Student participants will be funded ($24,000 yearly salary and tuition) by the IMSD Program for their first two years of graduate study in one of the seven biomedical science PhD programs.  After two years, funding will be provided by the graduate program or faculty mentor. Students selected for the IMSD Program will participate in an eight to nine week summer transition program consisting of lectures on various biomedical topics, career and developmental seminars, and a summer research rotation prior to the fall of their first year (for Fall 2012 students will begin June 2012). Students will receive funding and academic credit during this transition program.  Additional benefits of the IMSD Program includes a formal mentoring program, a seminar series featuring nationally recognized minority scientists, development of a competency-based academic portfolio, and group problem-solving sessions.

Students will be selected for the IMSD Program based on several criteria.  Participants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents and accepted into one of the seven biomedical science PhD programs (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences, Interdisciplinary Toxicology, Microbiology and Immunology, Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, Pharmacology, Cellular Physiology and Molecular Biophysics).  There will be no minimum GPA or GRE for selection, but the Graduate School requires a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.70 on all undergraduate coursework attempted at a regionally accredited institute of higher education.  The materials students submit for application to the PhD programs will also be used for evaluation for the IMSD Program. Because students begin the program in June prior to the fall of their first year, it is highly recommended that all application materials are submitted to graduate programs early enough for consideration. 

For more information please contact Kristen Sterba at kmsterba@uams.edu or 501-526-7396.

Click here to watch a presentation about UAMS and the IMSD program

List of current students

 

IMSD Seminar Series

Arturo Casadevall, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Medicine
Chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology,
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Tuesday, April 12, 2012
1:30 pm
Rayford Auditorium (Biomedical Research Center II Room 106-2)
Co-sponsored by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Carl Hart, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry
Columbia University
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
3:30 pm
Rayford Auditorium (Biomedical Research Center II Room 106-2)
Co-sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences graduate program

Sarah England, Ph.D.
Professor
Departments of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Iowa
"Do ion channels play a role in determining pregnancy duration?"
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
3:15 pm
Rayford Auditorium (Biomedical Research Center II Room 106-2)
Co-sponsored by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Craig Cameron, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Pennsylvania State University
"NS5A: The Swiss army knife of the hepatitis C virus"
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
12:00 pm
Rayford Auditorium (Biomedical Research Center II Room 106-2)
Co-sponsored by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Raphael Valdivia, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Duke University Medical Center
"The Cell Biology of Chlamydia infections: unique lessons of how a pathogen co-opts the cytoskeleton and organelle function to modulate immunity"
Thursday, September 16, 2010
1:30 pm
Rayford Auditorium (Biomedical Research Center II Room 106-2)
Co-sponsored by the Departments of Physiology and Biophysics and Microbiology and Immunology

Emmanuel Akporiaye, Ph.D.
Providence Portland Medical Center
Portland, Oregon
"Modulation of the tumor microenvironment: Role of Mitocans"
Thursday, April 22, 2010
1:30 pm
Rayford Auditorium (Biomedical Research Center II Room 106-2)
Co-sponsored by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Kunle Odunsi, Ph.D.
Professor and Research Program Director
Department of Gynecologic Oncology
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Buffalo, NY
"Conventional, regulatory and Th17 cells in the immunologic response to human ovarian cancer"
Thursday, April 8, 2010
1:30 pm
Rayford Auditorium (Biomedical Research Center II Room 106-2)
Co-sponsored by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology


Links for Current Students

 

IMSD Leadership Team

Billy Thomas, MD
Director, IMSD Program
Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion
Professor, Pediatrics
ThomasBillyR@uams.edu

Robert E. McGehee, PhD
Co-Director, IMSD Program
Dean, Graduate School
Director, Arkansas Biosciences Institute
Professor, Pediatrics
rem@uams.edu

Kristen Sterba, PhD
Assistant Director, IMSD Program
Assistant Dean, Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention
Assistant Professor
Graduate School
kmsterba@uams.edu