The Molecular Basis of Disease Graduate Program offers graduate training in biology with an emphasis on disease. Students receive their Ph.D. degree for research in tumor biology, developmental biology, vascular biology, virology or genetics, all with an emphasis on applying these basic disciplines to disease processes. The diversity of our program reflects the strengths of a large faculty located at both the University and at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a shared belief that disease problems can be best solved by basic molecular biologic research. 

The program of study involves participation in a core course in molecular and cell biology and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of disease, a series of three graduate seminars, a rotation through three laboratories to students with faculty research programs, and relevant courses as recommended by the student's advisory committee.  Students in the program are expected to fulfill their course requirements during the first two years of the program and to take a general examination that includes, in part, the defense of an original research proposal. The remainder of the program leading to the doctoral degree consists of independent study and research. The program is tailored to accommodate students who are pursuing their first doctoral degree (Ph.D.) or a combined degree (M.D./Ph.D.) and physicians, dentists, or veterinarians who are pursuing a Ph.D. 

The research interests of the graduate faculty include vascular biology, tumor biology, environmental biology, aging, neurobiology, the immune response, inflammation and repair, the biology of the extra-cellular matrix, and the fundamental processes underlying disease, such as the regulation of gene expression and protein synthesis, the structure and function of oncogenese, viral and nonviral transformation, chromatin structure, mutagenesis, and DNA repair and genetic recombinations. The department has approximately 40 graduate faculty members and about 40 postdoctoral fellows who regularly interact with graduate students. 

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