Graduate Program | Graduate Handbook | Genetics & MCGD

Integration of Genetics & MCGD

The main functions of the Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) concern recruitment of students, direction of their course of study in their first year at Yale, and assignment to the academic departments for their subsequent course of study including their thesis research.

Applicants apply to one of the seven tracks of the BBS rather than to an individual department or an individual investigator. Applicants to each track are evaluated by an admissions committee made up of faculty affiliated with the track, and they are admitted to the BBS and not to an individual department.

The tracks are designed to be more interdisciplinary and more broadly based than the departments. There are currently seven tracks:

  • Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology
  • Computational Biology and Bioinformatics  
  • Immunology  
  • Microbiology  
  • Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics and Development (MCGD)  
  • Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology and Physiology  
  • Neuroscience 
  • Participating FacultyThe track is made up of faculty from the three core departments plus associated faculty from other BBS departments. For administrative purposes, first year students are divided between the North and South campuses, but are free to take rotations in any BBS laboratory.Administration
  • Track Directors: Frank Slack and Valerie Reinke 
  • Registrar: Shirlene Scott
  • Admissions: Scott Holley, Karin Reinisch, Zhaoxia Sun
  • Advising: Christine Jacobs-Wagner, Carl Hashimoto, Antonio Giraldez During the first year, all MCGD students must carry out three research rotations. MCGD students should attend weekly journal clubs and departmental seminars sponsored by at least one of the departments affiliated with the Track. In addition, all MCGD students should attend the departmental annual retreats held in the fall.Lab Rotations
  • September to December
  • January to March
  • March to May Required CourseMCDB/CBIO/GENE 900a (Fall) / 901b (Spring): First Year Introduction to Research. This course consists of three laboratory rotations of about 10 weeks each, student presentations of their work during their three laboratory rotations (rotation talks), and a weekly seminar that covers ethics, grant writing and research methods in cellular and molecular biology.Core Course
  • GENE/MBB/MCDB 625a (Fall): Basic Concepts of Genetic Analysis
  • CBIO 602a (Fall): Molecular Cell Biology
  • MCDB/MBB 630b (Spring) : Biochemical & Biophysical Approaches in Molecular and Cellular Biology At the end of the first year, each MCGD student declares a laboratory for thesis research. MCGD students generally join the department of his or her thesis advisor and are subject to the policies and requirements of that department. The qualifying examination will be administered by the academic department in the second year.The requirements of the Genetics Department are described in detail in this Handbook; the requirements of other departments can be found in the appropriate departmental booklet.