Specialized Tracks

The Pharmacology Graduate Program offers two specialized tracks emphasizing Cancer Biology and Bioinformatics.

The Certificate Program in Bioinformatics offers a series of courses in bioinformatics to be completed in addition to the requirements of the Pharmacology Graduate Program. At graduation, a Certificate in Bioinformatics will be awarded with the PhD degree.

The “Cancer Biology Training Program” is offered in conjunction with the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. This program consists of focused elective courses on Cancer Biology, two of which can be taken in place of two of the seminar courses of the Pharmacology program.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology jointly sponsor an interdisciplinary Cancer Biology Training Program (CBTP) as a track within the Pharmacology Graduate Program.

The curriculum for the program consists of three major components: 1) the core course requirements of the Molecular Biosciences Program; 2) eight credits of electives (selected from the list below); and 3) mentored research experience in one of the several areas of cancer biology.  The curriculum is designed to provide a strong foundation in areas that underlie basic biology of cancer and translational cancer research.  These components are designed to impart the core knowledge and skills fundamental to patient-oriented therapeutic cancer research and to develop the interests, skills and experiences of our trainees to commit successfully to their careers as independent cancer researchers.  

Entrance to the CBTP track follows the usual paths of admission to the Pharmacology Graduate Program. Students who choose the CBTP track substitute two of the 2-credit Pharmacology courses with the electives listed below.

List of Elective Courses

Accredited:

• Cancer Molecular Biology  (Course ID: 16:681:585, Dr. David Axelrod and Program faculty) 
• Topics in Molecular Medicine (Course ID: 16:681:681, Dr. Sunita Chaudhary and Program Faculty)
• Biostatistics in Clinical Trial Design and Management  (Course ID: BIOM 0660, W. J. Shih)
• Genomics in Cancer Therapeutics (Course ID: Pharm 5581, Drs. Debabrata Banerjee and William Welsh ) 

Non Accredited:

• Clinical Research Methods (Dr. Sunita Chaudhary and CINJ Faculty)
• Bioinformatics and Cancer   (Course Directors: Rajagopal and Ganesan CINJ)
• Grant Writing  (Dr. Sunita Chaudhary and CINJ Faculty)

Other Learning Opportunities

A wide variety of multidisciplinary conferences and seminars are available at the Cancer Institute and affiliated institutions.

• The CINJ Graduate Student/Fellow Weekly Research Seminar Series. 
• The CINJ Distinguished Lecture Series
• Cancer Center Grand Rounds
• Annual Scientific Retreat: 

For additional information please contact: 

Dr. Sunita Chaudhary
Director, Research Education
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Chaudhs4@umdnj.edu
732-235-9869