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
Program Address
Gene Alexander
Psychology
E. Fiona Bailey
Physiology
Christopher Banek
Department of Physiology
Shaowen Bao
Physiology
Carol Barnes
Pyschology
Scott Boitano, Executive Committee, (2022-2025)
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
Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Erika Eggers
Physiology
Torsten Falk
Neurology
Jean-Marc Fellous
Psychology
Ralph F. Fregosi
Physiology
Andrew J. Fuglevand, Executive Committee, (2023-2026)
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 & 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, (2023-2026)
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
- 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.
- Members of the Physiological Sciences GIDP shall meet annually or as needed. Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.
- 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.
- Members shall be listed as Faculty of the Physiological Sciences GIDP in the Graduate Catalog.
B. Affiliate Membership
- 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.
- 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)