Georgetown University Medical Center

Physiology PhD Program

Stefano Vicini, PhD, Director

Thomas Sherman, PhD, Associate Director

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Current Physiology PhD Students

Elissa Carney - ejc45@georgetown.edu
Magdalena Czarnecka - mkc32@georgetown.edu
Ladan Eshkevari - eshkevl@georgetown.edu
Rupa Lalchandani - rrl23@georgetown.edu
Fengmin Li - fl46@georgetown.edu
Peijun Li - pl53@georgetown.edu
Naz Moaddab - nm48@georgetown.edu
Nesrin Rechache - nsr3@georgetown.edu
Jose Young - jpy9@georgetown.edu
Jessica Lea Schwartz - jls287@georgetown.edu

Benchmarks and forms!

The general benchmarks for your doctoral work are listed below. Please feel free to contact the Director or Associate Director if you have questions.

Year 1+ (12-18 months): Complete coursework; begin rotations (usually have 2-3 rotations prior to deciding on thesis lab)

Years 2-3: Settle in thesis lab; obtain preliminary data; defend Thesis Proposal (this is considered the Comprehensive Exam, and sets your research plan). The student will develop membership of the proposal committee, and can seek help from their thesis mentor in this process. Remember, this committee should have expertise to help you in your research, and you should have input in the members! We strongly encourage students to apply for NRSA or similar funding using their proposal. Prior to the Proposal "defense" you will send the proposal to your committee. You will need to fill out the Thesis Proposal Form and have it ready for your committee on the meeting date. After successful completion of this oral exam, the form will be sent by the Director to the Graduate School along with an exam ballot (Director will have it filled out). Under most situations, the members of your thesis proposal committee will become your dissertation committee. The thesis committee will designate a Chair, who will supervise the overall committee actions.

Years 3+: Follow your proposal, and have committee meetings every 6 months. This is where you'll present updates of your work and get constructive feedback. You should also present a departmental seminar prior to your defense. When you are near completion of your proposed work, have a meeting to review all of your data, and get the approval to write your dissertation and set a tentative defense date. When the date is set, you will send the dissertation to the committee members at least 3 weeks in advance of the defense. You or your mentor will need to inform the PhD Director to have a Thesis Review Form prepared. This will be signed by the committee members, attesting that your thesis is ready to defend, with minor edits (ie, the science and your interpretation is sound, and the thesis is overall in good shape). This form will be given to the Director at least one week prior to your defense, and he will send it to the Graduate School. In addition, a copy of the Front Signature page of the dissertation will be needed to be filled out in advance of the dissertation, and given to the Chair of your committee.

Good luck with your research!