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Biomedical Informatics - MD/PhD Program The MD/PhD program in Biomedical Informatics combines the study of medicine with a specialization in the science of medical information. After two years of medical school, the student enters into the doctoral program on a full-time basis, completing all coursework and the dissertation in three or four years. The medical degree is then completed in the following two years. Ideally, medical students will incorporate fundamental courses in Biomedical Informatics into the first year of medical school. The summers after the first and second years of medical school enable students to focus on a informatics project with an advisor. The summer sessions are also an opportunity to address deficiencies, for example preparatory courses in computer science. The qualifying exams are taken after the first and second years of the PhD program, and the dissertation written and defended in the following two years. Curriculum MD/PhD students complete a minimum of six residence units, taking at least 60 units at the 4000 level or higher. The following table shows the minimum number of courses required to meet the program's educational objectives. Students who meet computational or mathematical objectives through prior graduate preparation are not required to take further courses in these areas. Students must consult with their academic advisors to determined such placement, to choose appropriate courses to meet core objectives, and to choose electives in one of the four specialization tracks: bioinformatics, bioimaging, clinical informatics, or population informatics.
Research Project MD/PhD students begin project work in Biomedical Informatics during the summers between the first and second year of medical school. Research work continues during each semester of the doctoral program in the research project course (G4001). This work helps the student gain experience in posing scientific hypotheses, conducting experiments, building information systems, measuring impact, and working toward the doctoral dissertation. Each doctoral student works with a faculty advisor, who must be a member of the department, or a member of the Biomedical Informatics Doctoral Program Subcommittee, which includes representatives of many related departments. The student is expected to meet with the adviser at least once per week. Each student has an advisory committee which consists of the primary faculty advisor, and two additional members of the department. The committee must meet with the student at least once each semester to review the student's progress. Additional Requirements In all semesters, students must attend the weekly student seminar (G4098) and the research seminar (G4099).
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