basic skills important for both oral and written scientific communication. (2 semester hours)
• ID 714. Professional Skills. A course designed for early to late graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to acquire skills needed to be successful in a scientific work environment, with special emphasis on oral and written communication skills, grantsmanship, career choices, laboratory management, and academic teaching skills (2 semester hours)
• NSCI 710. Tutorials in Neuroscience. Tutorials cover specialized topics in neuroscience in depth, in a small group setting. Courses consist of intensive, directed reading and discussion and is intended to provide students with the opportunity to study specialized topics in neuroscience with faculty experts in that area. The objective for this course in this academic year is to study experimental design, scientific rigor, and use of biostatistical methods in neuroscience. (1 semester hour)
• PHARM 726. Fundamental Pharmacology. A basic pharmacology course in which principles underlying the actions of drugs are presented, including pharmacokinetics, drug-receptor interactions, and drug metabolism. in addition, mechanisms of action, therapeutic effects, adverse effects and therapeutic indications are noted for major classes of drugs and for commonly used drugs within each class. (6 credit hours)
• PHYSIO 701. Medical Physiology. Study of the functions of the body with special emphasis on the relationships of the different organs to each other. (12 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 702. Physiological Concepts. Individual study of important papers and books in various areas of physiology. (2 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 705. Seminar. Graduate students will prepare, present and attend weekly seminars. (1 semester hour)
• PHYSIO 707. Research in Physiology. A course designed to provide hands-on exposure to laboratory research prior to selection of a dissertation project. (2 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 715. Endocrinology. A course covering the historical, biochemical, and physiological aspects of the endocrine system. (2 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 717. Circulatory Physiology. A reading and conference course that emphasizes regulation of cardiac output, body fluid volumes and arterial pressures. (7 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 727. Physiological Applications of Molecular Biology. A course designed to introduce students to the physiological application of molecular biology approaches such as real time PCR, Western Blot, in vivo gene transfer and knockdown, transgenic rodent production, and in vitro and in vivo imaging. (3 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 728. Scientific Communications in Physiology. Scientific Communications is designed to provide students with basic tools needed for writing scientific research papers and grant proposals, and for giving effective PowerPoint presentations. (2 credit hours)
• PHYSIO 731. Renal and Body Fluid Physiology. A seminar course that includes critical study of research methods, comparative renal physiology and literature on classical and contemporary principles of renal physiology and pathophysiology. (7 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 735. Special Topics in Physiology. The course will consiste of any combination of lecture, one-on-one (or group) discussion, student presentation and/or written assignments on various areas of physiology. (1 credit hour)
• PHYSIO 744. Simulation of Physiological Mechanisms. Introduction to mathematical analysis of physiological phenomena. Topics include ordinary differential equations, numerical methods for solving differential equations, elements of digital computer programming in high-level languages and the use of simulation packages and appropriate demonstrations. (3 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 798. Dissertation and Dissertation Research. (1 semester hour)

Elective courses

• ANAT 715. Neurobiology. A study of the human nervous system. (6 semester hours)
• MICRO 761. Medical Immunology. This course comprises a section of the larger Medical Microbiology course (MICRO. 701) and is intended for students with an interest in immunology. (3 semester hours)
• PHYSIO 734. Pathophysiology. This course will integrate clinical and basic sciences and will include brief case presentations and discussion of the molecular and physiological basis of common human diseases. (2 semester hours)

General Plan of Study**
YEAR 1 - FALL
CMB 704	Fundamental Biochemistry	6
PHYSIO 702	Physiological Concepts	2
PHYSIO 725	Fundamental Physiology	7
Total		14
YEAR 1 - SPRING
PHYSIO 715	Endocrinology	2
PHYSIO 727	Physiological Applications of Molecular Biology	2
PHYSIO 735	Special Topics in Physiology	3
PHYSIO 702	Physiological Concepts	2
Total		10
YEAR 2 - SUMMER
PHYSIO 707	Research in Physiology	1
Total		1
YEAR 2 - FALL
PHYSIO 717	Circulatory Physiology	7
PHYSIO 705	Seminar	1
PHYSIO 707	Research in Physiology	2
ID 767	Fundamental Histology and Cell Biology	3
Total		13
YEAR 2 - SPRING
PHYSIO 731	Renal and Body Fluid Physiology	7
PHYSIO 744	Simulation of Physiological Mechanisms	3
PHYSIO 707	Research in Physiology	2
NSCI 710	Tutorials in Neuroscience	1
PHYSIO 702	Physiological Concepts	2
Total		15
YEAR 3+ - SUMMER
PHYSIO 735	Special Topics in Physiology	1
Total		1
YEAR 3+ - FALL
PHYSIO 798	Dissertation and Dissertation Research	1
PHYSIO 728	Scientific Communications in Physiology	2
PHYSIO 705	Seminar	1
Total		3
YEAR 3+ - SPRING
PHARM 726	Fundamentals of Pharmacology	6
PHYSIO 798	Dissertation and Dissertation Research	1
ID 714	Professional Skills	2
Total		10
**This general plan of study may be supplemented or altered by the graduate advisory committee, depending on the student's previous training and interests
Electives commonly taken by Physiology PhD candidates
ANAT 715	Neurobiology	6
MICRO 761	Medical Immunology	3
PHYSIO 734	Pathophysiology	2