Physiological Sciences

PS GIDP Students

Physiological Sciences

Established by the Arizona Board of Regents: M.S., Ph.D. 1989

The Physiological Sciences Program offers graduate training culminating in the M.S. degree and the Ph.D. degree.

Completion of the Ph.D. program prepares the individual for a research and teaching career in academia, e.g., medical school, university or undergraduate college, as well as in industry. The program of study is flexible and is built around a first-year course sequence in molecular, cellular and systems physiology. Students may also complete the Ph.D. as part of the M.D./Ph.D. program through the College of Medicine.

Completion of the M.S. program prepares the individual for a career in industry, teaching in K-12 or community colleges, and further graduate studies or medical school. The program of study is flexible and is built around a first-year course sequence in molecular, cellular and systems physiology.

Program Contacts

Ben Renquist, Ph.D.
Chair
Maya Rivera
Program Coordinator
 

Program Address

Physiological Sciences GIDP
The University of Arizona
1548 E. Drachman Street
GIDP North
P. O. Box 210476
Tucson, AZ 85719
 
Phone:  (520) 626-2898

Gene Alexander
Psychology

E. Fiona Bailey
Physiology

Christopher Banek
Department of Physiology

Shaowen Bao
Physiology

Carol Barnes
Pyschology

Scott Boitano, Executive Committee
Arizona Respiratory Center

Haijiang Cai
Neuroscience

Yin Chen
Pharmacology and Toxicology

Andreia Zago Chignalia
Anesthesiology

Floyd (Ski) H. Chilton
Nutritional Sciences

Jared Churko
Cellular & Molecular Medicine

Zoe Cohen
Physiology

Dawn Coletta
Medicine

Brett Colson
Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Stephen Cowen
Psychology

Zelieann R. Craig
Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Zhiyu Dai
Internal Medicine

Thomas P. Davis
Pharmacology

Nicholas Delamere
Physiology

Frank Duca, Executive Committee
Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Erika Eggers
Physiology

Torsten Falk
Neurology

Jean-Marc Fellous
Psychology

Ralph F. Fregosi
Physiology

Andrew J. Fuglevand, Executive Committee
Physiology

Janet Funk
Medicine

Fayez Ghishan
Pediatrics

Ravi Goyal
Animal & Biomedical Sciences-Res

Katalin Gothard
Physiology

Michael Grandner
Psychiatry

Hendrikus Granzier
Cellular & Molecular Medicine

Samantha Harris
Cellular & Molecular Medicine

Meredith Hay
Physiology

Emmanuel Katsanis
Pediatrics

Pawel R. Kiela
Pediatrics

John Konhilas
Physiology

Paul Langlais
Medicine

Tally Largent-Milnes
Pharmacology

Hilary Lease
Department of Physiology

Julie Ledford
Medicine

Kirsten H. Limesand
Nutritional Sciences

Sean Limesand
Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Ronald Lynch
Physiology

Lalitha Madhavan
Neurology

Juanita Merchant
Medicine

Klearchos Papas
Surgery

Paulo Pires
Physiology

Lucinda Rankin
Physiology

Benjamin Renquist, Chair
Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

Patrick T. Ronaldson
Pharmacology

Rick Schnellmann
Pharmacology and Toxicology

Timothy W. Secomb
Physiology

Scott J. Sherman
Neurology

Richard Simpson
Nutritional Sciences

Ann Christine Skulas-Ray
Nutritional Sciences

Ashley Snider, Executive Committee
Nutritional Sciences

Jennifer Stern
Medicine

Nicholas Strausfeld
Neuroscience

Jil Tardiff
Medicine

Jennifer Teske
Nutritional Sciences

Todd W. Vanderah
Pharmacology

Lila Wollman
Physiology

Hua Xu
Pediatrics

Ningning Zhao
Nutritional Sciences

Konrad Zinsmaier
Neuroscience

Physiological Sciences Program Bylaws

The Physiological Sciences Graduate Interdisciplinary Program (GIDP) is composed of research and graduate educational activities in a broad range of Physiological areas.  The program involves faculty members from the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Agriculture & Life Sciences, Engineering and Science. The Executive Committee (appointed by and responsible to the Chair of Graduate Interdisciplinary Program) serves as the executive, policy and administrative agency for the Program.  The structure and organization of the Physiological Sciences GIDP shall conform to the Guidelines for Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs established by the Director of Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs.

It is the responsibility of the Physiological Sciences Program to provide a graduate educational program in the various areas of physiology, to publicize the program, and to maintain graduate participants of the highest quality.  It is also the responsibility of the program to maintain vigorous, productive research activities, to maintain an interacting community of physiological scientists by providing seminars and promoting campus-wide interdisciplinary activities, and to identify promising areas of physiological research and the faculty expertise and facilities needed to explore these areas.

Creative planning and leadership are essential to maintain and foster excellence in physiological research.  These and related functions are served by the Physiological Sciences GIDP and its Executive Committee.  In the following sections the By-laws that govern policies and operating procedures are outlined.

 

Article I.  Chairperson of the Executive Committee and of the Physiological Sciences Graduate Interdisciplinary Program.

Activities of the Physiological Sciences Program are administered by the Executive Committee whose Chairperson shall also serve as Chair of the Physiological Sciences GIDP.

A.         Chair of the Physiological Sciences GIDP

The Chair of the PSGIDP will be appointed to a five-year term by Faculty Director of Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs from a nominee submitted by the Executive Committee.  It is the policy of the Physiological Sciences GIDP that the Chairperson may serve no more than one consecutive term.   If the nominee is currently a member of the Executive Committee, the allowable tenure as a member of this committee (ordinarily three years; see below) will be extended to a maximum of eight years.

The Chair nominee will be selected by the Executive Committee in a closed session, with advisory votes to be provided to the Executive Committee by the program faculty and the students before the decision process.   In cases where there is a potential conflict of interest on the part of an Executive Committee member, including being the spouse of a candidate or a graduate student in the laboratory of a candidate, that member will be excused from the decision process.  Any member of the Executive Committee who is excused from participating in the selection due to potential conflicts of interest will be replaced by another representative. The replacement is temporary and sustained only for the immediate process of discussion and selection of the next Chair nominee.  The absent member will be replaced by another member of the Physiological Sciences Program, according to the following hierarchical order. If the person qualified to be appointed as a substitute has a conflict of interest, or is currently appointed to the Executive Committee, then the replacement will be determined by the next option in the series.

 

For faculty substitutes:

a). The former Chair of the same Committee in the Physiological Sciences program.

b). The senior faculty member of the same current Committee, with seniority determined from combined years of service in that position and on other Committees of the Physiological Sciences program.

 

For student representative substitutes:

a). The former student representative to the Executive Committee.

b). The senior student representative from all the current Committees, with seniority determined from combined years of service in that position and on other Committees of the Physiological Sciences program.

 

The duties of the Chair of the Program are: a) call and preside at meetings of the Executive Committee as needed but not less than once a year; b) call and preside at meetings of the Physiological Sciences GIDP at least once per year or as needed; c) appoint and supervise the Standing Committees on Recruiting and Admissions, Program, Teaching, and Activities as detailed in Article II; d) administer the budget of the Physiological Sciences GIDP; e) manage administrative matters (such as qualifying and thesis committees) with the Graduate College f) direct course change and approval forms g) serve on GIDPAC or appoint replacement PSGIDP faculty representative from the Executive Committee.

B.         Executive Committee

The Executive Committee will consist of six faculty members representing the major areas of Physiological Sciences and one graduate student.  Four of the faculty members will represent the standing committees (ordinarily the Chair of the standing committee; see below) and a fifth will serve as the "member at large".  Faculty members of the Executive Committee will be appointed only from the members of the Physiological Sciences GIDP. Each Executive Committee member will serve three to five year terms. New members of the Executive Committee will be appointed each year by the Chair of the Program from nominations submitted by the Executive Committee. The graduate student member will be elected annually by the students (from those students in good academic standing in the Program).

The Executive Committee is responsible for administering the Physiological Sciences GIDP, including admission of graduate students, evaluation of continuing graduate students, publicizing the Physiological Sciences program intra- and extramurally, planning the development of the Physiological Sciences Program, formulating the annual budget of the Physiological Sciences GIDP, securing and allocating necessary funding, and advising the Dean of the Graduate College and Provost on issues pertinent to Physiological Sciences.

Article II.  Standing Committees

A.        The Recruiting and Admissions Committee shall be appointed annually by the Physiological Sciences GIDP Executive Committee and shall consist of at least three faculty members. The appointed Chair of the Recruiting and Admissions Committee will also be a member of the Executive Committee.   At least two graduate students from the Physiological Sciences GIDP will serve as student representatives The graduate student representatives will be students in good academic standing and be elected annually by the students in the Physiological Sciences GIDP. The Recruiting and Admissions Committee shall be responsible for publicizing the program, developing an active minority recruitment plan, and evaluating applicants for admission to the Physiological Sciences GIDP. Per Section C of the University of Arizona Policies for Graduate Program Admissions Committees, Graduate Students may be involved in the recruitment process, so long as they are not given access to the prospective student’s application packet or record.  The Recruiting and Admissions Committee will submit recommendations for admission to the Chair of the Physiological Sciences GIDP. The Chair of the Physiological Sciences GIDP in consultation with the Executive Committee will evaluate recommendations based on financial feasibility, availability of Teaching Assistantships, and overall suitability for the Physiological Sciences GIDP. The Chair of the Physiological Sciences GIDP will submit recommendations to the Graduate College for final approval.

B.         The Program Committee shall be appointed annually by the Executive Committee on Physiological Sciences and shall consist of at least three faculty members and one graduate student who represent the various disciplines within the group.  The graduate student member will be elected annually by the students in good academic standing in the Program.  At least one member of the Program Committee shall be from the Executive Committee.  The Program Committee shall be responsible for curriculum and course development, maintaining the Student Handbook, suggesting potential advisors to students, evaluation of graduate student progress including an annual evaluation of the yearly progress reports from the students and their mentors, mediation of the concerns and grievances of the graduate student.  The Program Committee shall prepare a report on graduate student progress and submit the report by June 1 of each year to the Executive Committee.

C.         The Activities Committee shall be appointed annually by the Executive Committee on Physiological Sciences and shall consist of at least three faculty members, two trainees who represent the various disciplines within the group.  The trainee members will be elected annually by the students in good academic standing in the Program.  At least one member of the Activities Committee shall be from the Executive Committee.  The Activities Committee shall be responsible for organizing educational and social events that promote interactions among the members of the Physiological Sciences Program.  These activities shall include at least one picnic at the beginning of each academic year, supervision of Student Forum, at least one annual poster session, and an Activities listserv.

D.        The Teaching Committee shall be appointed annually by the Executive Committee on Physiological Sciences and shall consist of at least two faculty members and one graduate student, who represent the various disciplines within Physiological Sciences GIDP.  The graduate student member will be elected annually by the students and must be in good academic standing in the Program.  At least one member of the Teaching Committee shall be from the Executive Committee, and the Chair of the Teaching Committee will be a faculty member in the Department of Physiology.  The Teaching Committee will be responsible for working with the Department of Physiology to assign teaching responsibilities to all graduate students, taking into account preferences of course coordinators and students.  Assignments shall be distributed among students in as equitable manner as possible, individual teaching loads being averaged over the year. The Teaching Committee shall also be responsible for ensuring that all students receive an evaluation of their teaching abilities both from the students that they teach and from a faculty member

 Article III.  Membership in the Physiological Sciences GIDP

The Physiological Sciences GIDP consists of tenured (or tenure-eligible) faculty members at the University of Arizona who participate in graduate education and research in Physiological Sciences.  An affiliate membership is available to non-tenure-eligible faculty.

A.        Regular Membership  

Criteria

           a. Faculty (tenure-eligible only) shall be nominated for membership in the Physiological Sciences GIDP by submitting a request for membership and a recent curriculum vitae to the Executive Committee.  A two-thirds majority of positive votes of the Executive Committee shall be required for nomination to membership to the Director of Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs, who shall confer membership.  Criteria for membership shall include demonstrated research activity, interest in graduate education, and resources for graduate training.

           b. A member of the Physiological Sciences GIDP shall be dropped from membership for failure to participate in the activities of the Program. Participation includes service as a thesis/dissertation director for graduate students in Physiological Sciences, service on a committee of the Physiological Sciences GIDP, teaching a graduate course in Physiological Sciences, giving a seminar in the Physiological Sciences seminar, continued scholarly and research productivity in Physiological Sciences.  Membership shall be subject to periodic review and failure to satisfy those criteria as decided by a two-thirds majority of the Executive Committee shall result in loss of membership.

Responsibilities

  1. Members of the Physiological Sciences GIDP may serve as academic and research advisors of graduate students in the program and as members of graduate and other committees.
  2. Members of the Physiological Sciences GIDP shall meet annually or as needed.  Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.
  3. Each member of the Physiological Sciences GIDP shall have one vote on matters brought to the Program by the Executive Committee, a quorum shall constitute one-third of membership.  Failing a quorum, electronic voting shall be required and one-third response shall be a quorum.
  4. Members shall be listed as Faculty of the Physiological Sciences GIDP in the Graduate Catalog.

B.         Affiliate Membership

  1. Non-tenure-eligible faculty who otherwise meet the criteria for membership (Art. III, 1.a.), may apply for affiliate membership in the Physiological Sciences GIDP by submitting a request for membership and a recent curriculum vitae to the Executive Committee, a two-thirds majority of positive votes of the Executive Committee shall be required for election to affiliate membership.
  2. Affiliate members shall have all the privileges and responsibilities of regular members (Art. III, 1.b.) except that they can only serve as co-directors of graduate dissertation committees in conjunction with a regular member.

Article IV.  Amendments

The By-laws shall be amended or revised by movement of the Executive Committee and a two-thirds positive vote of the Physiological Sciences GIDP.

 

(Rev. 12/2021)

(Rev. 7/2019)

(Rev. 6/2011)

(Rev. 1/2004)

(Rev 10/1998)