M.S. in Personalized Molecular Medicine Trains Next Generation in Patient-Powered Research
The Master of Science (M.S) in Personalized Molecular Medicine degree program at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Health San Antonio is geared towards training new graduates to join the work force with the skills necessary to participate fully in the next generation of “patient-powered” research and treatment.
“Personalized or Precision Medicine will be the norm for medicine in the future and the PMM program will ensure that graduates fully engage as active participants in the evolution of this approach to medicine,” said Dr. P. Renee Yew, program director and associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine.
The PMM trains students in current personalized medicine approaches as well as teach students the knowledge and skills required to explore molecular medicine pathways that will be targeted in the future to expand and refine personalized treatment strategies.
“Students gain foundational training in biological systems, molecular mechanisms, and cutting-edge translational technologies,” Dr. Yew explained.
Students in the program are trained to devise and implement personalized strategies to prevent and treat human diseases based on individual susceptibilities through the study of complex and integrated biological systems.
“It’s a brand-new field, it has so much to grow and if we are able to improve our knowledge of what happens at a molecular basis, we will be able to make better predictions,” said Samin Javanmardi, a student in the PMM program.
During the program, students are trained in the latest technologies in next generation sequencing, single cell analysis, computational biology, epigenomics, proteomics, drug design, animal models of human diseases, systems approaches, as well as instruction in “mining” the multitude of human disease databases such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).
“Every day when you are in lab, you are really learning something new,” Javanmardi said.
Students are paired with a faculty member where they work on systems biology research focused on understanding a range of human disorders including cancer, developmental defects, hormone dysregulation, and metabolic disorders.
PMM program has a priority deadline of April 1 and a final deadline of May 31 with extensions possible until the end of June.