Qualifying Exam

The qualifying exam for the Mechanisms of Disease and Translational Science program will be administered by the student’s home graduate program, with input from MoD. Students will be allowed to develop a proposal based on their current research, provided that it has clinical relevance and improves understanding of human biology. The specific aims of the research should be hypothesis driven, and most will propose basic science studies, similar to the format for non-MoD students.

Exam Elements

One specific aim must have a translational emphasis. In this aim, students will propose experiments that use biologic materials (such as blood, cells, tissues) derived from a targeted patient population. The translational study should be doable, and students will establish feasibility.

During the oral exam, the student is expected to give a brief presentation of his/her research proposal. This presentation will be followed by a question/answer session that will cover broad areas related to the entire research proposal.

Exam Committee

The qualifying exam committee will include faculty from Division of Basic Science Graduate Programs and at least one physician investigator.