The
following faculty members work with and teach students in the M.S. in
Biotechnology degree program:
Professors:
Larry P. Ammann (Mathematics), Ray H. Baughman (Chemistry),
Lee A. Bulla (Molecular and Cell Biology), Santosh R.
D�Mello (Molecular and Cell Biology), Rockford K.
Draper (Molecular and Cell Biology), Sam Efromovich
(Mathematics), Steven R. Goodman (Molecular and Cell Biology), Donald M. Gray
(Molecular and Cell Biology), Donald A. Hicks (EPPS), M. Ali Hooshyar
(Mathematics), Stephen D. Levene (Molecular and Cell
Biology), Betty S. Pace (Molecular and Cell Biology), Lawrence J. Reitzer (Molecular and Cell Biology)
Associate Professors: Mark C. Anderson (SOM), Gregg R. Dieckmann (Chemistry), Gail A. Breen (Molecular and Cell
Biology), Ovidiu Daescu
(Computer Science), David L. Deeds (SOM), Ernest� M. Hannig (Molecular and Cell biology),
Warren J. Goux (Chemistry), Robert L. Kieschnick (SOM), J B Lee (Electrical Engineering), Dennis
L. Miller (Molecular and Cell Biology), Paul Pantano
(Chemistry)
Assistant Professors: Wenchuang Hu (Electrical Engineering), Jung-Mo Anh
(Chemistry), Yan Cao (Mathematics), Pankaj K. Choudhary (Mathematics), Mieczyslaw
K Dabkowski (Mathematics), Ying Liu (Computer
Science), Nirup M. Menon
(SOM)
Senior Lecturers: Joseph C. Picken (SOM),
Robert L. Robb (SOM)
The
M.S. degree in biotechnology is intended to prepare students for careers in
biotechnology and biomedicine and to assist currently employed professionals in
enhancing their career opportunities.
Biotechnology
captures the exciting possibilities made possible by the decoding of the human
genome and by the advances in bioanalytical
instrumentation, and the field is projected for rapid growth. The M.S. in
Biotechnology is designed so that students may enter the program with a wide
range of prior disciplinary backgrounds, prepare for and take the four core
courses, and, by choice from a wide range of approved electives, tailor the
remainder of the degree program to their career opportunities. In this manner,
students may develop areas of additional depth in fields such as:
�
molecular
and cell biology
�
chemistry
�
engineering
and computer science
�
health
care policy
�
management
and business administration
The
M.S. in Biotechnology requires 36 hours of courses, typically twelve courses of
three semester hours each.� Students may
also elect to prepare and defend a thesis; more than 36 hours may be required
for such a program.
The
M.S. in Biotechnology is administered by the Department of Molecular and Cell
Biology. Students seeking further information or advisement should contact the
Molecular and Cell Biology Department office.
The core consists
of four courses � BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics, or CS 6325 Introduction to
Bioinformatics, BIOL 5381 Genomics, BIOL 6373 Proteomics, and BIOL 6384
Biotechnology Laboratory. Students enrolled in the M.S. in Biotechnology M.S.program will have priority for enrollment in BIOL
6384.� Students who can demonstrate that
they have acquired the material and/or skills in a core course may petition the
Committee on Biotechnology for permission to substitute an approved elective
course.
The
program is open to all students who hold a bachelors degree, although those
with laboratory science, mathematics, computer science, or engineering degrees
are particularly encouraged to apply.� In
general, students will not be admitted to the MS in Biotechnology program if
they require more than two courses in order to be ready to take the core
courses.
Every
student admitted to the M.S. in Biotechnology program shall consult with the
program advisor(s) and develop a mutually agreed degree plan. All requests for
deviations from the degree program described in this catalog shall be discussed
first with a program advisor, who will forward the request to the Committee on
Biotechnology for decision.
There
are no formal prerequisites for most of the core courses, and a student, after
obtaining consent of the program advisor, may attempt one or more core courses.
However, the level of the BIOL core courses is such that most students will
want to have mastered the material in the following courses:
General Chemistry
(two semesters, with lab)
Organic Chemistry (two semesters, with lab)
BIO 2311 Introduction to Modern Biology
I (with workshop)
BIOL 3361 Biochemistry or BIOL 6352 Modern Biochemistry I
BIOL 3301 Classical and Molecular Genetics or BIOL 6V31 Molecular Genetics
The four core
courses should be taken in the following order:�
BIOL 5376 Applied Bioinformatics, BIOL 5381 Genomics, BIOL 6373
Proteomics, BIOL 6384 Biotechnology Laboratory.�
Consent of instructor is required for core courses taken out of this
sequence.
BIOL 6384 Biotechnology Laboratory is a skills based course. Students must show
that they have adequate laboratory skills in order to enroll in BIOL 6384.
Also available are four 1-SCH summer preparatory courses
for students who do not have the background in both biology and mathematics
that is required for success in the core courses.� Students with a strong math background, who
need access to modern biology, should take BIOL 5V00-06A (Biology Preparation �
MS in Biotechnology I), BIOL 5V00-06M (Biology Preparation � MS in
Biotechnology II), and MATH 5V06-06M� (Mathematics Preparation � MS in
Biotechnology II).� Students with a
strong biology background, who need access to mathematics/statistics, should
take MATH 5V06-06A (Mathematics Preparation � MS in Biotechnology I), BIOL
5V00-06M (Biology Preparation � MS in Biotechnology II), and MATH 5V06-06M
(Mathematics Preparation � MS in Biotechnology II).
Students who elect to prepare and defend a thesis must
satisfy the MS thesis procedures specified by the department of their thesis
supervisor.
Electives
As
a general rule, any UTD graduate course that is approved by the advisor as
being relevant to the student's tailored degree plan may be taken as an elective
for the Biotechnology M.S. program. Students should consult the program advisor
for the current list of recommended electives.
A
joint program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, administered through
the Mathematical Sciences Department, is also available, and courses offered
within that program are also available as electives.