Our Mission
To train the next generation of basic and clinical scientists in innovative, significant and state-of-the-art molecular, cellular and translational investigation to advance disease prevention and treatment and to promote human health.
The Molecular Medicine and Translational SciencePhD graduate training program was one of the first established molecular medicine programs in the nation and is part of the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Track of Wake Forest University Graduate School. This track provides a first year of comprehensive training to pre-doctoral students that emphasizes:
- Analytical approaches to molecular and cellular synthesis, structure and function
- Genetics and gene regulation
- Cell communications
- Organ systems
- Pathophysiology
Students in the Molecular Medicine and Translational Science (MMTS) PhD program will then receive additional training in translational research with significant clinical exposure that will link knowledge from the laboratory to applications in clinical medicine. This training comes from both physicians and basic scientists in various scientific fields, such as:
| Regenerative medicine | Microbiology/Immunology |
| Biochemistry | Physiology |
| Genetics/genomics | Internal medicine |
| Cancer biology | Neuroscience |
Program Goals and Objectives
This unique and competitive program achieves the following specific goals which are accomplished through a combination of courses designed to provide a solid foundation in the basic sciences and in clinical molecular medicine.
- To offer a graduate education and training leading to a PhD degree that integrates biochemical and molecular biological approaches to understanding, preventing and treating human disease
- To train biomedical scientists who can bridge basic and clinical settings
- To educate biomedical scientists who will act as researchers, teachers, mentors and leaders in human health research
- To facilitate and promote translational research at Wake Forest University
Photo: 2023 Wake Forest MMTS Graduate Students
Since its inception in 1998, the Molecular Medicine and Translational Science Graduate Program has graduated 114 scientists who have advanced to a variety of careers, including university research and teaching faculty appointments, employment in biotech industries, scientific writing/editing, and running their own companies.
MMTS PhD program review - Results for 2013-2022 cohort of MMTS PhD students - A cohort of students that received their PhD degree between 2013-2022 (n=54; 28% URM) took an average of 4.8 ± 1.2 (SD) years to obtain their PhD and published a total of 395 peer-reviewed publications with 158 first author publications (average publications and 1st author publications/student were 7.3 and 2.9, respectively; median 4 and 2, respectively).
