Comparative Biomedical Sciences (Graduate Program)

Program Overview

The graduate program in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences offers an interdisciplinary approach to conducting biomedical research as it applies to humans and animals. The goal of the program is to educate and prepare students for successful careers in academic, private industry, or government environments. Degrees granted include a PhD or MS degree in Biomedical and Veterinary Medical Sciences with focuses in cell and molecular biology, environmental health sciences, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, or toxicology. The school also has a DVM/PhD track for students accepted into the veterinary medicine program. 

Administration

Admission

Applications and supporting materials for all graduate study must be submitted through the online application site for the LSU Graduate School. Official transcripts, official test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources must be mailed to: LSU Office of Graduate Admissions, 114 David Boyd Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. These paper documents are stored electronically and department has access to all materials submitted by and/or on behalf of a student applying to graduate study.

Applications for admission are accepted and evaluated by the department at any time, but applicants are not evaluated for admission or financial assistance until completed application materials have been received, including test scores, official transcripts, and letters of recommendation. Application should be initiated at least six months prior to anticipated entry. Applicants must adhere to the application deadlines established by the Graduate School.

Students seeking admission must submit satisfactory credentials from previous study, acceptable GRE test scores, and three letters of recommendation. Minimum criteria for admission include ≥3.0 GPA out of 4.0 on the US system scale and a combined verbal and quantitative GRE score of ≥302. International students whose native language is not English must also submit an acceptable TOEFL score (≥213 computer version or ≥79 Internet version or ≥550 paper version) or IELTS score (≥6.5), or PTE score of (≥59).

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance is available to some students. Financial aid consists of research assistantship stipends or fellowships. The amount of the award depends on prior educational performance and awards are made on a competitive basis; financial aid is rarely awarded to MS or Certificate students. Special fellowships and tuition exemption may also be available. A student should contact the department for more information on available assistantship positions. To ensure consideration for financial aid, all application materials should be submitted in accordance with deadlines established by the LSU Graduate School and preferably six months prior to anticipated entry.

Research Facilities

Research facilities include laboratories, instrument rooms, walk-in cold rooms, and rooms for shared equipment, animal treatment, cell culture,  and storage. The department operates  the Inhalation Research Facility, the Histology Core, the Equine Medication Surveillance Laboratory, and the Advanced Imaging Facilities comprising the Small Animal Imaging Lab and the MicroCT Lab. The School of Veterinary Medicine also houses the Gene Probes & Expressions Systems Laboratory, LSU Flow Cytometry Core Facility, Veterinary Computer Resources, Veterinary Medicine Library, Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, and the facilities of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Graduate Faculty

Hermann H. Bragulla (M) • Development of skin and skin appendages in normal and diseased states
Henrique Cheng (M) • Cellular and molecular mechanisms controlling insulin and glucagon secretion, stem cell differentiation, and spermatozoa activation and motility.
Levent Dirikolu (M) • Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics,  molecular, clinical and analytical pharmacology/toxicology, and drug metabolism
Tammy R. Dugas (M) • Toxicological mechanisms of cardiovascular disease progression
Joseph Francis (M) • Pulmonary and cardiovascular pathophysiology
Charles C. Lee (M) • Neurobiological mechanisms underlying auditory processing and plasticity
Shisheng Li (M) • DNA repair and mutagenesis
Alexandra Noël (6A) • Inhalation and developmental toxicology, electronic cigarette & JUUL vapor, nanoparticles, chronic lung diseases
Olalekan Ogundele (6A) • CaMKIIa-dependent hippocampal synaptic switch systems in developmental neuropsychiatric disorders
Michelle L. Osborn (6A) • Functional and evolutionary anatomy, biomechanics, and 3D imaging
Sonika Patial (6A) • Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in innate immunity, inflammation, and carcinogenesis
Arthur Penn (M) • Inhalation toxicology, cardio/pulmonary responses to air pollutants, gestational exposures and adult disease
Yogesh Saini (6A) • Immunobiology of genetic and environmental lung diseases
George M. Strain (M) • Deafness, clinical neurophysiology, molecular genetics, and neurology
Shaomian Yao (M) • Cell and molecular biology of tissue-derived stem cells and applications of stem cells in tissue biofabrication
Masami Yoshimura (M) • Molecular and cellular biological aspects of cyclic AMP signal transduction regulation and their role in innate immune responses

Programs

• Veterinary Medical & Biomedical Sciences Graduate Certificate

• Biomedical and Veterinary Medical Sciences-Comparative Biomedical Sciences, M.S.

• Biomedical and Veterinary Medical Sciences-Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Ph.D.