Integrated Graduate Program in Physical and Engineering Biology (PEB)

http://peb.yale.edu
peb@yale.edu

Director
Corey O’Hern (Mechanical Engineering; Physics; Applied Physics; Materials Science; Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics)

Associate Director
Emma Carley

The Yale PEB program brings together faculty from the physical, engineering, and biological sciences, who carry out collaborative, interdisciplinary research and teaching. Participation in the PEB program is open to any graduate student (Ph.D. or Master’s) who is interested in applying quantitative, physical approaches to study important biological questions. PEB-participating departments, tracks (BBS), and degree-granting programs include Applied Mathematics; Applied Physics; Biochemistry, Quantitative Biology, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (BBS track); Biomedical Engineering; Chemical and Environmental Engineering; Chemistry; Computational Biology and Biomedical Informatics (BBS track and also degree-granting program); Engineering and Applied Sciences; Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; Molecular Cell Biology, Genetics, and Development (BBS track); Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology (BBS track); Neuroscience (BBS track); Plant Molecular Biology (BBS track); and Physics.

Graduate Certificate in Physical and Engineering Biology (PEB) 

Upon advancement to candidacy in a home department and satisfaction of the PEB, master’s, and Ph.D. requirements, students receive a certificate from the Integrated Graduate Program in Physical and Engineering Biology.

Students interested in participating in the PEB program may indicate their interest on their graduate application for admission to a home department or track. Students may also join the PEB after they have matriculated at Yale. After arriving at Yale, students should e-mail peb@yale.edu to express their interest in the PEB, and the leadership will review their application materials.

PEB students acquire a depth of knowledge in their home department and also a breadth of knowledge across disciplines from PEB courses and activities. They will become skilled at applying physical and engineering methods and quantitative reasoning to biological problems, and at identifying and tackling cutting-edge problems in the life sciences, and they will be proficient at combining theory and computation with wet lab experiments. In addition, students will become comfortable working in an interdisciplinary and collaborative research environment and adept at communicating with scientists from a variety of disciplines as well as with nonscientists.

Curriculum

The PEB curriculum consists of four core courses, which all students, regardless of their undergraduate background, take together. We suggest that these courses are completed by the second year of study, however this is not required.

Core Courses
Typically taken in the first year:
ENAS 5710Integrated Workshop1
MB&B 5170Methods and Logic in Interdisciplinary Research1
Typically completed by the second year:
ENAS 5410Biological Physics1
ENAS 5620Modeling Biological Systems II1

With permission of the PEB leadership, students may substitute either Biological Physics or Modeling Biological Systems II with a different graduate-level course that more closely aligns with their research interests. To request a substitution, students should email Professor O’Hern and Dr. Carley.

Two primer courses are also offered (but not required). Boot Camp Biology (MB&B 5200) is a primer course for students entering PEB with little or no background in biology, and Quantitative Approaches in Biophysics and Biochemistry (MB&B 6350/ENAS 5180) is a primer course for students entering PEB with little or no background in mathematics and computation.

Certificate requirements (Ph.D. students)

To receive the certificate, students must:

  • Complete the PEB curriculum
  • Meet with PEB leadership at least once in their first or second year to discuss certificate progress
  • Present their research during the PEB Discussion Group in May of their second year
  • Participate in at least one PEB-hosted outreach event or an approved non-PEB outreach event (email Dr. Carley to request permission for a non-PEB outreach event to fulfill this requirement).
  • Participate in at least two professional development opportunities. Eligible professional development opportunities include: attending an external workshop on a PEB-related topic, presenting research at a non-Yale conference or meeting, attending a PEB-hosted professional development event, helping organize a PEB outreach event or the PEB discussion group, inviting and hosting a PEB Distinguished Seminar Series speaker, meeting with Yale alumni working in a PEB-related field, or having a one-on-one career advising appointment with the Yale Office of Career Strategy.
  • Be admitted to candidacy in their home department or degree granting program

Certificate requirements (Master’s students)

To receive the certificate, students must:

  • Complete the PEB curriculum
  • Meet with PEB leadership at least once to discuss certificate progress.
  • Participate in at least two professional development opportunities. Eligible professional development opportunities include: attending an external workshop on a PEB-related topic, presenting research at a non-Yale conference or meeting, attending a PEB-hosted professional development event, helping organize a PEB outreach event or the PEB discussion group, inviting and hosting a PEB Distinguished Seminar Series speaker, meeting with Yale alumni working in a PEB-related field, or having a one-on-one career advising appointment with the Yale Office of Career Strategy.
  • Complete all master’s program requirements.

For more information about the programming, coursework, and other enrichment activities available to PEB students; see http://peb.yale.edu.