duke university biology phd programs

Ph.D. Admitting Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology

General info.

• Faculty working with students: 51
• Students: 40
• Students receiving Financial Aid: 100%
• Part time study available: No
• Application terms: Fall
• Application deadline: November 30

Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program Box 3709 Duke University Medical Center Durham, NC 27710

Phone: (919) 684-8073

Webpage:  https://medschool.duke.edu/dscb

Program Description

The Duke Development and Stem Cell Biology (DSCB) Program is a broad, interdepartmental consortium of students and faculty pursuing developmental, stem cell, and regenerative biology research at the molecular, cellular, genetic, evolutionary, and systems levels. Researchers from across over 10 departments at Duke University and Duke School of Medicine participate. The mission of the DSCB PhD program is to train the next generation of predoctoral scientists in principles of development, stem cell biology, and regeneration through targeted coursework, lab research, and interactions within the DSCB community. The diverse backgrounds, research expertise, and perspectives of our community enable us to enrich and personalize the training environment. Our goal is to develop in our students: confidence, independent critical thinking, academic rigor, and the intellectual curiosity and creativity to synthesize new ideas and communicate them effectively. Our training plan incorporates education in core principles of development, stem cell biology and regeneration, as well as foundational education in genetics and molecular and cellular biology. Our students also gain training in data science principles, scientific communication, responsible conduct of research, and grant writing. This is achieved through a curriculum composed of modular course structure, innovative hands-on-training, and discussion-based courses. Extensive laboratory training provides each student with expertise in a chosen specialty, and technical and conceptual scientific skillsets. University-wide resources provide valuable professional resources and opportunities to help students develop their full potential to pursue a diversity of careers.

Students may apply and be admitted directly to the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Program. After the second year of study at Duke, students will identify a participating department in which they will earn their Ph.D. (Note: For international students in particular, designation on the application form of a department in addition to this program may be helpful in securing funding.)

• Developmental and Stem Cell Biology: Ph.D. Admissions and Enrollment Statistics

Application Information

Application Terms Available:  Fall

Application Deadline: November 30

Graduate School Application Requirements See the Application Instructions page for important details about each Graduate School requirement.

• Transcripts: Unofficial transcripts required with application submission; official transcripts required upon admission
• Letters of Recommendation: 3 Required
• Statement of Purpose: Required (see departmental guidance below)
• Résumé: Required
• GRE General: Optional
• This program does not require applicants to provide GRE (Graduate Record Examination) or other graduate entrance exam scores, but does allow you to upload scores if you feel they enhance your application. If you choose to submit test scores, you may enter them on the Test Scores page. If you choose to enter self-reported test scores, official test scores will become a required component of your application.
• English Language Exam: TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test required* for applicants whose first language is not English *test waiver may apply for some applicants
• GPA: Undergraduate GPA calculated on 4.0 scale required

Statement of Purpose Guidelines The mission of the Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (DSCB) PhD Program is to train the next generation of scientists in principles of development, stem cell biology, and regeneration through targeted coursework, lab research, and interactions within the DSCB community. The diverse backgrounds, research expertise, and perspectives of our community enable us to enrich and personalize this training. Our goal is to develop each students’ confidence, independent critical thinking, academic rigor, and the intellectual curiosity and creativity to synthesize new ideas and communicate them effectively

Writing Sample None required

Additional Components Optional Video Essay: How would a Duke PhD training experience help you achieve your academic and professional goals? Max video length 2 minutes; record externally and provide URL in application.

We strongly encourage you to review additional department-specific application guidance from the program to which you are applying: Departmental Application Guidance

List of Graduate School Programs and Degrees

G-BIO-PHD - Biology - PhD

Degree designation.

The Department of Biology offers a variety of training opportunities leading to the PhD in biology.

Students in the department may specialize in a wide variety of areas including anatomy; behavior; physiology; cellular and molecular biology; community, ecosystem, physiological, and population ecology; evolution; functional morphology; developmental, ecological, molecular, organelle, and population genetics; genomics; and phylogenetic systematics.

There is a high level of interaction among the various areas of biology and other programs. Faculty members participate in the University Programs in Developmental Biology, Ecology, Genetics and Genomics, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Structural Biology and Biophysics, and Neurobiology; tropical research is facilitated through the university’s membership in the Organization for Tropical Studies. There are also strong relationships with the Departments of Evolutionary Anthropology (primatology, phylogenetic systematics, macroevolution), Mathematics (theoretical biology), and Psychology (behavior); the Pratt School of Engineering (biomechanics); the Medical Center (molecular biology and genomics); and the Nicholas School of the Environment (ecology).

Students entering the program generally have a broad background in biological sciences supplemented with basic courses in chemistry, mathematics, and physics. Biochemistry and physical chemistry are strongly recommended for students interested in molecular areas, and advanced courses in mathematics are recommended for students in population genetics and ecology. While deficiencies may be corrected by taking appropriate courses during the first year of graduate study, it is advised that students search widely in this bulletin for information about the intellectual resources of the university. Courses below the 500 level may not be applied toward the required credits needed for a post-baccalaureate degree. With the approval of their Director of Graduate Studies and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, graduate students may enroll in lower-level courses, but these courses will not count toward any graduation requirement and will not be included in a student’s GPA calculation. Special attention should be given to announcements of the programs and departments listed above, as well as to those of Cultural Anthropology, History, Immunology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Pharmacology, Philosophy, and Sociology, and of the Pratt School of Engineering and the Nicholas School of the Environment.

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Duke Biology is one of the few broad Biology Departments in the country, providing students, faculty, and staff with the opportunity to learn and perform research in a highly integrative and interactive setting. Our department hosts over 50 faculty, studying areas spanning developmental biology, cell biology, molecular biology, ecology, evolution, organismal biology, and genomics. 

May May 1 1 Charmaine DM Royal on Shifting Paradigms on Genetics and Race 3:00 pm 5:00 pm Penn Pavilion 1

Ph.D. Program

Our program is highly flexible, allowing students to design the path that best fits their professional needs. Our students spend the majority of their time engaged in innovative research, and have the opportunity to interact and collaborate with researchers from a wide range of fields. 

Undergraduate Programs

For undergraduates, we offer a broad range of learning opportunities, including traditional classroom experiences, hands-on learning in the field and the laboratory, independent study, and full student engagement in research. 

Our program offers a Bachelor of Science in Biology, a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, as well as a minor. Furthermore, our 12 optional Concentration areas enable students to more narrowly focus their studies.

Diversity Initiatives

We want to be just, equitable and transparent about the ways we evaluate, compensate, and reward all members of our department. We want to be a department of scholars that gives back to the local and international scientific communities in which we are embedded. We are committed to creating an academic environment enriched by diverse life experiences, where everyone feels respected, heard, and safe. We are dedicated to preventing all forms of discrimination and harassment, and hold all members of our community accountable to our values of equity and justice.

Learn more about our DEI efforts

• Duke Biology’s Mission Statement
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• Learning from Baboons: Dr. Susan Alberts
• Extremophiles and Systems Biology: Dr. Amy Schmid
• How Cells Manage Stress: Dr. Gustavo Silva
• Predator-Prey Interactions in a Changing World: Dr. Jean Philippe Gibert
• Exploring the Extracellular Matrix: Dr. David Sherwood
• Cell Division's Missing Link: Dr. Masayuki Onishi
• Listening in to Birdsong: Dr. Steve Nowicki
• Biogeochemistry as Ecosystem Accounting: Dr. Emily Bernhardt
• Building a Dynamic Nervous System: Dr. Pelin Volkan
• Investigating a Key Plant Hormone: Dr. Lucia Strader
• Imagining Visual Ecology: Dr. Sönke Johnsen
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The Duke University program in Molecular Cancer Biology is designed to generate independent scholars who are interested in augmenting current knowledge on the basic mechanisms underlying cell growth, differentiation, and development, and discerning how these processes are perturbed in cancer cells with the goal of identifying novel candidates for therapeutic intervention in the treatment of cancer. 

The Program in Molecular Cancer Biology (MCB) consists of faculty from multiple departments and centers across Duke University and the School of Medicine. The progam is enhanced by the interdisciplinary collaboration of scientists actively engaged in dissecting the regulatory networks that control the processes of growth and development at the cellular and molecular levels, and identifying the defects that lead to oncogenic transformation. The approaches used by the investigators include genomics, genetics, cell biology, molecular biology and protein biochemistry. 

We are very proud of the alumni from our department who have successfully completed their training in Molecular Cancer Biology. Please follow this link to learn more about our alumni for molecular cancer biology .

Program Leadership

Ann Marie Pendergast, PhD

Jamie Baize-Smith

Congratulations to Our Newest Doctoral Graduates!

Congratulations to the following people who have successfully defended their dissertations and will graduate from the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Program.

Somatic Mutagenesis in Transcription Factor Binding Sites

Harshit Sahay 

Integrative Modeling of Genetic and Transcriptomic Data for the Identification of Allele-Specific Expression

Scarlett Zou

Computationally Mining the Microbiome for Biologically Meaningful Results

Danting Jiang

Profiling the Molecular Determinants of Origin and Response in Blood Cancers

Devang Thakkar 

30 Best universities for Mechanical Engineering in Moscow, Russia

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in Moscow ranked based on their research performance in Mechanical Engineering. A graph of 269K citations received by 45.8K academic papers made by 30 universities in Moscow was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. Moscow State University

For Mechanical Engineering

2. Bauman Moscow State Technical University

3. National Research University Higher School of Economics

4. Moscow Aviation Institute

5. N.R.U. Moscow Power Engineering Institute

6. National Research Nuclear University MEPI

7. National University of Science and Technology "MISIS"

8. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology

9. Moscow State Technological University "Stankin"

10. RUDN University

11. Moscow Polytech

12. Moscow State University of Railway Engineering

13. Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation

14. Moscow Medical Academy

15. Russian State University of Oil and Gas

16. mendeleev university of chemical technology of russia.

17. Russian National Research Medical University

18. Plekhanov Russian University of Economics

19. National Research University of Electronic Technology

20. Moscow State Pedagogical University

21. Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

22. State University of Management

23. Moscow State Institute of International Relations

24. Russian State Geological Prospecting University

25. russian state agricultural university.

26. New Economic School

27. Moscow State Technical University of Civil Aviation

28. Russian State University for the Humanities

29. Russian State Social University

30. Moscow State Linguistic University

Universities for Mechanical Engineering near Moscow

Engineering subfields in moscow.

Victor Mukhin

• Scientific Program

Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

However, up to now, the main carriers of catalytic additives have been mineral sorbents: silica gels, alumogels. This is obviously due to the fact that they consist of pure homogeneous components SiO2 and Al2O3, respectively. It is generally known that impurities, especially the ash elements, are catalytic poisons that reduce the effectiveness of the catalyst. Therefore, carbon sorbents with 5-15% by weight of ash elements in their composition are not used in the above mentioned technologies. However, in such an important field as a gas-mask technique, carbon sorbents (active carbons) are carriers of catalytic additives, providing effective protection of a person against any types of potent poisonous substances (PPS). In ESPE “JSC "Neorganika" there has been developed the technology of unique ashless spherical carbon carrier-catalysts by the method of liquid forming of furfural copolymers with subsequent gas-vapor activation, brand PAC. Active carbons PAC have 100% qualitative characteristics of the three main properties of carbon sorbents: strength - 100%, the proportion of sorbing pores in the pore space – 100%, purity - 100% (ash content is close to zero). A particularly outstanding feature of active PAC carbons is their uniquely high mechanical compressive strength of 740 ± 40 MPa, which is 3-7 times larger than that of  such materials as granite, quartzite, electric coal, and is comparable to the value for cast iron - 400-1000 MPa. This allows the PAC to operate under severe conditions in moving and fluidized beds.  Obviously, it is time to actively develop catalysts based on PAC sorbents for oil refining, petrochemicals, gas processing and various technologies of organic synthesis.

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

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