Seminars, works-in-progress, and journal clubs are central to the educational program. The opportunities to regularly encounter scientists and build critical analysis and presentation skills are of major importance. All students are required to participate in seminars and journal club activities during the entire duration of their Program.
First-year students will fulfill the journal club requirement within their Core Curriculum. They are encouraged to attend additional seminars and journal clubs in areas of their particular interest or in areas that they wish to explore.
Advanced students are expected to participate in the journal club and seminar activities of their MTAs and to participate in laboratory journal clubs and departmental seminars that are recommended by their dissertation advisor.
All PhD students must complete a Core Curriculum. The Core Curriculum will vary depending on the training area and the specific PhD degree (Biomedical Sciences or Neuroscience). The Core Curriculum provides the students with a strong set of general concepts and vocabulary that underpins much of the cutting-edge biomedical research in their area of interest.
All MD/PhD students take "Biomedical Sciences for the MD/PhD Student" as their Core Curriculum. This Core has been developed with the unique training needs of the dual MD and PhD degree students.
Students in the PhD in Biomedical Sciences program will complete the Biomedical Sciences Core, a yearlong course that consists of six units. They are BMS Fall: Enzymes and Metabolism; Genetics and Genomics and Gene Expression and Biological Chemistry); BMS Spring: Cell Biology; Development and Regeneration and Mechanisms of Disease.
Students in the Neuroscience PhD program must complete the Neuroscience Core curriculum, found in the corresponding MTA chapter.
In exceptional cases, students who have had prior graduate level coursework relevant to a Core Curriculum may seek exemption from a core course. Refer to Chapter 3: Grading Policies for information about course waivers and transfer credits.
Satisfactory completion of the initial General Program Requirements (i.e., excluding advanced coursework and seminars) will be evaluated at the end of the first year in the Program:
Biomedical Sciences Core
Fall
BSR1006 Laboratory Rotation - Fall (4 credits)
BSR1012 Biomedical Science - Fall (6 credits)
BSR1021 Responsible Conduct in Research (0.5 credits)
MPH0300 Introduction to Biostatistics (3 credits) or BIO6400 Biostatistics for Biomedical Research (3 credits) - or BSR1715 Modern Statistics for Modern Biology in the Spring (3 credits)
Spring
BSR1007 Laboratory Rotation - Spring (4 credits)
BSR1013 Biomedical Science - Spring (6 credits)
BSR1022 Rigor and Reproducibility (0.5 credits)
BSR1715 Modern Statistics for Modern Biology (3 credits) - if MPH0300 or BIO6400 not taken in Fall
Neuroscience Core
Fall
BSR1006 Laboratory Rotation - Fall (4 credits)
BSR1021 Responsible Conduct of Research (0.5 credits)
BSR1705 – Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience (3 credits)
BSR1706 – Systems Neuroscience (3 credits)
BSR2707 Techniques and Approaches in Neuroscience (1 credit)
BSR4702 Selected Topics in Neuroscience (1 credit)
BSR5701 Seminar in Neuroscience (1 credit)
MPH0300 Introduction to Biostatistics (3 credits) or BIO6400 Biostatistics for Biomedical Research (3 credits) - or BSR1715 Modern Statistics for Modern Biology in the Spring (3 credits)
Spring
BSR1007 Laboratory Rotation - Spring (4 credits)
BSR1022 Rigor and Reproducibility (0.5 credits)
BSR1707 – Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience (3 credits)
BSR1708 – Pathophysiology of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders (2.5 credits)
BSR4702 Selected Topics in Neuroscience (1 credit)
BSR5701 Seminar in Neuroscience (1 credit)
BSR6705 Clinical Topics in Neuroscience (0.5 credits)
BSR1715 Modern Statistics for Modern Biology (3 credits) - if MPH0300 or BIO6400 not taken in Fall
Advanced Coursework
Students in their second year are required to pursue advanced courses that are recommended by their MTA and appropriate for their particular interests. Please see the MTA chapter for more details on the typical courses taken in each MTA
Laboratory rotations are an important part of the first year of the Graduate Program. They give students the opportunity to experience different research projects, different laboratory and mentoring styles, and allow the faculty to assess the interests and aptitude of the students. All PhD and MD/PhD students must complete rotation(s) in laboratories before declaring a dissertation advisor and a Multidisciplinary Training Area. While it is acceptable to join a lab after 1 successful rotation, students are encouraged to find two matches before terminating their rotations and joining a lab. If an incoming students worked as a research technician in an ISMMS laboratory prior to becoming a graduate student, he/she/they may choose their former employer as their dissertation advisor, but only after rotating in at least one other laboratory. The rotation facilitates the choice of dissertation advisor and also offers students exposure to problems and techniques of interest to them.
THE GOAL OF THE ROTATION IS TO FIND A LAB. This should be an environment that provides a training experience in which students can thrive and reach their full potential.
Students are encouraged to use web resources and the current student body to explore possible labs before and during discussions with their advisors. Students are urged to consult multiple sources including current and previous laboratory members to gain a better idea of the laboratory’s approach to science and training and the success of previous trainees.
In order to take a rotation student, labs must have sufficient financial and personnel resources to support a PhD student for at least 2 years following lab declaration. Labs that cannot support a student and his/her/their training CANNOT have a rotation student. Rotation students will work with their first-year advisors and/or MTA Directors to select labs that can take rotation students. If a lab cannot support a student’s financial package, the student SHOULD NOT rotate in that lab. If there is no chance that they will be able to take the student in the lab, no matter how good and interesting the work is, the rotation will be a waste of the student’s time.
To facilitate and optimize the rotation experience for both the student and the faculty mentor, it is important that this student-faculty pair meet prior to the start of the rotation to discuss and align expectations, goals, requirements and laboratory guidelines. The discussion must be recorded on the Laboratory Rotation Agreement Form so that both the student and the rotation advisor are in agreement about what each expects from the other. The Form must be submitted at the beginning of the rotation.
During the laboratory rotation, the student has to be aware of the balance that needs to be maintained between research and study time for ongoing courses. Students are expected to spend an average of about 50% of their time (about 20 hours/week) on the laboratory rotation. Good time management can optimize the experience in that particular laboratory.
A “match” between student and lab is defined as an offer from the research mentor for the student to join the lab. This may be a hard yes, or could be pursuant to other conditions, such as the outcome of other rotation students in the research mentor’s lab.
Students with prior experience at Mount Sinai -
PREP or MSBS students who matriculate into the PhD program can use their research time in place of a rotation.
Former SURP scholars who have spent two summers at ISMMS and are now in the PhD program, can use that research time in place of a rotation.
Staff who become PhD students and who feel it necessary to do a rotation in their lab of employment before deciding to join that lab, may not do so until after completing a rotation in another lab. If, on the other hand, the student and the research mentor are confident about joining the lab of employment, other rotations are not strictly required.
Starting in week 3 of the rotation, the research mentor and student should review progress and the possibility of joining the lab. This does not have to be a detailed conversation, but can be a simple update, and has three possible outcomes regarding joining the lab: yes, no, or maybe. If either the research mentor or the student has a firm idea that the lab is not a good match, the rotation should be terminated immediately. If the research mentor and the student believe it is a good match, it is recommended that the rotation continue for the full 6-8-week duration to ensure the lab continues to be a good fit. At some time during the final weeks of the rotation, terms for joining the lab should be reached, a Laboratory Rotation Evaluation form should be completed and turned in to the Graduate School, a lab Dissertation Advisor - MTA Declaration Form should be completed and turned in to the Graduate School, and the student should cancel other planned rotations. Finally, if either person is unsure if the lab is a good fit (and the other is not a “no”), the rotation should be continued with check-ins, as outlined above, occurring every week. The outcome of these discussions should be conveyed by the students to their first-year advisors and/or MTA co-directors.
When rotations end, regardless of whether the lab is a match or not, a Laboratory Rotation Evaluation form must be completed by the student and rotation advisor and filed with the Graduate School.
When the student is the person deciding the lab is not a match, it is customary for the student to provide the rotation advisor with a brief explanation of the reason why the match does not work. While this is not a strict requirement, it is recommended because it is important to remain in good communication with one's rotation advisor.
The maximum time for a rotation is typically 6-8 weeks. An extension would be considered if there were circumstances that warrant one. A request for an extension should be made in writing, via email, to the PhD Program Manager.
In some cases, rotations will span winter or spring breaks. When this occurs, the time off does not count towards the rotation.
The schedule outlined above would permit up to four rotations (if needed) prior to spring break, although three rotations is more typical.
Rotation times could be shortened further if the student is not taking classes while rotating because the student can work full time in the lab instead of balancing lab with class time.
While it is acceptable to join a lab after one successful rotation, students are encouraged to find two matches before terminating rotations and joining a lab.
Individual MTAs may require rotation presentations. Presentations may not be synchronized with the end of each rotation, so students should be prepared to describe work that they may have concluded weeks earlier.
Grading of rotations will be on a Pass/Fail basis. If a student in the PhD in Biomedical Sciences or Neuroscience programs is not accepted into a laboratory by the conclusion of the second semester (fourth semester for MD/PhD students), he/she/they will be reviewed by the Committee for Academic Review for a failure to make satisfactory academic progress. Dismissal from the program is a possible outcome of this review.