About the Program

The PhD program in Molecular Toxicology focuses on the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms and how these effects are modulated by genetic, physiologic, and environmental factors.

Admission to the Molecular Toxicology program is based on a variety of factors, including academic achievement and relevant experience. We practice holistic admissions- each part of the application is important and thoroughly reviewed.

Applicants with a background in the biological sciences and lab experience are best suited for the Molecular Toxicology program. While there are no set prerequisites, we look for the coursework in calculus, general and organic chemistry, biology, biochemistry, etc. Because this program is designed to develop research scientists, it is also important that applicants are familiar with an experimental lab setting.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Uniform minimum requirements for admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A minimum grade-point average of B or better (3.0);
3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g. Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, 230 on the computer-based test, 90 on the iBT test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
4. Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants who already hold a graduate degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees as evidence of broad research training, not as vocational training certificates; therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to take up new subject matter on a serious level without undertaking a graduate program, unless the fields are completely dissimilar.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may only apply to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Any applicant who was previously registered at Berkeley as a graduate student, no matter how briefly, must apply for readmission, not admission, even if the new application is to a different program.

Required documents for admissions applications

1. Transcripts:  Upload unofficial transcripts with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcripts of all college-level work will be required if admitted. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) you have attended. Request a current transcript from every post-secondary school that you have attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs.
   If you have attended Berkeley, upload unofficial transcript with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required if admitted.
2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants can request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and most European countries. However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a U.S. university may submit an official transcript from the U.S. university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement: 1) courses in English as a Second Language, 2) courses conducted in a language other than English, 3) courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and 4) courses of a non-academic nature. If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Curriculum

Faculty

Professors

Georjana Barnes, Professor. Biochemistry, genetics, cancer, biology, microtubule cytoskeleton, cell cycle controls, cellular imaging.
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James M. Berger, Professor. Structural & mechanistic biochemistry of macromolecular assemblies & machines, multiprotein complexes; DNA replication, maintenance of chromosome superstructure;catalytic mechanism & enzyme/small-molecule inhibitor studies.
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David Bilder, Professor. Genetics, cancer, Drosophila, cell biology, cell polarity, tumor suppressor, epithelial architecture, polarity, and proliferation control.
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W. Zacheus Cande, Professor. Genetics, cell biology, microbial biology, plant biology.
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Jamie H. D. Cate, Professor. Molecular basis for protein synthesis by the ribosome, RNA, antibiotics, a thermophilic bacterium, escherichia coli.
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Kathleen Collins, Professor. RNA, telomerase, Telomere function, Telomere replication.
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Yang Dan, Professor. Neuronal circuits, mammalian visual system, electrophysiological, psychophysical and computational techniques, visual cortical circuits, visual neurons.
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Abby Dernburg, Professor. Genomics, chromosome remodeling and reorganization during meiosis, Down syndrome, DNA.
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Andrew Dillin, Professor.

Jennifer A Doudna, Professor. RNA machines, hepatitis C virus, RNA interference, ribosomes.
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David G. Drubin, Professor. Cellular morphogenesis, plasma membrane dynamics, microtubule cytoskeletons, cytoskeletal proteins, morphological development.
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Peter H. Duesberg, Professor. Genetic structure of retroviruses, carcinogenesis, aneuploidy, virology, HIV-AIDS.
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Michael B. Eisen, PhD, Professor. Genomics, genome sequencing, bioinformatics, animal development.
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Marla B. Feller, Professor. Neurophysiology, developmental neuroscience.
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Gary L. Firestone, Professor. Cancer, steroid hormones, molecular endocrinology, tumor biology, growth factors, dietary compounds, tumor cells, glucocorticoids.
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Gian Garriga, Professor. Developmental neurobiology; molecular genetics, development of nervous systems, cell division, cell migration, axonal pathfinding, caenorhabditis elegans.
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Iswar Krishna Hariharan, Professor.

Rebecca Heald, Professor. Cell division, Xenopus, mitotic spindle assembly and function, size control of intracellular structures.
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James H Hurley, Professor.

Ehud Y. Isacoff, Professor. Ion channel function, synaptic plasticity, neural excitability, synaptic transmission, the synapse.
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Douglas E. Koshland, Professor. Higher order chromosome structure, genome integrity, sister chromatid cohesion, chromosome condensation, desiccation tolerance, microbial genetics.
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Richard H Kramer, Professor. Cells, synaptic transmission, chemical signaling between neurons, ion channels, electrical signals, chemical reagents, synapses.
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John Kuriyan, Professor. Structural and functional studies of signal transduction, DNA replication, cancer therapies, phosphorylation.
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Michael S Levine, Professor. Regulation of enhancer-promoter interactions, gene networks, animal development and disease, drosophila embryo, immune response in drosophila larvae, differentiation of the notochord and heart in the sea squirt, whole-genome analysis.
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Kunxin Luo, Professor. Signal transduction pathways, mechanisms controlling the receptor kinases, regulation of mammary epithelial cell differentiation, breast carcinogenesis.
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Terry E. Machen, PhD, Professor. Physiology pathophysiology secretory epithelial cells, airway, ion transport, cell regulationm, imaging microscopy, calcium pH redox, electrophysiology, green fluorescent protein, genetic targeting, innate immune defense.
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Susan Marqusee, Professor. Amino acids, determinants of protein structure and folding, biophysical, structural and computational techniques, translocation, protein synthesis.
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Barbara J Meyer, Professor. Developmental biology, gene expression, genetic determination of sex, regulatory genes, chromosome dynamics, X-chromosome.
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John Ngai, Professor. Nervous system, molecular and cellular mechanisms of olfaction, detection of odors, odorant receptors, olfactory neurons, DNA microarray technologies, genome-wide patterns of gene expression.
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Nipam Patel, Professor. Genetics, evolution, crustaceans, insects, arthropods, homeotic (Hox) genes, segmentation, embryonic pattern formation, neural patterning.
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Mu-Ming Poo, Professor. Neurobiology, cellular and molecular mechanisms, axon guidance, synapse formation, activity-dependent refinement of neural circuits.
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Michael P Rape, PhD, Professor. Cancer, protein degradation, siRNA, Berkeley Screening Center.
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Jasper D. Rine, Professor. Biology, cell biology, DNA replication, gene regulation, saccharomyces cerevisiae, genetic analysis, genome, cholesterol biosynthetic pathway, modification of proteins, prenylated proteins.
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Donald C. Rio, Professor. Molecular genetics, drosophila melanogaster, transposable elements, RNA splicing, nucleic acid rearrangement reactions, P elements and their cellular host, HIV, proteomic diversification, nucleoprotein complexes.
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Ellen Robey, Professor. Fate determination in the T-lymphocyte lineage, T cell development in the mouse, thymic development, cellular maturation, parasitic infection, chronic infection, host-pathogen interactions, Toxoplasma gondii.
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Randy W Schekman, Professor. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, organelle assembly, intracellular protein transport, assembly of cellular organelles, Alzheimer's Disease.
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Kristin Scott, Professor. Nerve cell connectivity in developing nervous systems, taste perception in the fruit fly, taste neural circuits, sensory maps in the brain.
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Karsten Weis, Professor. Molecular biology, proteins, macromolecular transport, nucleus of eukaryotic cells, DNA transcription, mRNA translation, nuclear pore complex, the cytoplasm, cerevisiae and metazoan cells, transport of macromolecules, the cell cycle.
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David A. Weisblat, Professor. Developmental biology, glossiphoniid leech embryos, evolution of different animal taxa, microinjection of cell lineage tracers.
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Matthew D. Welch, Professor. Biology, cell motility, the role of the actin cytoskeleton in cell locomotion, shape change, actin filament assembly, bacterial and viral pathogens.
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Astar Winoto, PhD, Professor. Cancer, genomics, apoptosis, innate immunity and infectious diseases, cell cycle, signal transduction, immune tolerance.
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Qiang Zhou, PhD, Professor. Biochemistry of HIV gene expression, transcriptional elongation, Tat activation, stage of transcriptional elongation, HIV replication, anti-HIV therapy.
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Associate Professors

Gregory M. Barton, Associate Professor. Immunology, cell biology, infectious disease, innate immunity.
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Laurent Coscoy, Associate Professor. Immunology, viruses, viral infection, immune responses, immune evasion.
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Dan Feldman, PhD, Associate Professor. Neurobiology, learning, neurophysiology, sensory biology.
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Nicole King, Associate Professor. Genetics, developmental biology, biology, choanoflagellates, evolution of multicellular animals, comparative genomics, molecular phylogenetics, eukaryotes, cadherins, host-microbe interactions.
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Henk Roelink, PhD, Associate Professor. Stem cells, neural development, embryonic induction.
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Bill Sha, Associate Professor. B cell gene regulation, fate determination, gene regulatory pathways, antibody-secreting plasma cells, memory B cells, apoptotic cells, B7 costimulatory ligands.
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Russell E. Vance, Associate Professor. Immunology, microbiology, infectious disease, molecular and cell biology.
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Assistant Professors

Hillel Adesnik, Assistant Professor.

Helen Bateup, Assistant Professor.

Diana Bautista, PhD, Assistant Professor. Ion channels, sensory physiology, chemosensation, touch, thermosensation, somatosensory system.
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Gloria A Brar, PhD, Assistant Professor.

Rachel B Brem, Assistant Professor. Genetics of regulatory variation.
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Lin He, Assistant Professor.

Dirk Hockemeyer, Assistant Professor.

Nicholas Ingolia, PhD, Assistant Professor.

Bryan A. Krantz, PhD, Assistant Professor. Protein folding, spectroscopy, electrophysiology, biophysical studies of transmembrane protein translocation, microbial toxins.
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Polina V Lishko, PhD, Assistant Professor.

Craig T. Miller, PhD, Assistant Professor. Genetics, developmental biology, evolutionary biology, evolution, quantitative genetics, developmental genetics, evolutionary genetics, craniofacial development.
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Kaoru Saijo, Assistant Professor.

David Savage, PhD, Assistant Professor. Synthetic biology and metabolism.
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Elcin Unal, Assistant Professor.

Roberto Zoncu, PhD, Assistant Professor.

Adjunct Faculty

Gary H. Karpen, Adjunct Faculty. Gene expression, cell biology, chromosome structure and function, drosophila melanogaster, centromere identity and function.
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Robert T. Tjian, Adjunct Faculty. Eukaryotic molecular biology; biochemistry, cellular differentiation, chromatin function, RNA synthesis.
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Lecturers

P. Robert Beatty, Lecturer.

Helen Lew, PhD, Lecturer.

David E. Presti, Lecturer.

Gary Joseph Wedemayer, Lecturer.

Professors

Gregory W. Aponte, Professor. Health and nutrition, nutritional science, neuropeptides, regulation of intestinal epithelial cell differentiation, proliferation, G-protein coupled receptors.
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Marc Hellerstein, Professor. Plant biology, health and nutrition.
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Joseph L Napoli, PhD, Professor. Cancer, metabolism, nervous system, nutritional biochemistry, fat-soluble vitamins, retinoids, retinoic acid, retinol, vitamin A.
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Barry Shane, Professor. Plant biology, health and nutrition, nutritional sciences and toxicology.
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Hei Sook Sul, Professor. Plant biology, health and nutrition, nutritional sciences & toxicology.
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Christopher D. Vulpe, Professor. Genetics, genomics, ecotoxicology, gene expression, water quality, copper, iron, toxicology, susceptibility, environmental, ecotoxicogenomics.
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Associate Professors

Andreas Stahl, PhD, Associate Professor.

Jen-Chywan (Wally) Wang, PhD, Associate Professor. Molecular physiology, molecular pharmacology, mechanisms of glucocorticoid receptor-regulated metabolism.
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Assistant Professors

Danica Chen, PhD, Assistant Professor. Aging, stem cell, diseases of aging.
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Daniel K Nomura, PhD, Assistant Professor.

James A. Olzmann, PhD, Assistant Professor.

Adjunct Faculty

Dale E. Johnson, Adjunct Faculty.

Ronald M Krauss, MD, Adjunct Faculty.

Dale Leitman, Adjunct Faculty.

Robert O. Ryan, PhD, Adjunct Faculty.