Interdepartmental Program
College of Letters and Science and David Geffen School of Medicine
328 Hershey Hall
Box 957246
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246
Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology
310-825-3891
E-mail contact
Physiology is the study of the functional processes that collectively constitute life. The studies usually employ quantitative analyses of normal life processes, of pathological defects in normal life processes, of model systems to clarify and test basic physiological principles, and of functional specializations of organisms that have evolved under the influence of differing selective forces. Thus, physiology contributes importantly to advances in knowledge both in the basic biological sciences and in biomedical sciences; and provides an essential foundation for the practice of medicine.
The primary objective of the interdepartmental Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology program is to train a new generation of physiologists who apply modern knowledge in molecular and cellular biology and systems physiology to important questions in organismic function. Students learn to conceptualize physiological questions across several levels of organization and to understand how research strategies incorporating each of the levels of analysis can be formulated. This approach to physiology education is responsive to the need for physiologists who can intellectually and technically span disciplines related to physiology that are typically separated.
Coursework consists of formal instruction in the most current information in molecular biology, cell biology, and the molecular and cellular foundations of physiology. In addition, students identify an area of emphasis in biophysics, cellular and molecular biology, or integrative/comparative physiology in which additional studies are pursued. The heart of the program, however, is the research that leads to the dissertation, which is performed under the guidance of a faculty mentor. The program faculty includes more than 120 professors in the Geffen School of Medicine and College of Letters and Science. Collectively they have been recently ranked by the National Research Council in the top five in the U.S. for their quality as an academic faculty.
