Research

1. Laboratory Rotation and Selection of a Major Professor

The second emphasis of the doctoral training program will be on research and time for research will increase each year. In the Fall Semester, new students will be introduced to ongoing Departmental research by attending a faculty presentation of their research interests. Each new student will select a minimum of three (3) faculty members for rotation in their respective laboratories during the first year. The rotations will allow the student to gain first-hand knowledge of the research in these selected laboratories and serve as a basis to choose a major professor. Students are required to spend a minimum of 10 hours per week participating in lab rotations.

The selection of a major professor will be after the Preliminary Examination. The student will list his/her order of choice in a letter to the Director of Graduate Studies. Every effort will be made to place the student in the laboratory of his/her choice provided the faculty member is agreeable and room and funds are available to support the student's research.

Faculty members who accept the responsibilities of having graduate students enter their laboratory and serving as the student's advisor (major professor) are expected to obtain financial support on their grants for the student by the beginning of the student's second year of graduate school.

The student is expected to devote a considerable amount of time to research in the laboratory even though course work is in progress. A key part of developing into a biomedical scientist is for the student to learn how to manage his/her time so that progress can be made in research while taking courses.

The Research component of the doctoral program will consist of research in the laboratory, presentations at research seminars (see below), preparation and defense of a research proposal in national grant application format, presentation of research findings at scientific meetings, publication of papers, and finally the preparation and defense of the doctoral dissertation.

2. Selection of Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee is usually established at the beginning of the second year, after the student has selected a major professor and has begun to identify his/her research problem. The members of the Advisory Committee should be faculty who have expertise in research, especially in the areas of research that may relate to the student's area of experimentation. One major function of the Advisory Committee is to provide advice and support regarding the student's research and to help monitor the development of the student into a productive, careful, and competent investigator. The Advisory Committee also helps the major professor evaluate the student's progress in his/her research and advises the student of the elective coursework best suited to his/her needs.

The Advisory Committee must be comprised of at least five (5) faculty who are eligible to serve according to the rules of the School of Graduate Studies. Four of the members should be from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, including the major professor, and one must be from outside the Department. The member from outside the department may be from a different LSUHSC Department such as Biochemistry or Pharmacology or from a different institution. Before inviting the individual faculty to serve on the Advisory Committee, the major professor must have the Department Head approve the committee. The composition of all Advisory Committees will be discussed and reviewed by the Department Head and the student's Advisor.

The Advisory Committee is expected to meet every six (6) months to review the student's progress. A brief report of the Advisory Committee's recommendations must be prepared in writing by the major professor and provided to the student, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Department Head. In addition, a copy of this report is to be placed in the student's file. The progress of each student will be discussed by the entire faculty at departmental faculty meetings.

3. Quality of the Student's Research

The dissertation research must be a contribution to the field and is expected to generate original findings that address a fundamental question. It is expected that the major substance of the study will be published in journals of international repute and that the student will present his/her research findings at local, regional, national or international meetings of scientific societies in the student's field. One first author publication "in press" or published by a peer-reviewed journal will be required for graduation.

4. Preparation and Defense of the Doctoral Research Proposal

A major component of a training program is to teach students about the real world of an academic research career. Integral to this is the preparation, presentation, and peer review of a research proposal. The proposal includes Background information from the literature, Specific Aims, Rationale, Preliminary Data, and Methods to be used to answer the questions being asked. The topic of the proposal will represent the student's dissertation work and must be approved by the student's doctoral Advisory Committee prior to preparation of the application. The Research Proposal is primarily the responsibility of the student with appropriate input from the major professor. When completed, the research proposal must be reviewed and approved by the student's Advisory Committee.

Preparation of the research proposal allows the student to pursue a research problem to a meaningful conclusion, become aware of the findings of other researchers in his/her field, learn what a research grant is and how to prepare one, focus on his/her major research aims and the rationale and methods to achieve goals, as well as introducing the student to the peer review process.

The Research Proposal must be approved by the Advisory Committee prior to scheduling the Field Exam.

5. Preparation and Defense of the Doctoral Dissertation

a. Field Examination
An outline of the literature review for the Ph.D. dissertation must be approved by the Advisory Committee. Upon successful completion of the literature review, an oral examination (field examation) will be administered by the student's Advisory Committee on this material. The field exam is usually scheduled 4-6 weeks prior to the dissertation defense. Successful completion of the field exam is required for the dissertation defense and final exam.

b. Preparation of Doctoral Dissertation
The dissertation is prepared by the student with the guidance and advice of his/her major professor and Advisory Committee. Instructions for the preparation of the dissertation are provided in the "Instructions for Thesis and Dissertation Writing" booklet, which is available through the Office of Graduate Studies. With the permission of the student's Advisory Committee, the student can utilize the European format for the dissertation. Upon completion of the dissertation, the student should provide copies to all members of his/her Advisory Committee, to the Director of Graduate Studies, and to the Department Head. After an appropriate period of time (approximately 14 days, during which the student should be available to provide information or clarifications requested by his committee members), the student's major professor should contact each member of the Advisory Committee and determine whether the dissertation is completed to a degree that will allow scheduling of the Defense and Final Examination. If two or more members of the Advisory Committee feel the dissertation is incomplete and/or a quality unsuitable to schedule the Defense, the Committee will meet and make specific recommendations.

c. Defense and Final Examination
This exam should be scheduled no earlier than 4-6 weeks after successful completion of the field exam, and no sooner than one month after submission of the final dissertation to the Advisory Committee. The Dissertation Defense and Final Examination will focus on the dissertation research and the dissertation itself. The student is expected to answer questions about the work, defend the validity of the conclusions, discuss suggestions for revisions to improve clarity, etc.

After the student has answered questions about the dissertation, the Committee will discuss the dissertation and final revisions that may be necessary and vote whether the student has passed the Final Examination. Voting to accept the dissertation (with all recommended revisions) will be by ballot with no more than one negative vote permitted. If the dissertation is not acceptable and/or the student is judged to have failed the examination, the Advisory Committee is expected to inform the student in writing, of the reasons for the failure with a copy provided to the Head of the Department, the Director of Graduate Studies, and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

6. Final Research Seminar and Certification

Once the student has passed the Final Examination and the dissertation has been accepted by the Advisory Committee, the student is required to present a final research seminar open to all faculty, students, and staff of the Department of Molecular and Celluar Physiology and interested members of other departments. The purpose of this seminar is to allow the student to present the overall view of his/her doctoral research and to demonstrate to new and intermediate level graduate students as well as to other members of the Health Sciences Center the high quality of research expected for the doctoral degree.

When the student has passed his/her Defense and Final Examination and scheduled the final research seminar and published (or "in press") a first author paper on his/her dissertation research in a peer reviewed journal, he/she will be certified to the Graduate Faculty and Chancellor as having met all requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Molecular and Cellular Physiology.