GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
General requirements for any PhD are listed in the Loyola University Chicago Graduate School Catalogue. The Physiology program track requires MD/PhD candidates to participate in all Departmental activities such as research seminars, journal clubs, research retreats, dissertation ,and thesis defenses. Students are expected to schedule research or other activities accordingly aroud those required sessions; attendance is voluntary during medical school.
The MD/PhD Physiology program track requires completion of the following core courses: Excitation & Ion Transport PIOL 470 or approved substitute and Membrane Proteins PIOL 472 or approved substitute, Biostatistics BMSC 402, Bioethics BMSC 405, and Student Journal Club. Other courses required for the non-combined MD/PhD program are part of the medical school curriculum. Enrollment in the formal seminar course during the first PhD year is also required. Students in the second and third PhD year are required to give one formal seminar, which will normally be associated with the oral defense of the student’s thesis research. Decisions concerning elective coursework must be made with the approval of the student, their thesis advisor, and the Graduate Program Director.
SELECTION OF DISSERTATION ADVISER
The Physiology track encourages MD/PhD candidates to formally select a dissertation advisor (mentor) during the first PhD year. In selecting an advisor, candidate's should consider their own research interests, experience during summer research projects, and interactions with the Physiology faculty. If a student requires additional time to choose a dissertation advisor, the student must seek the approval and advice of the Graduate Program Director (GPD). To formalize the mentor/student relationship, the MD/PhD candidiate will discuss pursuing thesis work in their prospective advisor's lab. Once the student has selected a mentor, together they will send the GPD a signed, formal letter stating their mutual commitment to timely completion of degree requirements.
QUALIFYING EXAM
The MD/PhD program requires students to pass a comprehensive exam after they complete core courses. The Qualifying Exam Committee gives the exam, which consists of a written research grant proposal (unrelated to the student’s dissertation work) which must be presented and defended before the Qualifying Exam Committee. The format used for this work will be the American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship guidelines or the National Research Service Award Fellowship guidelines. The proposal should include a specific aims page, background and significance, preliminary data (from the literature ias needed), and research design and methods. The student will determine the proposal topic and submit the specific aims page for approval no later than June 1 of Year 2. A Qualifying Examination Committee comprised of four faculty, including the student’s advisor (a nonvoting member), will evaluate the specific aims page and approve or recommend changes that must be completed in a satisfactory manner within one week. The Committee will determine if the examination topic is different from the student’s dissertation research. After approval of the specific aims, the student will write the grant proposal and submit the completed document to the Examination Committee within two to four weeks (by the first week of July).
A two-hour oral defense of the grant proposal must be completed by August 1. The Examination Committee will evaluate the written document and the oral presentation/discussion on the basis of originality, mastery of the material, degree of logicality/rationality of the presentation, quality of the justification, and defense of the proposed research plan. To pass the Qualifying Exam the student must be assigned grades of 'pass' by at least two of the three grading examiners. The Qualifying Exam form must be completed and forwarded to the Graduate School Office on the Health Sciences Campus. If a student fails the examination, they may petition the director of Graduate Programs for a remediation examination, which if granted, will be conducted as soon as possible under guidelines established for the track. If remediation is not granted, the student will be terminated from the PhD program.
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
The MD/PhD candidate should select a Dissertation Committee before starting the second PhD year. The Dissertation Committee consists of five MD/PhD-level members, two of whom are (preferably) not from the Department of Physiology. The majority of dissertation Committee members from Loyola University Chicago must be members of the Graduate Faculty. One of these two external committee members should be a distinguished scientist who is not a member of the Loyola University Chicago research community. Experts from outside Loyola University Chicago will have substantially the same credentials for appointment to Loyola's Graduate faculty. The Graduate Program Director (GPD) is an ex officio member on all Dissertation Committees. Together with their advisor, the student will suggest a Department of Physiology faculty (other than the advisor) to chair the Dissertation Committee. The GPD and the Department Chair must approve the chair's selection. In Year 3, the student will prepare a Dissertation Proposal and submit it to their Dissertation Committee by January 1. After approval of the dissertation proposal, the Thesis/Dissertation Recommendation Form must be completed and forwarded to the Health Sciences Campus Graduate School office to formally recognize the Dissertation Committee.
The student will continue to conduct research, attend journal clubs, and seminars. Together with their advisor, the student is responsible for monitoring progress and academic performance. Students should plan to periodically (about every six months but no longer than one year) meet with their Dissertation Committee to discuss their research progress and to receive guidance/advice in attaining future research goals. The Dissertation Committee is responsible for ensuring that the quality of the dissertation or thesis work meets the standards required by the Physiology Graduate Program and that the defense of the thesis or dissertation is conducted competently, knowledgeably, and scholarly. Specific expectations during this period include measurable progress toward the aims outlined in the approved dissertation proposal and presentation of results at local, national, or international scientific conferences.
DISSERTATION PROPOSAL
The Physiology program requires that its MD/PhD candidates formally present a Thesis/Dissertation Proposal/Outline to their Dissertation Committee by January 1 . The Thesis Proposal should be written in a format consistent with a National Research Service Award (NRSA) application. Two weeks after presentation of the written proposal to Committee members, the student will verbally defend the proposal in a public seminar attended by the Dissertation Committee. The oral defense of the proposal requires the presence of at least four Dissertation Committee members. If the Dissertation Committee approves the proposal, a copy of the approved proposal/outline and a completed Thesis/Dissertation Outline Evaluation form must be forwarded to the Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus Graduate School office.
APPLICATION FOR GRADUATION
Once the MD/PhD student has made significant progress towards completing degree requirements and anticipates facing their dissertation's oral defense, an Application for Graduation Form must be completed. Submission of this form to the Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus Graduate School Office requires a fee.
DISSERTATION READER’S COPY
Near the end of the PhD work, the MD/PhD candidate should provide the Dissertation Committee with a reader’s copy of the dissertation. The Dissertation Committee must approve this copy before the final defense.
DISSERTATION FINAL DEFENSE (third or fourth PhD year)
After approval of the Reader’s Copy, the MD/PhD candidate should schedule their oral defense. At least four members of the Dissertation Committee must be present; the oral defense is a public event. After the defense, the report on the Thesis/Dissertation Oral Defense Form will be circulated to the Dissertation Committee for their signatures. The completed report form should be forwarded to the Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Graduate School office immediately following the defense.
