student in research lab.

How it Works

The PhD Program in Biomedical Sciences (PPBS) allows you to experience different fields of research and laboratories before selecting a specialty area.

This fully-funded program provides an entry portal and a common first-year curriculum, equipping you with core knowledge and concepts to support your pursuit of a doctoral degree in one of our several participating disciplines. As a PhD student, you'll join one PhD program after your first year, while still collaborating across research areas.

PhD Program Options

  • Biochemistry
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Informatics
  • Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics
  • Microbiology and Immunology
  • Neuroscience
  • Oral Biology
  • Pathology and Anatomical Sciences
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology
  • Physiology and Biophysics
  • Structural Biology

Research Areas

  • Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Biochemistry, Cellular Biology, and Molecular Biology
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Biomedical Informatics
  • Biophysics
  • Cancer Biology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Computational Cell Biology, Anatomy, and Pathology
 
  • Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics
  • Immunology and Inflammation
  • Microbial Pathogenesis
  • Neurobiology of Disease
  • Pharmacology and Addiction
  • Physiology and Pathophysiology
  • Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
  • Structural Biology and Protein Science

Experience a Multidisciplinary Way of Thinking

16 PhD Programs + 11 Research Areas=A World of Opportunity.

Our Interdisciplinary Approach

How Dr. Anthony Campagnari and Dr. Mark Ehrensberger collaborated across silos to develop an innovate device to treat infections on metallic implants.

Academic Health Center

The University at Buffalo Academic Health Center brings together the talents of clinicians, educators and researchers to provide a superb research and educational environment to foster basic discovery in the biosciences, health-sciences translational research, preventive and interventional clinical trials, superb clinical care, and training of the next generation of health care practitioners in these disciplines.

Benefits

  • We are distinct and one of only a few that include the full complement of health schools.
  • We provide a unique environment by merging educational training, patient care, health-sciences translational research, and clinical trials.
  • We are committed to collaboration with our centralized location in downtown Buffalo at the new home of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Put your Passion Into Practice

Our well-structured interdisciplinary curriculum gives you the opportunity to participate in a spectrum of state-of-the-art research with accomplished UB faculty. Our approach helps you make an informed decision about selecting a research focus—a decision that will shape your career, whether in academia, industry or government.

Whatever you are interested in studying, you will have the chance to start training in a research lab right away. From discovering your interests, to refining your techniques, our program gives you the training necessary to become a great scientist.

student in research lab.

Individual Approach, Individual Attention

Graduate students benefit from a training structure where answers to scientific questions are provided by faculty from a variety of disciplines and scientific fields. The collegiality of our faculty further contributes to your successful pursuit of educational and scientific goals.

Broad-based expertise

Our faculty include about 160 individuals in the basic sciences alone with diverse research interests encompassing all aspects of modern biomedical science. Physician-scientists in the clinical departments pursue translational research in a variety of fields and often have adjunct appointments in the basic sciences for collaborative research and educational interactions.

Respected Contributors

Our faculty are expert reviewers on research study sections of the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and others. They serve on editorial boards and publish in leading journals such as:

  • Nature
  • Journal of Biological Chemistry
  • Endocrinology
  • Cell
  • The American Journal of Physiology and Science

Competitive Funding

Faculty members are competitive for grants from numerous professional and philanthropic research organizations including:

  • The National Institutes of Health
  • The National Science Foundation
  • The John R. Oishei Foundation

Admissions Statistics: Incoming Class of 2021

270 applications.
80 interviews.
20 incoming class.
2880 average research hours.
50% female to male ratio.
20% underrepresented.

Ready to start your journey?