degrees include: m.d./ph.d. (called the medical scientist training program (mstp), this is one of fewer than 50 m.d./ph.d. granting programs nationwide that receive financial support from the national institutes of health. it combines dissertation work in an area of biomedical science, leading to the ph.d., along with clinical studies, leading to the m.d.) m.d./m.b.a. (this five-year program in conjunction with ut dallas focuses on giving future physicians the skills for integrating medicine and business) m.d./m.p.h. (ut southwestern and uthealth school of public health in houston offer students a university degree in each field at the end of their four-year m.d. program) m.d./m.s. (in clinical science. this program combines didactic training with a mentored clinical research project. the program concludes with submission and defense of a master's thesis) graduate school of biomedical sciences the mcdermott administrative building has been a campus icon for many years with an enrollment of more than 1,000 students (549 predoctoral and 484 postdoctoral), the graduate school educates biomedical scientists, engineers, clinical researchers, and counselors. programs lead to doctor of philosophy (ph.d.) and master of science (m.s.) degrees and, in some cases, non-degree certificates. the graduate school has 12 ph.d. programs: biological chemistry; biomedical engineering; cancer biology; cell and molecular biology; clinical psychology; genetics, development, and disease; immunology; integrative biology; molecular biophysics; molecular microbiology; neuroscience; and organic chemistry. in addition, a master's degree and a certificate are offered in clinical science. postdoctoral certificates are offered in research, advanced research, cancer, educational techniques, obesity and metabolism, and scientific management. m.d./ph.d. program ut southwestern runs a medical scientist training program (mstp) offering a combined m.d./ph.d. degree. it is one of only 54 m.d./ph.d. granting programs nationwide that receive financial support from the national institutes of health. the largest source of private support for utsw's program has been from h. ross perot. the clinical training curriculum includes coursework in the disciplines necessary to understand human disease at the level of cellular physiology and biochemistry. in addition, students practice clinical skills at ut southwestern's affiliated clinical training hospitals, including parkland memorial hospital and william p. clements jr. university hospital. following summer laboratory rotations, students choose one of 10 interdepartmental graduate programs and select a dissertation mentor from the ut southwestern graduate school faculty for training in intellectual and experimental strategies. during these years, the mstp student functions as a graduate student in his or her laboratory while maintaining an awareness of clinical medicine through program activities. dissertation research culminates in results that significantly advance the state of biomedical knowledge. school of health professions utsw north campus ut southwestern medical center main campus looking north utsw research entrance of the utsw north campus about 340 students are enrolled in ut southwestern's school of health professions. the school confers a doctoral professional degree in physical therapy and master's degrees in clinical nutrition, physician assistant studies, prosthetics-orthotics, and rehabilitation counseling. the school also has a baccalaureate certificate program in radiation therapy. the physician assistant program was founded in 1972. for the past five years, graduates have had a 100% first-time pass rate on the national certifying exam. much of the training occurs at parkland hospital. peter o'donnell jr. school of public health the peter o'donnell jr. school of public health is ut southwestern's newest school. the school was established in 2022. rankings utsw rankings worldwide typeyearrankinglink academic ranking of world universities (arwu): - overall (global) 202148 - biological sciences (global) 202113 - clinical medicine (global) 202126 - human biological sciences (global) 20218 - pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences (global) 202133 - medical technology (global) 202126 u.s. news & world report (usnwr): - medicine: primary care (national) 202316 - medicine: research (national) 202325 - physician assistant (national) 20197 - biology & biochemistry (global) 202240 - molecular biology & genetics (global) 202221 - cardiac and cardiovascular systems (global) 202217 - cell biology (global) 202221 - endocrinology and metabolism (global) 20228 nature index: - top academic institutions in the life sciences (global) 202118 - top healthcare institutions (global) 20211 - top healthcare institutions in the life sciences (global) 20211 - top institutions in the life sciences (global) 202123 - top healthcare institutions in chemistry (global) 20212 - top healthcare institutions in nature and science (global) 20212 - top institutions in nature and science (global) 202133 - top institutions in cancer research (global) 202013 - top academic institutions in cancer research (global) 202010 - top healthcare institutions in cancer research (global) 20204 center for world university rankings: - overall (global) 202162 - urology and nephrology (global) 20185 qs world university rankings: - anatomy & physiology (global) 202139 - medicine (global) 202185 - life sciences and medicine (global) 202162 - biological sciences (global) 202163 cwts leiden ranking: - biomedical and health sciences (global) 202186 leadership programs ut southwestern medical center is one of seven health systems in the united states being recognized for its leadership development initiatives to internal employees. library the health sciences digital library and learning center supports the information needs of ut southwestern's research, educational, and clinical activities. the library and learning center maintains a large collection of electronic information resources, print archives, rare books, and materials concerning the history of medicine. it also offers assistance and training in using these resources. the library also has a small branch on the north campus. research ut southwestern medical center main campus looking north courtyard adjacent to student dining area south campus ut southwestern wildenthal research building ut southwestern ut southwestern campus ut southwestern had a total research expenditure of $634.9 million in 2022. ut southwestern scientists and physician researchers conduct investigations into cancer, stem cells, neuroscience, heart disease and stroke, arthritis, diabetes, and many other fields. at the peter o’donnell jr. brain institute on campus, investigators research the basic molecular workings of the brain, and their application to the prevention and treatment of brain diseases and injuries. the institute covers neurodegenerative diseases; depression and psychiatric disorders; migraines; and spine, nerve, and muscle diseases. also at the institute are voice specialists, rehabilitation experts, and neuroimmunologists, plus basic and translational scientists in cellular and molecular neuroscience, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, neuro-engineering, imaging, and genetics. researchers at utsw's harold c. simmons comprehensive cancer center, the only cancer center in north texas with the national cancer institute's "comprehensive" designation, are focusing on discovering drug-like chemicals that drive or inhibit cancer growth, and deciphering mechanisms in cell regulatory networks that go awry and contribute to cancer initiation and growth. researchers in developmental biology, cancer biology, and stem cell biology work on how developmental processes contribute to cancer's progress. in 2011, the children's medical center research institute at ut southwestern (cri) was established as a joint venture between children's health system of texas and utsw. located on the utsw campus, cri is home to an interdisciplinary group of scientists and physicians pursuing research in regenerative medicine, cancer biology and metabolism. ut southwestern established the hamon center for regenerative science and medicine in 2014 for research on fundamental mechanisms of tissue formation and repair, and to develop transformative strategies and medications for tissue regeneration. research at utsw's texas institute for brain injury and repair focuses on brain injuries and conditions, including traumatic brain injury (tbi), stroke, and alzheimer's disease. the institute also promotes brain injury education and prevention. other research currently underway at ut southwestern includes studies on: aging and alzheimer's (steven mcknight and colleagues identified a compound (p7c3) and demonstrated that it preserves newly created brain cells and boosts learning and memory. the study has led to further investigations into the mechanism by which p7c3 protects cells from dying and whether the compound might have any protective effect for various neurodegenerative diseases). cancer/biomarkers (john minna and adi gazdar have spent the past 30 years elucidating the genetic changes associated with the development of lung cancer. their work seeks to discover these changes and use them as biomarkers both to detect lung cancer earlier and to develop new therapies. their approach is advancing personalized medicine, which aims to target the unique characteristics of an individual's tumor with the best current therapies). cancer/stem cells (a team led by sean j. morrison at cri has identified the environment in which blood-forming stem cells survive and thrive within the body, an important step toward increasing the safety and effectiveness of bone marrow transplantation). cardiology/regeneration (researchers, including eric olson and hesham sadek, have pinpointed a molecular mechanism needed to unleash the heart's ability to regenerate. they found that micrornas, tiny strands that regulate gene expression, contribute to the heart's ability to regenerate up to one week after birth. soon thereafter the heart loses the ability to regenerate. identifying the heart's natural regenerative on-off switch is a critical step toward developing eventual therapies for damage suffered following a heart attack. olson's lab has also used crispr/cas9 methods to cure duchenne muscular dystrophy in mice as a proof of principle for human gene therapy). cholesterol (ut southwestern researchers have identified nearly 30 disease-causing genes, including in 1983 the gene responsible for familial hypercholesterolemia, an inherited condition that causes extremely high levels of cholesterol and heart attacks at an early age. that discovery by michael brown and joseph goldstein contributed to the pair winning the 1985 nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their research uncovering the underlying mechanisms of cholesterol metabolism). diabetes/obesity (philipp scherer's discovery of adiponectin, a hormone produced by fat, has helped transform the scientific concept of fat as an inert storage depot to that of an endocrine “organ” that exerts control over multiple organs. his studies have revealed adiponectin's potent anti-diabetes effects of blocking glucose production in the liver and improving insulin sensitivity in muscle. because adiponectin levels fall as fat levels rise, drugs that increase adiponectin may be effective in fighting diabetes and other obesity-related diseases). human genetics (helen hobbs and jonathan cohen are among the world's leading experts on the genetic factors associated with lipid disorders. their work, for which hobbs received the 2016 breakthrough prize in life sciences, has led to the development of a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs, pcsk9 antibodies, for patients who do not tolerate or respond adequately to statins). innate immunity (scientists led by zhijian “james” chen are exploring the mechanisms of signal transduction, namely how a cell communicates with its surroundings and within itself. they are focused on investigating how a cell detects harmful or foreign threats and mounts an appropriate response to restore homeostasis. chen was elected to the national academy of sciences, for work including the cytoplasmic dna sensor cgas and its product cgamp, a novel cyclic dinucleotide second messenger involved in innate immune response. bruce beutler received the 2011 nobel prize in physiology or medicine for his discovery that the toll-like receptor 4 (tlr4) is the membrane-spanning component of the mammalian lipopolysaccharide receptor complex that senses microbial infection and triggers septic shock. beutler continues to identify components of the mammalian immune system through large-scale mouse mutagenesis screens conducted in the center for the genetics of host defense, which he leads). notable people nobel laureates outpatient building, west campus, ut southwestern william p. clements jr. university hospital seven ut southwestern alumni or faculty members have been awarded nobel prizes, more than any medical school in the united states. twenty four members of the national academy of sciences, eighteen members of the national academy of medicine, and fourteen howard hughes medical institute investigators. michael stuart brown and joseph l. goldstein, in 1985, shared the nobel prize in physiology or medicine for their discovery of the basic mechanism of cholesterol metabolism. goldstein is chairman of molecular genetics at ut southwestern, and brown directs the erik jonsson center for research in molecular genetics and human disease johann deisenhofer, professor of biochemistry and a howard hughes medical institute investigator at ut southwestern, shared the 1988 nobel prize in chemistry for using x-ray crystallography to describe the structure of a protein involved in photosynthesis alfred g. gilman shared the 1994 nobel prize in physiology or medicine for the discovery of g proteins and the role they play in the complex processes by which cells communicate with each other. gilman, a regental professor emeritus who died in december 2015, was dean of ut southwestern medical school bruce beutler, director of the center for the genetics of host defense, shared the 2011 nobel prize in physiology or medicine with two other scientists for their