Message from the Director

The modern researcher needs to be equipped with the knowledge of both biology and the quantitative systems approaches required for working with big data. Only then, can future biomedical researchers effectively formulate and investigate the important scientific questions. Despite the need for such specialized, cross-training in systems biology, there are few such training programs in the country.  The Integrative Systems Biology (ISB) graduate program is designed to train the next generation of biomedical scientists in the use of state-of-the-art quantitative and systems approaches in biomedical research. The over-arching philosophy of the ISB program is to train students to be independent, creative and self-reliant scholars, armed with a strong core knowledge in quantitative systems approaches to meet the rapidly changing landscape of biomedical research. Innovative integration in a single graduate program of systems biology with multidisciplinary training in cell, molecular, and developmental biology is at the cutting edge of biomedical graduate education. Our program rapidly immerses students in a rich and dynamic biomedical research environment that spans from basic to translational research with the unified integration of quantitative systems approaches. This is built on a strong core curriculum that provides competencies in systems and computational approaches.

The ISB program brings together faculty from many different basic and clinical departments at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Women’s Research Institute, the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, the University of Pittsburgh Dietrich School of Art and Sciences Department of Biological Sciences, and Carnegie Mellon University. ISB faculty are pursuing diverse and complementary research at the cutting edge of biology and medicine spanning many disciplines. These studies include interrogation into the mechanisms of human disease pathogenesis and the translation of research findings into contemporary clinical practice. State of the art experimental approaches are also being employed for regenerative biology, drug discovery, stem cell therapy, tissue engineering, and the implementation of personalized medicine.