Message from the Director
Welcome to the University of Michigan Program in Biomedical Sciences!
PIBS provides a gateway to 14 degree-granting programs at the University of Michigan with a single application. As you explore our programs of study you will discover that the central themes of our educational philosophy at PIBS are collaboration, interdisciplinary research, and diversity. Our students are encouraged to develop individualized curricula that synthesize multiple disciplines, both in terms of course work and research. Extensive one-on-one academic advising and research mentoring help our students on their path to success.
Our ~500 PIBS faculty members lead cutting-edge research programs and are internationally recognized for their outstanding contributions to biomedical research. Currently, our faculty include 9 HHMI Investigators, 3 members of the National Academy of Sciences, and 23 members of the Institute of Medicine.
The University of Michigan is an outstanding institution that combines world-class, state-of-the-art research with a rich academic tradition. U-M ranks 3rd in the nation for overall research expenditures (>$800 million in 2007). The U-M Medical School has ranked among the top 10 schools in NIH research funding for two decades.
Over the past five years, a number of new research and clinical facilities have been built on our campus, including the Life Science Institute, the Biomedical Science Research Building, and the Cardiovascular Center. Current projects under construction are the new Mott Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital, and the expansion of the Kellogg Eye Center, which will provide additional space for the Departments of Ophthalmology, and Molecular and Cellular Pathology, as well as the new home of the Brehm Center for Type 1 Diabetes Research and Analysis.
U-M is one of the few top medical schools in the country with a campus that is contiguous with the undergraduate colleges, an arrangement that facilitates and stimulates collegiality and collaboration between faculty and students. A pioneering tradition runs deep at Michigan. We were founded in 1817 as one of the first public universities in the United States. The U-M hospital, founded in 1869, was the first teaching hospital in the nation. Michigan was the first major medical school in the country to admit women. The U-M Department of Pharmacology, founded by John Jacob Abel in 1891, was the first pharmacology department in the nation. The same is true for the U-M Department of Human Genetics, founded by James V. Neel in 1956.
As Megan O. Schimpf, M.D. from our class of 2001 once said:
"Wondrously, [the University of Michigan Medical School] is a place where this newness is itself old, where being at the forefront of medical science is a longstanding tradition. It is a legacy established years ago by people equally intrigued by the art and science of medicine and carried out with the same aims today."
This is truly an exciting time to be a biomedical scientist, especially at the University of Michigan. Thank you for visiting the Program in Biomedical Sciences. We hope that you consider our program for your graduate education. You would be welcome among the Leaders and Best.
Sincerely,
Lori L. Isom, Ph.D.
Director, Program in Biomedical Sciences
