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David
D. Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D. Chairman
The purposes of the Department are to make substantive contributions
to the advancement of knowledge in the field of Cell Biology and to
transmit to medical and graduate students important scientific information
concerning the organization of the human body and the structure and
function of its cells, tissues and organs. The Department also provides
the training ground for future researchers who have or will obtain M.D.,
M.D./Ph.D. or Ph.D. degrees and are expected to contribute to the advancement
of both basic and clinical sciences, as well as to become future faculty
members in Medical Schools.
Our philosophy is that, given the dependence of the advancement of
medical sciences with respect to the diagnosis, prevention, alleviation
and cure of disease, on the understanding of basic cellular processes
it is necessary to provide the students not only with basic concepts,
but also with an appreciation of how these develop from the results
of rigorously conducted laboratory investigation.
Our goals with respect to medical education are not only to prepare
the students for assimilating the material in later courses, but also
toprovide them with the capacity to incorporate into their thought processes
and their practice of medicine the impressive advances in medical sciences
that are taking place, and certainly will continue to do so during the
course of their medical careers.
The teaching responsibilities of the department extend from the study
of Gross Anatomy to the presentation of recent advances on the molecular
aspects of fundamental cellular processes. We believe that teaching
should entail, as much as possible, the active participation of students
in small discussion groups and in carefully designed laboratory exercises
in which the students should be guided by true experts in the field.
We, therefore, emphasize dissection in our Anatomy
course, examination of microscopic slides in Histology,
and laboratory sessions in which the students carry out some of the
most modern basic techniques in Cell
and Molecular Biology. |
