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Pathology is the study
of disease (abnormal biology), and stands at the interface between medicine
and biology. Classical pathology focuses mainly on the diagnosis
and the status of disease. Its resources are the microscopic examination
of cells and tissues, and the utilization of clinical laboratory methodologies,
such as chemical, molecular, immunological, and microbiological analyses
of body fluids or tissue biopsies. In contrast, contemporary experimental
pathology is concerned with the laboratory investigation of disease
mechanisms. Experimental pathologists apply methods of cellular and
molecular biology to study interactions of etiologic agents with cellular
macromolecules. They are also interested in how these interactions
lead to the expression of disease at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and
organismic levels. To the interested student, training in experimental
pathology provides the biological background and opportunity for development
of basic research in areas at the forefront of medicine. Our program
emphasizes the inquiry into human disease processes by using a multilevel
approach to research and state-of-the-art techniques. Graduates of this
training program should be able to fill positions within academia, industry,
and government that are concerned with human health, and the cause and
prevention of human illness.
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Mission Statement
The mission of the Graduate Program
in Molecular and Cellular Pathology is to provide opportunities for students
to (1) acquire knowledge and advance their understanding of the origins
and pathogenesis of human disease, and the consequences of pathology on
human physiology, (2) develop basic methodological skills, state-of-the-art
investigative techniques, and advanced experimental approaches to enable
them to elucidate mechanisms of disease, (3) harness their laboratory skills
in experimental pathology to generate new scientific knowledge related
to mechanisms of disease and human pathology, (4) gain experience in the
practical aspects of scientific writing as it relates to dissemination
of scientific knowledge and generation of scientific proposals, and (5)
prepare for future careers in science, including but not limited to basic
scientific research, translational research, industrial research and development,
biotechnology, governmental research and regulation, and teaching of undergraduate,
graduate, medical, or allied health students.
These objectives fit well with the
overall mission statement
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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