Collaborative Graduate Training Program in Molecular Medicine

University of Toronto - Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Collaborative Graduate Training Program in Molecular Medicine

Seminars >

Journal Club

Distinguished Lecturer Series

SickKids Genetics & Genome Biology Research Seminar

SickKids Genetic Rounds

Useful Links >

University of Toronto

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Collaborative Program Affiliated Sites

National Council on Ethics on Human Research (NCHER)

National Center for Biotechnology Information

Students

	Trainees

	The Program is designed to serve two groups of trainees. Graduate students will be initially drawn from the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics and the Institute for Medical Sciences (IMS). The pool of graduate students will be expanded as other departments formally join the graduate program.

	M.D. sub-specialty trainees in clinical departments will enter the program as PhD candidates in the Institute for Medical Sciences. In addition, clinical fellows who are not PhD candidates or enrolled in the Royal College Clinical Investigator Program but who still desire exposure to molecular medicine can attend courses and participate in other educational activities of the program.

	Admission: There will be several entry paths into this interdepartmental PhD program.

	1).	Graduate students already enrolled in the MSc program of one of the participating University of Toronto departments and under the supervision of one of the Molecular Medicine Program’s faculty may apply directly for admission to the Program. Successful applicants will be accepted into the Program contingent upon completion of their graduate department’s requirements for admission to its PhD program.
	2).	Individuals with MSc degrees who are not currently graduate students at the University of Toronto must apply both to the Program and to the PhD program of one of the participating departments. Admission into the Program of such students is contingent upon acceptance into the PhD program of the degree-granting department.
	3).	Undergraduates who wish to enter the Program are encouraged to apply to the graduate program of one of the Molecular Medicine Program’s host departments. As a MSc student in the host department, they will be able to take the Program’s required prerequisites, attend the Program’s educational events and apply to join the laboratory of one of the Program’s faculty. At the University of Toronto, most university graduates are admitted as MSc students. However, exceptionally strong undergraduates may be considered for direct admission to the PhD programs of the participating departments.
	4).	An MD/PhD Program is offered jointly by the Faculty of Medicine and the School of Graduate Studies. The majority of the ~30 MD/PhD students at the University are currently enrolled as graduate students either in Molecular and Medical Genetics or in IMS. University of Toronto MD/PhD students who wish to enter the Molecular Medicine Program will apply both to the Program and to a participating graduate department (e.g., Molecular and Medical Genetics or IMS). Admission into the Molecular Medicine Program of such students is contingent upon acceptance into the PhD program of a participating graduate department.
	5).	MDs who are currently enrolled in a University of Toronto-affiliated clinical training program may apply both to the program and to the PhD program of the IMS. Admission into the Molecular Medicine Program for these individuals is contingent upon acceptance into the PhD program of the Institute of Medical Sciences.

	If you are interested in joining the U of T Collaborative Graduate Training program in Molecular Medicine, you must meet all the following criteria:

	Please complete this form and email it to molmed.information@utoronto.ca. A confirmation notice will be sent out once your request has been processed. Please allow 2-3 business day for your request to be completed.

	Evaluation of Students’ Progress

	Students’ academic progress will be monitored both by the home graduate department and by the Director of Graduate Studies of the Molecular Medicine Training Program. If not presently required in their current program, each student will have a supervisory committee that formally evaluates the student’s progress towards the PhD thesis 1-2 times/year.

	The PhD thesis supervisory committees will consist of at least three persons, including two members of the Training Program, where one will be the core supervisor. Thesis examination committees will be constituted according to procedures in the student’s home academic department and will include a member from the Training Program as well as the supervisor.

	Funding Support

	Based on currently funding from the CIHR, the Training Program will be able to offer 4-6 new graduate fellowships each year. An award competition will be held each year and stipend levels will match those of the CIHR graduate fellowship awards (currently $21,000/year). Awards will be for an initial two year term, with the possibility of renewal for a third year. Recipients will be expected to apply for external funding.

	Research Training

	Students from the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics will complete three laboratory rotations prior to joining their thesis advisor’s laboratory. Based on ongoing discussions with IMS, we anticipate that IMS students in the Molecular Medicine Training Program will have an opportunity to complete at least one rotation outside of their advisor’s laboratory. The practical details for this arrangement are currently being worked out.

	Once a student has chosen the laboratory of a participating faculty member for the doctoral work, they will be required to complete a PhD thesis according to the rules of their home academic department.

	Additional academic activities of the Training Program

	In addition to the coursework and research program outlined above, students are expected to participate in the following Program activities:

		Journal Club: Students will participate in a biweekly journal club that will discuss papers dealing with a broad range of topics in molecular medicine. This journal club will be based on the journal club that has been held in the Department of Genetics and Program in Genetics & Genomic Biology at HSC since 1996. For the first year of the program, the Journal Club will alternate with the Program’s Research Meetings.

		Student Seminars: Students will continue to attend and present in their home department’s student seminar series for course credit. In addition, the Molecular Medicine Program will conduct a student seminar series in which students will be required to present formal seminars to an audience consisting of program members, students and others with an interest in molecular medicine. Faculty members meet immediately after the seminars to evaluate each student. The evaluations then will be distributed to the student’s research supervisor for review with the student. Initially, student seminars will be integrated into the biweekly Research Meetings

		Research Meetings: Members of the Program and others with an interest in molecular medicine will meet biweekly during the academic year to discuss recent progress. These meetings will focus on the presentation of recent research results from the participating laboratories and serve as a venue for student seminars.

	Student List

Top of page