Director's Welcome
Welcome to the Experimental Pathology Graduate Program (EPGP) website at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. The EPGP was formed in 1993 under the visionary leadership of Department of Pathology Chairman, David H. Walker, MD. Over the course of its nearly 20 year history, five Directors have been elected by the Program Faculty to oversee the program administration: Dr. Mary Trienen-Moslen (1993-1995), Dr. Alan Barrett (1995-1997), Dr. Norbert Herzog (1997-2006), Dr. Stephen Higgs (2006-2011), and the present Director, Dr. Jere W. McBride. Currently, there are 60 interdepartmental investigators appointed EPGP faculty and 30 graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees in the Program. In the past 10 years, 44 students have received doctoral degrees and five have received master's degrees. An average of five students are recruited annually to join the Program.
The goal of the EPGP is to prepare students for a career investigating mechanisms of human disease primarily involving infectious agents or environmental toxins. Students receive training in the basic biomedical sciences of cell morphology, biochemistry, molecular biology and physiology, and in both normal and pathologic contexts. Specialized training and faculty research emphasis include mechanisms of infectious disease, especially molecular and cellular pathobiology, and immunobiology of emerging and tropical infectious diseases that emphasize a multidisciplinary, investigative approach. Molecular biology, pathogenesis in animals, epidemiology, field research in tropical countries, vector biology, population genetics, and interactions with clinical scientists are available to students in the EPGP. These didactic studies are supplemented with training in research methodology, data analysis, experiences in diverse approaches to research in disease mechanisms and completion of an original research project in a specialized area of experimental pathology.
