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Graduate Fields of Study

The Code of Legislation of the Graduate School defines Graduate Fields as "voluntary groupings of members of the graduate faculty who have academic interests in common and who wish to exercise shared responsibility for an area of inquiry and for the admission, education, and, as appropriate, financial support of graduate students. Fields are independent of traditional college or department divisions, so they may draw together faculty members from several colleges, departments, and related disciplines in accordance with scholarly interests."

What this means for the Cornell Graduate Student is that their educational program can be truly interdisciplinary. The Chairman of a student's Special Committe must come from the Field to which the student is admitted; however, minor members of the committee can come from any of the Graduate Fields on campus.

         


There are five Graduate Fields administratively housed in the College of Veterinary Medicine.


Comparative Biomedical Sciences

The programs in the Field of Comparative Biomedical Sciences leading to the Ph.D. degree are designed to prepare graduates for positions in research and teaching, primarily in the medical sciences. The conduct of independent research is an essential feature of training, and a commitment to the pursuit of research is expected.

Each student selects a major in one of the following areas of concentration: Developmental & Reproductive Biology, Structural & Functional Biology, Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Population Medicine & Epidemiology.

Field of Immunology

The Field of Immunology offers advanced training in cellular immunology, immunochemistry, immunogenetics, immunopathology, and infection and immunity. The goal of the field is to provide students with broad training in both the underlying mechanisms responsible for vertebrate immunity, and the means by which to study the host's immune response.

Research is focused primarily on host resistance to infectious disease. Model pathogens being studied include Marek's disease virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Toxoplasm gondii, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Trichinella spiralis, Brugia pahangi, and Schistosoma mansoni. Field members specialize on more basic aspects of immune function as well, including, Ig receptor signaling, cell imaging, immunotoxicology, thymic hormones, fetal-maternal interactions, equine immune function, and autoimmune disease.


Field of Pharmacology

The Field of Pharmacology offers an intensive course of study and research with particular emphasis on cellular, molecular and biophysical aspects of pharmacology. Major research is in progress in the Field of Pharmacology to elucidate the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in receptor and ion channel function, signal transduction, neurotransmission, stimulus-secretion coupling, membrane-trafficking, and mechanisms of oncogensis and genetic recombination and DNA repair. Research in clinical pharmacology is conducted with the goal of optimizing therapy in the multiple mammalian and nonmammalian species encountered in veterinary medicine. Research also emphasizes the molecular and cellular bases of diseases such as allergies, cancer, diabetes, diarrhea and epilepsy.

Field of Molecular and Integrative Physiology

Faculty members in the field of molecular and integrative physiology study how things function in animals at levels of biological organization from the whole animal down to individual molecules. The objects of study range from mosquitoes to humans. Students may find opportunities for research in behavioral physiology, cardiovascular and respiratory physiology, endocrinology, environmental and comparative physiology, gastrointestinal and metabolic physiology, membrane and epithelial physiology, molecular and cellular physiology, neural and sensory physiology, reproductive physiology and physiological genomics. Courses offered by field faculty provide a basic background in systemic and cellular physiology, plus specialized, cutting edge knowledge in specific concentrations.


Field of Zoology

Zoology spans a range of disciplines at Cornell. Students often utilize techniques in their studies that derive from independent areas of scholarship. Current areas of specialization include comparative, functional, and developmental anatomy (vertebrate and invertebrate) with the overarching theme of “organismal biology.” Many students pursue anatomically– or behaviorally-based questions placed in an ecological context. Several students pursue studies in conservation and evolutionary biology. Students and faculty are drawn from across the campus, and faculty represent no less than four of the university’s colleges and seven departments.

Minor Graduate Fields at the College of Veterinary Medicine include:

Genomics

The Minor Graduate Field of Genomics is intended to provide both broad and specific training in the rapidly-evolving area of Genomics and genome-scale biology. Students minoring in Genomics must take the two required 3 credit core courses, which provide overviews of Genomics and underlying technologies, plus two of the six, one-credit modules also offered by the Field. These modules target specific areas relevant to genomics, including quantitative trait analysis, chromosome structure/function, bioinformatics tools, genome maintenance, genomics and society, and model organisms used in genomics research. Several existing genomics-related courses also qualify towards the Minor requirements.

Other Fields of Study with graduate students in the Veterinary School:

Animal Science

Microbiology

Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology (BMCB)

Neurobiology and Behavior (NB&B)

Environmental Toxicology

Nutrition

A complete list of the Graduate Fields of Study available on Cornell campus is available
on the Graduate School web site.