We are excited and proud to have you consider joining our community of scholars. Graduate school is transformative. Here, you will develop from a consumer of scientific information into a creator and disseminator of new knowledge that will shape your field. Through research apprenticeship, complemented by course work and other ‘value added’ components, you will acquire the skills of a lifelong learner and leader. We have high expectations for you, and we assume you have high expectations of us. The Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) will provide you with the resources, support, and community to guide you through this intense period of professional growth. 

Becoming a successful scientist in the post-genome era requires multidisciplinary training and mastery of integrated sciences. Modern scientists are increasingly developing expertise in multiple specialties. These include specialties that lead to fundamental changes in basic concepts and that foster the translation of basic concepts to clinical applications. As DBBS comprises several programmatic areas of study, it is ideally positioned to promote scientific training and discovery at the interfaces of disciplines, where the most important scientific breakthroughs occur. For more than 40 years, DBBS PhD programs have operated at those frontiers. We are proud that our graduates translate skills forged in graduate training into leadership positions in academia, industry, writing, law, and other diverse careers. 

As a product of DBBS training myself, I know that your instructors, program directors, research mentors, DBBS staff​, and I are all committed to your success. We value open communication, establishment of clear expectations, and hard work. Here you will meet peer and senior colleagues that will support your difficult work of unlocking nature’s secrets. They will also join you in celebrating successes and grieving failures. Please explore our programs of study and reach out to me or any of our outstanding prospective mentors with questions about training at Washington University in St. Louis. Our decades of commitment to a collegial, interdisciplinary training environment foster one of the most comprehensive and effective PhD programs available.

Steve Mennerick, Ph.D.
Interim Associate Dean of Graduate Education
Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Feighner Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology
Vice Chair for Research, Psychiatry
Scientific Director, Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research​