VP&S Enacts New Vision for PhD Student Education

Spurred by a $175 million gift in 2023 from Roy’54 and Diana Vagelos, the Vagelos Institute’s Biomedical Research Education (VIBRE) PhD Programs are creating a new academic model to give PhD students greater freedom and to support the intellectual risk-taking needed to make historic advances in health science research.

The VIBRE PhD Programs will launch in the fall of 2026, unifying previous doctoral programs at VP&S. VIBRE spans three programs— Biomedical Life Sciences, Biomedical Informatics, and Neurobiology and Behavior. The new Biomedical Life Sciences program includes the following tracks: Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology; Cancer Biology; Cell and Molecular Biology; Computational Biology; Disease and Therapeutics; Genetics; Immunobiology and Microbial Sciences; Metabolism and Nutrient Biology; Stem Cell Biology; and Systems Biology.

“Graduate programs in the life sciences have evolved over time by layering new initiatives on top of an existing structure. It is rare to have the opportunity to step back, view the system in its entirety, and thoughtfully reconsider how graduate education should be designed and structured for today,” says Hashim Al-Hashimi, PhD, associate dean for biomedical graduate education at VP&S, who spearheaded the implementation of changes envisioned by the graduate school task forces.

VIBRE brings together doctoral programs that were previously separate under a shared umbrella, creating a large, connected community of students and faculty. Each program and disciplinary track is guided by an interdepartmental training committee composed of faculty from across departments who oversee admissions, curriculum, and mentoring. The goal is to create a more personalized, student-driven experience that gives students both deep disciplinary expertise and broad cross-disciplinary exposure, empowering them to follow their curiosity and pursue transformative discoveries.