university of utah anthropology phd

Department of Anthropology

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***The Anthropology Department at the University of Utah will be covering the cost of Graduate Applications that are submitted before the deadline.

Please email Brittany Kiser for the waiver code to submit with your application to avoid the application fee.

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Doctoral Program Requirements

University requirements.

  The Graduate School has requirements concerning hours of coursework, GPA, residency, and required forms that must be filed. Registration requirements include two consecutive semesters of full-time registration (9 credit hours per semester), 14 credit hours of ANTH 7970 (dissertation research), and 3 credit hours of registration during the semester in which the dissertation is defended. There is no University-wide language requirement. ANTH 7990 (continuing registration), which carries a minimal charge, is available for a maximum of four semesters to students who are working on the dissertation and not using university resources. See the section on Dissertation for more information on 7990, and consult the  Graduate Catalog  for a complete description of these requirements.  You are responsible for knowing the Graduate School Requirements.

Department Requirements

Please see the graduate student handbook for detailed degree requirements and information regarding supervisory committees. Close contact with your committee is essential to success in the program. The departmental requirements for the doctorate include coursework, a qualifying examination, and preparation and defense of the dissertation. These requirements must be completed within  six  years after acceptance into the Ph.D program.  Extensions must be approved by the supervisory committee.

Students are required to take Anthropology 6611 (Preparation of Grant Proposals) and are expected to have basic proficiency in statistics. Additional course requirements are determined by the student's Supervisory Committee.

For additional program requirements and general information, please see the Graduate Student Handbook.

Supervisory Committee

A critical aspect of timely completion of your graduate degree is selecting a Supervisory Committee Chair and forming a committee as soon as possible.   The supervisory committee is responsible for approving the student's academic program, preparing and judging the qualifying examinations subject to departmental policy, approving the thesis or dissertation subject, reading and approving the thesis or dissertation, and administering and judging the final oral examination (thesis or dissertation defense).    The Chair of the supervisory committee directs the student's research and writing of the thesis or dissertation

Each supervisory committee consists of five faculty members. The committee chair and the majority of the committee must be tenure-line faculty in the student’s department. One member of the committee must be appointed from outside the student’s major department. The outside member is normally from another University of Utah department. However, the dean of The Graduate School may approve requests to appoint a committee member from another university where appropriate justification and supporting documentation is provided. The supervisory committee is responsible for approving the student’s academic program, preparing and judging the qualifying examinations, approving the dissertation subject and final dissertation, and administering and judging the final oral examination (dissertation defense). 

Qualifying Exam

The exam consists of two components A) a Breadth Requirement and B) a Dissertation Research Proposal.

• Breadth Requirement. The student must prepare a substantial written piece that demonstrates a breadth of understanding in anthropological research.  There are three ways to satisfy this requirement, descriptions are available in the graduate student handbook.  The choice should be made by the student in consultation with, and approval by the supervisory committee.
• Dissertation Proposal. The student must write a formal dissertation research proposal, and should consult with the supervisory committee while doing so. Final approval will be given in a conference attended by the student and supervisory committee. It is recommended that the proposal be completed within six months of finishing step I, above.

After the qualifying exercise is completed, the student is responsible for providing written notification to your Graduate Coordinator. The documentation should include the date of completion and a approval from the chair of your supervisory committee.

Dissertation

We recommend that students schedule a final meeting with the full committee prior to the defense to discuss any changes the committee feels are necessary. Please allow the committee four weeks to read the manuscript. The defense is scheduled only after the committee agrees that the dissertation is substantially complete. Work with your committee to schedule your defense. The defense should be scheduled early enough for you to make any changes requested by the committee and still submit the manuscript by the Thesis office Deadlines (WEBSITE)

The  Thesis Office   has specific requirements concerning forms, advertisement of the oral exam, registration, and format and publication of the dissertation. Some requirements must be met in the semester before you plan to graduate.

Hardbound Copy

Graduating Ph.D Students must supply the Anthropology Department with 1- hardbound (not spiral bound) copy of their dissertation no later than 60 days after approval of your dissertation by the Graduate School.  The Campus Bookstore offers a dissertation binding service. The cost is approximately $60.00 through the Campus Bookstore, call 801-581-5352 for more information. Competitive pricing may be found at other binderies.  The size must be 8 ½" x 11" and the color of the hardbound book may be either solid red, solid black, or solid blue. The student's name and dissertation title must be embossed on the front of the book.  The year the dissertation was defended and the student's name must be on the spine of the book.  A copy of the signed Supervisory Committee Approval and the Final Reading Approval, signed by the Dean of The Graduate School, must be included as the first two pages of the hardbound copy .

Deadlines for all requirements are clearly stated on The Graduate School website, and it is the student’s responsibility to observe all deadlines and to check with the Department if anything on the Requirements Audit Tab is incomplete. If any requirement is not met, the student must reapply for graduation in the following semester.

Deadlines to apply for graduation

 Resources

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  Thesis Office Handbook

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  Thesis Office "Boot Camp" and Workshops

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Tracking Your Manuscript

Expediting Your Manuscript

Department Approved Style Guide

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University Graduate Catalog

 DOCTORAL PROGRAM CONTACTS

Adrian Bell

Assoc. Professor

Director of Graduate Studies (DOGS) [email protected]  

Brittany Kiser 

Programs Manager

Graduate Coordinator

[email protected]   

Jack Broughton

Department Chair

[email protected]  

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The Anthropology Department at the University of Utah   has a special emphasis on genetics, behavioral ecology, demography, hunter-gatherers, and evolutionary approaches to human behavior. Regions of study include Africa, Australia, New Guinea, the Middle East, and western North America.

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The Graduate School

University information technology (uit), main navigation, ph.d. degree requirements.

Ph.D. Degree   •   Supervisory Committee   •  Program of Study   •  Residency Enrollment   •  Approval of Program of Study   •  Qualifying Examination   •  Registration   •  Language Requirements   •  Dissertation   •  Final Examination   •  Time Limit   •  Exceptions

• The Doctor of Philosophy degree is awarded for high achievement in an advanced specialized field of study. It requires competence in independent research and an understanding of related subjects.
• The degree is not awarded simply for the fulfillment of residence requirements and the accumulation of credits.
• The committee chair and the majority of the committee must be tenure-line faculty in the student’s department.
• The outside member is normally from another University of Utah department.
• The dean of The Graduate School may approve requests to appoint a committee member from another university where appropriate justification and supporting documentation is provided.
• approving the student’s academic program,
• preparing and judging the qualifying examinations (unless delegated to a departmental examination committee),
• approving the dissertation subject and final dissertation,
• and administering and judging the final oral examination (dissertation defense).
• Some departments require more, check department’s handbook.
• More time may be required.
• In truly exceptional cases, a shorter period of time in graduate work may be approved by the dean of The Graduate School. 
• If a supervisory committee finds a graduate student’s preliminary work deficient, the student may be required to register for and complete supplementary courses that do not carry graduate credit.
• This form, which lists course work and research hours, is due one semester before graduation in order for the graduate coordinator to enter that information online in a timely manner.
• Faculty Consultation, course number 7980, does not count toward dissertation hours or the fulfillment of degree requirements, and should not be listed on the program of study.
• Courses taken through alternative delivery methods (e.g., via EDNET or the Internet) are approved on a programmatic basis through the Graduate Council.
• When a student proceeds directly from a master’s degree to a Ph.D. degree with no break in the program of study (except for authorized leaves of absence), the residency requirement may be fulfilled at any time during the course of study.
• Three hours of Thesis Research: Ph.D. (course number 7970) is also considered a full load after the residency requirement is fulfilled.
• The Graduate Council may approve departmental or programmatic exceptions to the minimum residency requirements and proposals for new programs or academic offerings using distance-learning technologies and/or off-campus sites, as provided by Graduate School policy.
• *Does not refer to or fulfill State Residency Requirements
• One semester prior to graduation, graduate students are required to meet with their graduate advisor to check that they have met all the requirements for their degree.
• Once enrolled in all required coursework, the graduate advisor will move coursework from the graduate student's transcript to their program of study in the Graduate Student Summary .
• They verify the graduate student has met all degree requirements then approve the program of study with their electronic signature.  
• After all approvals have been submitted, the graduate student's program of study will show as complete in the Program Plan Audit page of the Graduate Student Summary .
• The nature and format of these examinations are established by individual departments subject to approval by the Graduate Council.
• An examination or parts of an examination may be repeated only once and only at the discretion of the student’s supervisory committee .
• A department has the option of appointing a departmental examination committee that administers the qualifying examinations and ensures that examinations are properly prepared and evaluated.
• Once a graduate student has passed their Ph.D. Qualifying Exam this advances them to candidacy.
• The candidate must complete at least 14 hours of Thesis Research (course number 7970, Thesis Research: Ph.D.).
• The candidate must also be regularly enrolled at the University and registered for at least one course during the semester in which the final oral examination (dissertation defense) is taken.
• For details, see Minimum Continuous Registration as well as departmental and program requirements.
• The degree of proficiency in foreign language(s) required of candidates is determined by the policy of the academic departments.
• In some instances, language proficiency may be verified by individual departments if appropriate procedures have been approved in advance by the dean of The Graduate School.
• In most cases, however, fulfillment of the language requirements must be verified by the Department of World Languages & Cultures.
• The Language Verification form for certification is available in the Department of World Languages & Cultures .
• The candidate must submit a dissertation embodying the results of scientific or scholarly research or artistic creativity.
• The dissertation must provide evidence of originality and the ability to do independent investigation and it must contribute to knowledge or the creative arts.
• The style and format are determined by departmental policy and registered with the thesis and dissertation editor, who approves individual dissertations in accordance with departmental and Graduate School policy.
• At least three weeks before the final oral examination (dissertation defense), the student should submit an acceptable draft of the dissertation to the chair of the supervisory committee ; committee members should receive copies at least two weeks before the examination date.
• The entire dissertation is submitted to UMI Dissertation Publishing, ProQuest Information and Learning, and copies are made available for public sale.
• The abstract only is published if the entire dissertation has been previously published and distributed, exclusive of vanity publishing. The doctoral candidate may elect to microfilm the entire previously published work.
• Regardless of the option used for meeting the publication requirement, an abstract of each dissertation is published in UMI Dissertation Publishing, ProQuest Information and Learning, Dissertation Abstracts International.
• Detailed policies and procedures concerning publication requirements, use of restricted data, and other matters pertaining to the preparation and acceptance of the dissertation are contained in A Handbook for Theses and Dissertations .
• The student must pass a final oral examination before graduation.
• The examination must follow the receipt of the dissertation by the supervisory committee .
• The committee schedules and announces a public oral examination at which the candidate must defend the dissertation.
• This final oral examination may be chaired by any member of the supervisory committee consistent with departmental policy.
• The time limit for completing a Ph.D. degree is determined by individual departmental policy approved by the Graduate Council.
• Requests to exceed established time limits must be recommended by a candidate’s supervisory committee and approved by the departmental director of graduate studies and the dean of the Graduate School.
• Students whose studies have been interrupted for long periods of time and who have been granted extended time to complete their degrees may be required to complete additional courses, to pass examinations, or otherwise to demonstrate that they are current in their field. (PPM 6-203 III.B).
• Most departments require a seven year time limit for their PhD students.
• Petition for an extension of a Graduate student career
• Individual student exceptions to these general requirements for the Ph.D. must be approved by the dean of The Graduate School upon the recommendation of the student’s supervisory committee and director of graduate studies or department chair.
• Each program requires a distinct, complete set of courses. Course work used to meet the requirements of one program may not be used to meet the requirements of another.

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• University of Utah, Department of Anthropology

http://www.anthro.utah.edu

Please see our website at http://www/anthro.utah.edu for the requirements of the various degrees

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Utah Admissions

Graduate students, welcome to the u.

Graduate applicants to the University of Utah must hold a completed and officially conferred U.S. four-year Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, or the institutionally-accepted international equivalent.

All prospective graduate students must submit an application to the University of Utah, including those who are currently undergraduate students at the University. The link to the application can be found on each graduate program’s website.

To ensure enough time to secure a visa, international applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

Ready to dive in? See our comprehensive list of the over 100 Masters and Doctoral programs offered at the University of Utah.

Your Future Begins with U

You can access the online graduate application directly through your department’s website.

The University of Utah will evaluate your application only after we receive all required fees and documents, including transcripts and proof of English proficiency for international applicants.

Explore Graduate Programs

All documents submitted to the University of Utah become institutional property and will not be released to students or other institutions.

Pay the Application Fee

The non-refundable graduate application fee is $55 for domestic applicants and $65 for international applicants. The application fee must be paid in order to consider your application complete.

Some academic programs cover the cost (or partial cost) of the application fee. Consult your department’s website to determine your fee amount.

McNair Scholars are eligible to have the application fee waived, but must upload proof of status to the online graduate application.

Fees must be paid online within the application.

Upload Required Documentation

Applicants must upload:

A copy of all post-secondary transcripts to the application

These transcripts will be used as working copies during the admissions evaluation process. Failure to list all schools previously attended or making false or misleading statements on the application may result in cancellation of admission status and/or loss of credit.

Any additional documents required by the academic department/program

Examples of items frequently requested by departments include:

1. Letters of Recommendation 2. Statement of Purpose 3. Resume/CV 4. Test Scores, such as the GRE or GMAT

The University of Utah ETS code is 4853. The Office of Admissions does not have a department code . Departments may require test scores sent directly to their department code. Please check the department’s website for additional information.

We accept unofficial transcripts to complete the admissions application. Please scan or e-mail them directly to [email protected] .

Once admitted and before starting classes at the University of Utah, you must submit an official copy of your post secondary school transcript and proof of graduation directly to the Office of Admissions. Transcripts submitted by a student are not considered official. Transcripts must be sent from the awarding institution directly to the University of Utah to be considered official. Physical transcripts must arrive at the University of Utah in a sealed and unopened envelope from the awarding institution. Please do not order transcripts to be sent to your personal or student email, or open the envelope of mailed physical transcripts – they will be considered unofficial upon submission.

Official printed transcripts can be dropped off in a closed envelope sealed with adhesive at the International Admissions service window in the Student Services Building (SSB) or mailed to:

The University of Utah Office of Admissions 201 South 1460 East, Room 250S Salt Lake City, UT 84112 USA

Transcripts will only be accepted as official if sent using any of the following electronic transcript services:

• Credentials Solutions/Parchment/Naviance
• National Student Clearing House
• eScrip-Safe
• ScribOnline
• Digitary (see “How does Digitary work?” section)
• Vitnemalsportalen Diploma Registry
• University of Mumbai Online Attestation

If you are an international student, please  click here for more information .

*When requesting your transcripts using any of these services, please use the email [email protected] .

Please do not send official transcripts via email or fax, as they will not be accepted as official.

Track Your Application

Your application will be evaluated once we receive a completed application, application fee, and all required documentation.

The status of your application can be tracked at the link emailed to you upon application submission.

Please allow 7-10 business days for the online tracker to reflect newly received materials.

Application Review

Academic departments/programs review applications.

• Once the academic department/program admissions committee decides which applicants to recommend for admission, the academic department/program will complete the referral form advising the University Office of Admissions of their decisions.

Office of Admissions Processes Referrals, Reviews Qualifications and Notifies Applicants

• Once academic departments/programs complete the Department Referral form, the University Office of Admissions will do a final review of all applicants to determine if they meet the Graduate School admissions requirements.
• If you meet all admissions criteria and the academic department/program has recommended you for admission to your degree program, the Office of Admissions will complete the admission processes and you will be notified.
• The Official Letter of Acceptance is sent by postal mail from the University Office of Admissions.

Notification of an Admissions Decision

• You’ll receive an email advising you to sign in to your application account to view the decision once it has been posted.
• Once admitted, find your next steps here .

Graduate Application Deadlines

Spring Term

Summer Term

Students who submit their application to a graduate program after the following dates may be charged a late application fee of $30. Some departments have application deadlines earlier than these dates and will not consider late applicants.

Need Readmission?

Graduate School Policy states that graduate students are required to maintain continuous registration and must acquire permission from the Graduate Department for a “Leave of Absence” before leaving the University.

If you fail to register for a term (excluding summer term) and do not file for a leave of absence, you are immediately made ineligible to register for future terms.

Continuing students that have been discontinued are required to apply for readmission into their graduate program.

If you are a previous graduate student that did not maintain continuous registration in your academic program, you must reapply through the ApplyYourself online graduate admissions application found at each graduate program’s website.

Not Seeking a Degree?

If you do not qualify for admission to graduate studies or non-degree-seeking students, you may enroll in graduate-level courses on a non-degree seeking basis.

Credits earned by non-degree seeking students may or may not apply to a graduate degree program.

Graduate programs are designed and approved by faculty committees assigned to supervise each graduate student.

Decisions on accepting course credit are made initially by these supervisory committees.

Only fifteen semester hours of non-matriculated credit, taken no more than three years prior to approval, can be applied toward a graduate degree.

Non-matriculated and second baccalaureate students registering for one or more graduate-level courses in their undergraduate career will be charged graduate tuition rates for all courses taken.

Read more about how to apply as a non-matriculated student.

Department of Anthropology

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icon Undergraduate Programs

Anthropology Major

Anthropology is the comparative, evolutionary and historical study of human, and nonhuman primates. 

  EXPLORE MAJORS AND EMPHASES  

Anthropology Minor

Because we study all aspects of humans, anthropology is holistic and inter-disciplinary and anthropologists work hand-in-hand with other sciences such as biology, physiology, sociology and psychology—just to name a few.

Integrative Human Biology Minor (IHB)

Engage in research in human form and function, human evolution and biological variation, human behavior, and the roles humans play in local and global ecosystems. Students will acquire the broad but rigorous background they will need as professionals in the 21st-century health sciences and many other fields that engage directly with aspects of human adaptation and welfare.

EXPLORE ANTHROPOLOGY MINORS  

Have a question about anthropology? Ready to declare?

BOOK AN ADVISING APPOINTMENT  

icon GRADUATE DEGREES

M.s. in anthropology & m.a. in anthropology.

Graduate students engage in cutting edge research that crosses disciplinary and sub-disciplinary lines to address questions about human biology, behavior, culture and evolution.

EXPLORE MASTERS PROGRAMS

Ph.D. in Anthropology

Our Department takes a theoretically-driven, empirically-informed perspective focusing on the following specific areas of expertise: archaeology, genetics, behavioral ecology, paleoanthropology, hunter-gatherer behavior, and human and non-human primate behavior.

EXPLORE THE PHD

Laboratories

Archaeological center, upcoming events.

2023 Wilkes Scholar Awardees

M.S. Graduate Students Kathryn Sokolowski, Anahi Yerman, & Ishmael Medina awarded the NSF GRFP

EVOLUTIONARY GENETICS JOURNAL CLUB

Publications.

Maternal conflict intervention is more frequent in chimpanzee compared to bonobo development

The Goldilocks Zone for maize agriculture and the settlement and abandonment of the West Tavaputs Plateau

Migratory behavior in the enigmatic Late Pleistocene bovid Rusingoryx atopocranion

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Summer 2024 First Half Last day to Withdraw From Classes

Summer 2024 census deadline, summer 2024 first half last day to reverse cr/nc option.

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Search Utah State University:

Doctorate of sociology.

PhD Program

The PhD program in sociology offers a specialization in one of three areas: Demography, Environment & Community, and Social Inequality. In addition to required courses in social theory and qualitative and quantitative research methods, PhD students take a variety of elective courses both in and outside of their specialization areas. The program requires a minimum of 51 credit hours (48 for those who received their MS from our program), as well as a written comprehensive examination and the completion of a research-based dissertation. The PhD program generally requires 4-5 years to complete as a full time student. Students can expand their graduate training opportunities by taking courses outside the program in areas such as statistics, geography, and climate science. Funded PhD positions (as a teaching assistant, graduate instructor, or research assistant) are available.

Career Application

About half of our PhD graduates continue on to careers in academia. Our alumni currently hold faculty positions at Colorado State University - Ft. Collins, Colorado State University - Pueblo, Delta State University, Evergreen State College, Illinois State University, Tennessee State University, Brigham Young University - Idaho, and Albright College, among others. A few hold research or administrative positions in academia. The other half primarily work in research positions in the public sector, including the CDC, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Land Management, and various state government and international agencies.

Resources for Current Students

Resources for Prospective Students

Program Advisor

Guadalupe Marquez-Velarde

Interim Director of Graduate Studies | Assistant Professor

+1 435 797 1241 Logan (MAIN 216F) [email protected]

Related Programs

• Sociology (MS)
• Anthropology (MS)

Scholarships & Financial Aid

• Utah State University offers many options for financial aid, including university level scholarships and aid available to specific colleges and majors. Financial Aid Information

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Bringing Pediatric Oncology into the Future

Cancer care is complex. A drug dose that works perfectly for one person may be completely ineffective for another. One patient may develop long-term organ damage due to unanticipated toxicity, while another may not. For children with cancer who experience complex drug regimens, drug safety and efficacy are challenging.

And if we can’t predict what a drug might do to a given patient, how can we personalize cancer care?

A new digital pharmacology platform is addressing the root of this issue to bring pediatric cancer care into the future. We are on the path to filling knowledge gaps and advancing therapeutic drug use for children with cancer.

Complications of Cancer Care

Ensuring chemotherapy use is as safe and effective as possible is critical to pediatric oncology. This is also true for non-chemotherapy drugs, called supportive care medications.

Supportive care medications make up over 90% of the drugs that children with cancer receive. They treat or prevent conditions like pain, infection, and nausea. The keys to ensuring safe and effective drug use include:

• What the body does to a drug (pharmacokinetics or PK)
• The drug’s effects on the body (pharmacodynamics or PD)

The catch is that other drugs, age, organ function, and disease state can change a drug’s PK and, consequently, its effects. On top of this, very little PK and PD data specific to children with cancer are available.

Even minor genetic differences in genes responsible for drug metabolism can produce profound alterations in drug PK.

In this way, two children with similar characteristics (e.g. age and weight, which are what most dosing is based on) can react differently to the same drug and dose. And both children may react differently than an adult would.

How Patients and Treatments Differ

In cancer treatment, critical issues of PK and PD are often not well understood. Will coinciding supportive care medications influence the PK or PD of chemotherapeutics? Are children with cancer more susceptible to certain drug toxicities? These are some of the unknowns we face.

There are huge gaps in the pediatric cancer literature about how drugs might interact with one another, how drug metabolism changes in different disease states, and what drug target concentrations are best suited to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes. 

We need to better understand these questions, even for drugs that have been in use for decades.

Acetaminophen is one example of a commonly used drug that may put children with cancer at increased risk for toxicity compared to their cancer-free peers.

Normally, the liver safely metabolizes acetaminophen by several pathways. But in children with cancer, these “safe” pathways may become depleted, overwhelmed, or both. This can cause acetaminophen metabolism to be shunted into a pathway that creates a toxic substance, causing liver damage.

These metabolic pathways can differ for several reasons: poor nutrition, high medication burden, other liver toxic drugs (e.g., chemotherapeutics), and increased enzyme expression in the “toxic pathway.” These factors are more common among children with cancer.

Pediatric cancer survivors often suffer long-term liver damage. Using our pharmacology platform, we can evaluate patient- and clinical-level risk factors, acetaminophen and metabolite PK, and biomarkers for liver toxicity.

Ultimately, a better understanding of acetaminophen PK and risk factors for toxicity helps us make informed adjustments in dosing. Thereby, minimizing risk of harm and improving pain management.

Addressing Unknowns

To reiterate, cancer care (especially pediatric care) is incredibly complicated. Ideally, clinicians could use population-specific PK and PD information to tailor dosing to individual needs.

But this information is often lacking  for children with cancer. By generating population-specific PK and PD data, we can aid prescribers in making challenging clinical decisions.

The PK Platform

I set out to address the gaps in our knowledge about drugs used to treat children with cancer—and thereby to improve how we apply them in pediatric oncology.

My lab created a sophisticated platform that can generate PK and PD data for niche populations.

Here is how it works.

Resourceful Sampling 

The first issue we faced was getting representative samples from very specific populations. 

Our solution was to use an approach called opportunistic or scavenge sampling. In our case, we collect scavenge blood samples that were collected as part of standard of care. That is, a physician orders a blood draw for clinical testing, after which excess blood is discarded. 

But because these samples are already in our hospital system, our lab can “scavenge” excess blood targeted for discard and use this to conduct our studies—without any added burden to the patient of additional blood draws. 

In pharmacology, this process is known as “sparse sampling.” Sparse sampling is ideally suited to current PK modeling approaches. PK and PD modeling using sparse sampling can be used to determine patient-related factors that define drug PK, safety, and efficacy relationships. PK models can also be used to predict accurate descriptions for the PK of a drug in an individual patient. 

Finding the “right” scavenge blood samples for our sparse sampling strategy was a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. We needed blood collected at specific times, related to when a drug was administered. These times vary by PK characteristics of the drug and the route by which it was administered. 

My team developed software programs that integrate with hospital electronic medical records and our biobank database to identify priority target specimen requests. At present, we can select samples based on: 

• Patient demographics 
• Diagnoses 
• Prescribing information 
• Blood collection information 
• Coinciding medications 
• Lab values for a given patient 

Our process allows us to efficiently target samples for collection. We can also assess progress on our collection targets to taper collection or identify where we are lacking. 

The platform facilitates a variety of PK drug studies, spanning commonly to rarely prescribed drugs. So far, every study has yielded important clinical insights.

Targeted Analysis

Beyond analyzing blood specimens for drug and metabolite concentrations, we can analyze other things found in patients’ blood, like DNA and biomarkers of drug toxicity.

There are two facets to how we analyze samples.

The first facet is all about pharmacokinetics. By looking at drug concentrations, we can see how patients metabolize drugs and whether we are achieving therapeutic concentration ranges associated with efficacy in general.

Our first goal is to understand whether clinical targets are met. By evaluating if there are patients who fall outside therapeutic ranges, we can tease apart the underlying reasons why. Right now, we are filling gaps in our understanding of how drugs behave to optimize how we use them.

The second facet takes sampling further. Patient specimens provide us with real world blood concentrations. We can translate these drug concentrations to “bench-based” in vitro systems. This provides valuable biological insight.

For example, we are evaluating novel epigenetic mechanisms between supportive care medications and cancer cells and how these may impact chemotherapeutic efficacy.

Unraveling these complex interactions is crucial to personalizing cancer care.

Playing the Long Game

This platform is still very new. We are building a data pool to fill in major knowledge gaps about current therapeutic drug use. We are also preparing for the inevitable evolution of drug therapy as new medications are introduced.

As the platform becomes more sophisticated, we will be able to answer more specific questions. For instance, with growing amounts of data, we can more confidently simulate how specific drugs might behave in each patient.

Personalized dosing is critical in pediatric oncology. And this platform begins to give us the power to do it.

Our long-term goal is completely individualized care. That means accounting for a patient’s genetics to tailor treatment and increase efficacy. It means individualized dosing for every supporting drug a patient takes.

Going Global

This is not just about Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah , U of U Health, Utah, or even the U.S. Our aim is to improve clinical care globally.

As we grow, our goal is to make this platform available to other cancer researchers and clinicians. I’m excited to see where the future takes us as we increase our scope. Our mission is to have the broadest impact possible and improve cancer care for children everywhere.

And that’s a tall order. But right now, we are demonstrating that it can be done.

Jonathan Constance, PhD, DABCP

Jonathan Constance is an associate member in the Cell Response and Regulation Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute and assistant professor of clinical pharmacology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah. Constance’s research seeks to better understand patient level factors—such as genetics, stage of development, pathophysiologic states, and polypharmacy—that influence drug efficacy and risk in neonatal and pediatric populations. Of special interest are the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships between concomitant antineoplastic therapy and non-anticancer medications related to altered chemotherapeutic activity and efficacy among pediatric patients with cancer. Constance received a PhD in pharmacology and toxicology and completed clinical and research pediatric pharmacology fellowships at the University of Utah. He is board accredited in applied pharmacology.  

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Civil | Construction | Nuclear

Building Upon Our Excellent Engineering Education

New construction engineering bachelor’s degree prepares students for a career in high-demand.

Since 2022, our bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering has been the only ABET-accredited program in Utah . Designed meet industry trends, our program encompasses environmental sustainability and software adoption to prepare the next generation of construction engineers, who currently in very high demand on today’s job market.

While most colleges include Construction Engineering under the Civil and Environmental umbrella, our autonomous Construction BS puts a more focused effort in training these essential engineers in the rapidly growing and increasingly technologically complex field.

Construction Engineering at the University of Utah prepares students to enter this exciting field. Students take courses in both civil engineering fundamentals—such as construction technology, scheduling, estimating, structural principles, site analysis, computer-assisted design, green building, and materials—and instruction in construction engineering courses, such as those related to contracting, project management, project scheduling, cost estimating, and laws and regulations.

Some courses provided include:

Green Building (Façade I)

One of the most important upcoming challenges for construction is the design and construction of sustainable buildings.

Cost Estimating and Proposal Writing

Concentrates on pricing the different elements of a structure based on the use of resources.

Principals of Construction Engineering

Learn about the preconstruction and execution of various construction projects.

Horizontal and Vertical Construction

Provides students with a comprehensive understanding of the principles, methods, and practices involved in planning and constructing buildings, bridges, roads, etc.

As we continue to commit resources into this unique degree, we look forward to equipping graduates with the knowledge, skills, and practical experience needed to enter the workforce as competent and innovative construction engineers, ready to build our future.

Meet the professor:

Dr. Christian Brockmann

Dr. Brockmann joined the U in 2022 in part to spearhead the Construction Engineering degree, and there couldn’t have been a better fit. With an extensive background in both academia and industry, Dr. Brockmann has left an indelible mark on the field of Construction Engineering and will, in the years to come, be an integral part of the program’s success.

More news from our department:

PhD Student Proposes Vision for the Future of Engineering in Utah

Mina Golazad, Construction Engineering PhD student, has been awarded second place in the ASCE Utah Younger Member Forum Scholarship program for her vision of engineering in the future state. Mina’s response to the prompt, “Be Future Ready,” garnered recognition from the ASCE Utah Younger Member Forum. This year’s prompt challenged participants to envision the challenges […]

$1M DOE Grant for Advanced Nuclear Energy Research

Dr. Peter Zhu’s team Plays Key Role in Securing $1M DOE Grant for Advanced Nuclear Energy Research We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Peter Zhu, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his lab have been collaborating with a team at the University of Illinois on a proposal that has just been awarded […]

Research at the U is Building Better Utah Infrastructure

Dr. Pedro Romero Honored with Friend of Industry Award at the 2024 Utah Asphalt Conference The Utah Asphalt Paving Association—the driving force behind our road infrastructure—recently hosted the 2024 Utah Asphalt Conference from February 27 to 28. Recognized as the premier asphalt-related event in the state, the conference brought together the industry’s best minds, including […]

Dr. Cathy Liu Earns Prestigious Educator Award

CvEEN Professor Earns 2023 Outstanding Educator Award The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is a global organization dedicated to improving transportation systems and creating smarter, more livable communities. Within this vast network, the Mountain District ITE represents the U.S.’s mountain states and recognizes outstanding educators in the field. Dr. Cathy Liu has been honored with […]

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Chu Paing Receives A&S Amazing Graduate Award

Chu Paing (Cultural Anthropology, PhD 2024) was selected as one of the College of Arts and Sciences "Amazing Grads 2024." Chu said that graduating "means more than just a degree; it is a constant reminder of many others who made sacrifices and who supported me throughout the process so that I could pursue this degree. I aspire to pay this forward in the near future!"  

Professor Carla Jones' praises Chu:

Chu’s record at CU is an essential part of an amazing life course. Chu moved to the United States from Yangon, Myanmar, as a teenage recipient of the U.S. Diversity Lottery. Arriving alone and knowing no one, she chose Queens, New York, as her destination based on research that she would find a large Burmese population there. While working difficult service jobs, she also enrolled in courses at CUNY Queens College, earning a BA with high honors in linguistics in 2017. As a doctoral student at CU, she swiftly distinguished herself by winning a coveted Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation, among other competitive national research awards. Her brilliant and poetic doctoral dissertation in anthropology connects her unbreakable attachment to Myanmar with her new life abroad by analyzing the vibrant diasporic dissident movement following the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. Her scholarship and her life are courageous and inspiring.

Dr. Peng Zhang, PhD, Appointed to Research Track

School of medicine.

Peng Zhang, Ph.D. – Biography

Peng Zhang received his B.S. from Shandong Normal University (China) in 2004. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from China Agricultural University in 2009, where he studied with Weiquan Liu, Ph.D., focusing on anti-avian influenza virus research. Following this, Dr. Zhang obtained postdoctoral training in Xinhua Lin, Ph.D.’s Lab (2009-2011) at the Institute of Zoology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he began using Drosophila models to study Wnt signaling regulation and organ patterning. From 2011 to 2014, Dr. Zhang held the positions of Assistant & Associate Professor at the Institute of Biophysics of Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he ran an independent research program focusing on Hippo pathway regulation and organ size control.

To expand his expertise in the field of stem cell biology, Dr. Zhang joined Bruce Edgar, Ph.D.’s lab at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)/Heidelberg University in 2014 as a senior postdoctoral researcher and relocated with the lab to the Huntsman Cancer Institute/University of Utah in 2016. In 2021, he was honored as a Susan Cooper Jones Endowed Fellow in Cancer Research. 

Dr. Zhang is currently a Research Assistant Professor at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Department of Oncological Sciences of the University of Utah School of Medicine. His research focuses on utilizing Drosophila gut and mammalian intestinal organoid models to study the mechanisms that govern intestinal stem cell proliferation, gut regeneration, and tumorigenesis. Aside from conducting research projects, Dr. Zhang engages in training and mentoring new students (both graduate and undergraduate) and technicians in Drosophila genetics and molecular biology. 

Research Interests

• Cancer Biology
• Stem Cell Biology
• Damage Sensing and Gut Regeneration
• Drosophila melanogaster

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Ethnic studies professor Patricia Fifita fosters community of knowledge and connection for OSU students

After years of academic research across the Pacific Islands in ethnobotany, medical and environmental anthropology, Patricia Fifita now teaches ethnic studies at OSU, using her unique academic experience to connect with students.

Patricia Fifita

By Gabriella Grinbergs CLA Student Writer - May 31 , 2024

Patricia Fifita , assistant professor in ethnic studies, has been a part of the liberal arts faculty at OSU since 2018, and joined the ethnic studies faculty as a tenure-track professor in 2021 as a part of the Indigenous Studies cluster hire. Fifita uses her extensive experience in Indigenous and Pacific Islander studies, medical and environmental anthropology, and ethnobotany to build a safe space for Indigenous histories and stories to be shared.

Fifita began her academic career at Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a bachelor of arts in cultural anthropology with minors in botany and international development. An apprenticeship in Tonga, a Polynesian kingdom, proved to be “a life changing experience” as she studied under an ethnobotanist who examined Tongan women’s use of limu, or seaweed, in Vava‘u, Tonga.

This was Fifita’s first time visiting Tonga, specifically her father’s village, after being born and raised in diaspora. Her connection to her work on a personal and cultural level, one which she describes as “empowering and eye-opening,” pushed her to continue on this academic path in traditional ecological knowledge and medicinal plants.

She felt drawn towards working in a field related to health and healing on a personal level, but “didn’t know how that would play out with an academic pathway” before her undergraduate studies. She mentioned working with traditional healers in her youth and hearing stories about her lineage’s connection to healing.

“It was just the way things unfolded for me,” Fifita stated. “I  followed that path and I am very grateful for it.”

From there, she earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in medical anthropology from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Focusing specifically on medical anthropology in graduate school provided a bridge between her studies in ethnobotany, her interests in cultural usage of plants, and her Polynesian home.

“One thing I really find useful in my academic work, it fosters a certain level of interdisciplinarity,” said Fifita. “The methodologies (of anthropology are) really useful for the type of work I like to do, which is more community-based.”

Her doctoral research included a study in Tonga where she examined Tongan women’s experiences with cancer, after her mother was also diagnosed. Fifita focused on the experience of the disease as an embodiment of inequality , reflecting on wider social and political problems which contribute to systemic healthcare disparities in Tongan hospitals and local clinics.

Fifita’s experience with environmental anthropology was present throughout her graduate studies. This further manifested in her postdoctoral research as she continued her field work on climate change and food insecurity in Hawaii, Guam, Northern Marianas, and the Federated States of Micronesia before taking a position at OSU.

In nearly five years at OSU, Fifita has developed and taught the inaugural course in Pacific Islands Studies, co-developed the Indigenous studies minor in the College of Liberal Arts, and contributed to the development of the Marine Studies major. She continues to teach various courses in ethnic studies and anthropology,  grounding her courses in a  social justice and equity-centered framework.

Fifita’s current research focuses on coastal restoration in Anahola, Kauai. Supported by a grant from the Lenfest Ocean Program, Fifita plans to conduct an indigenous-led land restorative justice project, incorporating traditional knowledge of the Anahola community, to guide the (re)envisioning and restoration of ancestral relationships with the Anahola coastal zones.

“For me, as an Indigenous person, especially as someone working within my own communities, there is an applied component that I feel an obligation and responsibility to do with my work,” she explained.

Fifita moved back to Oregon after her postdoctoral research study, feeling she needed to be with her parents in Corvallis, when the opportunity to work at OSU arose. She expressed her delight at all the work that has been done to build the Indigenous Studies minor, saying she “never dreamed” there would be this space at OSU to focus on developing a critical Pacific Islander studies program. This excitement comes especially with experiencing the marginalization and omission of Indigenous histories in the K through 12 U.S. education system.

“It’s often a really emotional thing for Pacific Islander students who are often feeling very alone or homesick, to be an anchor to support them and also honor who they are in an institution that doesn’t necessarily provide a lot of space for those identities –  I think for me, that’s what gets me out of bed to teach every time I have the opportunity,” Fifita stated.

Another significant area of the safe space Fifita has helped build at OSU is the Reciprocity Garden , a student-run collaborative and coordinated by Charlotte Epps , dedicated to sowing and harvesting culturally significant plants as a way to provide BIPOC students and faculty a way to connect with their cultural identity.

She incorporates the garden into classes she teaches, including Food and Ethnic Identity: Decolonizing Our Food and Body (ES/FCSJ 464/564) by allowing students the opportunity to interact with the garden, “to reinforce a sense of home or connection wherever (Indigenous students) have been dispersed to,” Fifita said. For her, one of these is Taro – a root vegetable significant to Tongan and other Pacific Islander communities. Fifita is also growing harakeke, or New Zealand flax, for future weaving projects.

Fifita, throughout her academic and professional careers, particularly in her work at OSU, found motivation in wanting to remain a constant support to her parents.

Coming back to Oregon after working and living in the Pacific for nearly twenty years felt like a “full circle moment”, she described, and owes many of the opportunities to complete her work to her father, Ika Fifita. He retired from OSU after over 30 years of service, working with BIPOC students through culturally based organizations, athletics, and multiple social justice causes. Since retirement, he now volunteers as a Football Ambassador and continues to support students by regularly attending OSU sporting events, Fifita shared.

“His goal was to create a sense of home and belonging, especially for Pacific Islander students, faculty, and staff who felt far away from their island communities,” she added. “I am really happy that I have the opportunity to honor his legacy.”

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