The Genetics and Genomics Training Program (GGTP) at Harvard University is an interdepartmental and multidisciplinary graduate program that brings together classical genetics and new genome-level technologies to gain a new understanding of genome architecture, developmental biology, behavior, population structure and evolution. A theme of the training philosophy is that students are to be well-grounded in the paradigms of classical genetics as well as the methods and insights provided by new genome-level approaches. The goal is to prepare young scientists for a new generation of research challenges that span a broad range of scale, from subcellular mechanisms of signaling to multicellular interactions in development, from interactions between cells to interactions between organisms in populations. The Program aims to prepare students to become leaders in research and teaching in academia and industry.
The program curriculum draws on the Faculty’s leadership in the fields of genetics, molecular and evolutionary biology. Program faculty reside in several departments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on the University campus in Cambridge. These include the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Students enter the Program by applying for admission to the participating graduate programs (OEB or MCB), and requesting to enter the GGTP at the beginning of their first year. In the first year, students are immersed in a unique curriculum of GGTP courses, participate in an annual retreat, a GGTP seminar series and an annual student-organized scientific symposium. First year students also take part in laboratory rotations, where they are introduced to experimental science as practiced in the laboratories of Program Faculty. By the end of the first year, GGTP students choose a laboratory to join for the completion of their thesis research.
The requirements for the awarding of a Ph.D. degree are as follows:
- Successful completion of the first year curriculum
- Passage of a qualifying exam
- Two semesters' experience as a teaching fellow in GGTP-designated courses
- Defense of a thesis of original research
Students in the GGT Program are guaranteed full tuition, health insurance, and stipend support throughout their tenure in the Program, which is expected to end in graduation by the completion of the fifth year.
1. MCB 150: Developmental Genetics and Genomics
Professor Kevin Eggan (Fall)
Course description: The process by which genes, and the traits they encode, are transmitted from one cell to another and one generation to the next will be explored. A conceptual foundation for genetic analysis will be established through studies of model organisms including yeast, C. elegans, Drosophila and mouse. Classical approaches and modern transgenic techniques will be explained and ultimately applied towards the understanding of human genetics. Primarily lecture based with some discussion of primary scientific literature.
2. OEB 399: Topics and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Professor Colleen Cavanaugh (Fall)
Course Description: Presents the research interests and experiences of scientist in organismic and evolutionary biology. Specific topics treated vary from year to year.
3. Medical Sciences 300: The Conduct of Science
Harvard Medical School faculty (Spring)
Course description: The Conduct of Science is a discussion forum on ethics and the proper conduct of science. It is designed to provide discussion among new and continuing students and faculty on matters of responsible scientific practice and ethics. Spanning a broad range of topics from issues in the laboratory, through the culture of scientific investigation, to the impact on society and responsibilities of scientists, this series encourages exchange of information and opinions among small, but diverse, groups. Through the habit of discussing issues in the conduct of science, young investigators will learn to evolve a current consensus of responsible scientific conduct.
4. Laboratory Rotations
(Fall and Spring)
GGTP students admitted through MCB rotate through three faculty labs during the Fall and Spring terms of their first year. At the end of this year, they are expected to join a lab to pursue their own research. GGTP students admitted directly into a lab through OEB's admission process may rotate through additional labs if they wish.
5. & 6. Complete list of MCB courses. Complete list of OEB courses.
