Cellular and Molecular Pathology (CMP) Graduate Training Program

The Cellular and Molecular Pathology Graduate Training Program (CMP) is a PhD granting program and part of the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Graduate Program (IBGP) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (SOM).

The CMP graduate program offers exciting and unique opportunities within the biomedical sciences. The program combines both basic science and clinical research to explore fundamental questions related to the biology of normal tissue differentiation and growth, as well as the cellular and molecular pathways that lead to various pathobiologies. Active research laboratories use both animal and human models to investigate diverse topics such as organ development, liver disease and transplantation, developmental neuroscience and neurologic diseases, mechanisms of gene regulation, cancer biology, aging, human genetics, lung disease, kidney disease, stem cell biology, bioinformatics, and molecular diagnostics. Students are exposed to a variety of research topics to develop into true biomedical research scientists.

The CMP graduate program is dedicated to the development of each student as an independent biomedical scientist. Therefore, a majority of the student's time is centered on the laboratory and the development and completion of a thesis project. Department of Pathology faculty lead and participate in courses emphasizing topics from basic mechanisms to normal and abnormal tissue function. Required course-work is generally completed by the end of the second year, permitting the student to concentrate their efforts on their dissertation project. The doctoral dissertation is planned and conducted under the close consultation of the student's mentor and thesis advisory committee, resulting in a dissertation that is an original contribution into the field of Experimental Pathology. Subsequent publication of a student's dissertation research in leading scientific journals provides the opportunity for significant career development.

For specific information about the program, please contact:

Wendy M. Mars, PhD
CMP Director
Department of Pathology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
BST S-407
200 Lothrop St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Phone: 412-648-9690
Fax: 412-648-1916
Email: wmars@pitt.edu

or:

Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez, MD, PhD
CMP Associate Director
Department of Pathology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
BST S-423
200 Lothrop St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Phone: 412-648-0064
Fax: 412-648-1916
Email: alexsotoguti@gmail.com