Graduate Program in Pathobiology and Mechanisms of Disease

Headquartered in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, the Pathobiology and Mechanisms of Disease track of the Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical studies is designed to give PhD students a strong background in graduate-level biology. We have created a curriculum that deeply examines the basic science, clinical, and social implications of a number of diseases in great detail. Our program aims at a new approach to converting basic research of disease into clinically relevant results. The broad areas of research covered by our faculty span basic cell biology to molecular medicine.  Alumni have gone on to important positions in academia, government, and industry.

Kelsey Heavener - 2nd Year Graduate Student 2019

Kelsey Heavener - 2nd Year Graduate Student 2019

Students in our program have access to cancer research in the Institute of Cancer Genetics, which does research in lymphoma, breast, prostate, and bladder cancer. The Department of Pathology and Cell Biology maintains a large tumor bank that has proved invaluable for our cancer researchers. Another strong component of the Program is the study of neurodegeneration, and the development of the nervous system, including neuronal stem cells and neuronal development. Many faculty members in this program are associated with the Taub Institute on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, the Parkinson’s Disease Center, the Stem Cell Consortium, and the Motor Neuron Center. Faculty members in these areas are interested in understanding the mechanisms that lead to these diseases and in potential therapeutics.

The program is also home to cell biologists interested in microtubule dynamics, cell motility, cell cycle regulation, organelle movement and intracellular protein sorting and the roles of these processes in disease. Training and research opportunities are also available within the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center and the Center for Infection and Immunity.

Administrative Contact

Zaia Sivo
Senior Program Manager
Pathobiology and Mechanisms of Disease Programs

Columbia University Medical Center
630 West 168th Street P&S 3-435
New York, NY 10032

Tel: (212) 305-8393
Fax: (212) 342-5498
e-Mail: Path-CMBS@columbia.edu, ns2072@cumc.columbia.edu

Affiliated Programs

PhD Programs

MD/PhD Program