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Ph.D. Program in Integrated Bioscience There is both a national and international need for scientists who understand modern biology in the context of integrated systems and can apply this understanding to human, animal or plant systems. Integrated thinking is taking hold in the leading universities and research centers across the nation and throughout the world.
The integrated bioscience doctoral program at the University of Akron is unique among Ohio’s public and private doctoral degree granting institutions. There are currently eight Ph.D. programs in the biological sciences in the State of Ohio, which offer specialty Ph.D. degrees organized according to traditional biological sub-disciplines. However, no other program in the state offers a Ph.D. specifically aimed at training all students with an integrated approach to bioscience. This program combines modern biology, bioengineering, bioinformatics, and biochemistry with the central unifying theme of connection across levels of biological organization and scientific discipline.
Fluorescence microscopy reveals pollen tubes emerging from pollen grains on the pistil of the wildflower Mimulus ringens. Imaging is one of many examples of how Integrated Biosciences can bring expertise in widely different disciplines to bear on fundamental scientific questions.
Program Goals The mission of the Integrated Bioscience program is to address the need for Ph.D. level graduates who have both deep and specific expertise in a bioscience, bioengineering or biotechnology discipline and broad adaptability across related disciplines. These graduates will take their integrative thinking, adaptability, and communication skills into the U.S. job market, where they will spur economic growth. The program is composed of six areas of excellence:
(1) molecular cell biology and genetics;
(2) biochemistry and biopolymers,
(3) bioinformatics and computational biology,
(4) bio-engineering,
(5) physiology and organismal biology, and
(6) ecology and evolutionary biology.
These areas of excellence provide students with high-demand, specific skills in addition to developing integrative thinking and problem-solving skills. It is projected that faculty collaborations will enhance the probability that new areas of research will be established and perpetuated. Integration of bio-researchers with various scientific backgrounds within this program will stimulate the rapid development of a bioscience and innovation-based economy both within Ohio and the U.S. more generally.
 Program Overview
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