MASTERS DEGREE PROGRAM IN CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE

Graduation Requirements:

• Satisfactory completion of all graduate courses.
• Students who have completed graduate-level course work (at a B level or higher) at an accredited institution other than UNM may apply for the credit(s) to be transferred.
• Students must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher.
• Student must complete the Master’s Apprenticeship Requirement in an approved laboratory.
• All work toward a Master degree including transferred coursework must be completed within a seven-year period.
• Students must inform their graduate unit and the Office of Graduate Studies in writing of their intention to graduate at the end of a particular semester by submitting a “Notification of Intent to Graduate” form.
• Unanimous recommendation for graduation by the full-time faculty of the Medical Lab Sciences Graduate Program, the Department of Pathology and the School of Medicine.

Biomed 448: Biomedical Methods (3 credits): Biochemical techniques including chromatographic and electrophoretic purification of enzymes, determination of enzyme parameter, fractionation of subcellular organelles, isolation of chromatin, biosynthesis of protein, analysis of DNA

Biomed 511: Intensive Introductory Biochemistry I (4 credits): An introduction into physical and chemical properties of proteins and enzymes, enzymatic catalysis, structure, synthesis and processing of nucleic acids and proteins; structure and control of genetic material

Biomed 507: Advanced Molecular Biology (3 credits): The course covers the structures and functions of nucleic acids and proteins, mechanisms and macromolecular synthesis and principles of enzymology

Biomed 508: Advanced Cell Biology (4 credits): Course covers advanced topics in cell biology, including microscopy, the nucleus, protein and membrane trafficking, cytoskeleton signal transduction, cell cycle and division and extracellular matrix.
Biomed 555: Problem based Research Bioethics (1 credits): This is a problem-based discussion course on topics in bioethics such as publication credits and authorships; conflict of interest and fraud, scientific misconduct, human genomics and other relevant issues

Stats 538: Biostatistical Methods 1 for Public Health and Medical Sciences (3 credits): Covers basic statistical methods, including statistical summaries and inference. Methods of summarizing data include graphical displays and numerical summaries. Statistical inference includes hypothesis testing and confidence intervals. Methods for continuous and categorical data are studied

MEDL 500: Pathology Course (2 credits) Selected Topics in Laboratory Medicine course: A new course over a 9 week period. Faculty lecturers will be drawn principally from the Pathology Dept, based upon expertise in running a clinical or research lab. Several case studies will be developed to provide problem-based exposure to lab management issues.
Proposed topics (2 hours or one case/week):
1. Personnel management
2. Managing the business/financial side of research lab (ordering, grants accounting)
3. Laboratory support of investigator grant applications
    a. Budget Preparation
    b. Importance of Preliminary Data and human/animal approvals
    c. Introduction to major funding agencies, grant formats, timelines
    d. Expectations when the grant is funded
4. Data gathering and data management in the research lab
5. Principles of scientific writing.
6. Special problems related to human research.
    a. Preparing an application to the IRB
    b. Human Resources, HIPPA regulations
    c. Introduction to Clinical Trials process
7. Process of introducing a new test into a clinical lab
    a. Business plan preparation
    b. Criteria for test development (market, clinical benefit, cost, etc).
8. Special problems in the research lab.
    a. Teamwork. Collaborations in and out of lab maximize strengths.
    b. Learning new techniques, assay development
    c. Importance of reading the primary literature and staying current in your scientific knowledge base.
    d. Effective oral presentations
9. Regulatory Compliance:
    a. Federal regulations review and compliance issues:
    b. State, local and Industry regulations

MEDL 550: Selected Topics: Laboratory Management Seminar (2): An advanced graduate-level course in which current information important in clinical techniques and administration of a clinical laboratory will be discussed. The course is a problem-based learning model given by multiple instructors/lab technologists, Pathology Research and Clinical Faculty.

MEDL 600: Clinical Rotations (9 credits): Clinical and research rotations in laboratories, including viral, molecular, research. Student will visit laboratories and identify a laboratory mentor during the first semester (1 credit). Student may affiliate with either a clinical or basic research laboratory.
 
1. Spring: Laboratory apprenticeship begins and continues through year 2 for a total of 4 semesters (Spring, Summer, Fall, Spring).
2. At matriculation, student must present documentation of a skills list, with a 1 page written evaluation by the laboratory director. (Individual skills lists will vary based upon the particular laboratory)
3. Apprenticeship is intended for the student to: a) become familiar with operation of a research/clinical lab; b) learn specific laboratory techniques; c) apply new skills to specific problems and design/troubleshooting protocols; d) provide a framework for the student’s career objectives in either a clinical or research laboratory setting.
4. Students should document at least one oral presentation during their laboratory research experience, related to that experience. The oral format may be in the context of a laboratory group meeting, a poster or oral presentation at a scientific meeting, a faculty committee convened formally for the presentation, or another appropriate forum designated by the laboratory mentor.

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UNM Office of Graduate Studies