opportunity to earn two degrees within a five-year program.syracuse veterans affairs medical center, students and residents get their training in part with an affiliation with upstate. college of graduate studies the college of graduate studies awards the ph.d. and m.s. in a variety of biomedical research departments and is known for its basic science education and research. the graduate studies program began in 1947 when the college first offered master's and phd degrees in biochemistry. the college now has graduate programs for biochemistry & molecular biology, cell & developmental biology, microbiology & immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology and physiology. in addition, the college along with the college of medicine offers a joint md/phd. the college also offers fellowships to budding undergraduate students through its summer undergraduate research fellowship (surf) program, along with research training opportunities through its post-baccalaureate research and education program (prep-up).center for forensic sciencephd students are given a full year before making the crucial decision as to the topic and mentor for their thesis research. during the first year, candidates rotate through three labs, choosing from a variety of well funded labs in leading-edge research areas. to help select rotations, faculty members from each department program take an afternoon early in the semester to present the research carried on in the program. after successful completion of lab rotations and a first-year core curriculum taught by faculty from throughout the college, students select their dissertation mentor and transition into the appropriate degree-granting program. ph.d. students receive a competitive 12-month stipend of $27,121 and a full-tuition scholarship. by receiving stipends, ph.d. students become part of the suny graduate student employees union, which provides periodic and automatic increases in stipend awards in addition to other benefits, including a low-cost health care package. college of nursing to meet the shortage of nurses, the state university of new york upstate medical university initiated an associate degree program in 1959. more than 500 registered nurses were graduated from the program between 1959 and 1976. in 1974, as a response to the need for primary care nurses, a nurse practitioner certificate program was implemented. this program was supported primarily by federal grant monies. student activities center as enrollment grew, the college of nursing was initially established in 1986, with dr. m. janice nelson appointed as the first dean. soon after, it began offering bachelor's and master's degrees and currently has the following advanced education programs for rns: bachelor of science, master of science (pnp, fnp and fpmhnp tracks), post masters advanced certificate (pnp, fnp, fpmhnp tracks) and doctor of nursing practice (dnp). college of health professions the college of health professions was formed in 1971. however, programs in the health professions have been in existence on this campus since 1956. students can choose from nine health care fields: behavior analysis studies (ms), cardiovascular perfusion (ms), medical biotechnology (bs and ms), medical imaging sciences (bs), physical therapy (dpt), physician assistant (ms), radiation therapy (bs) and respiratory therapy (bs). the college of health professions annually admits over 130 students into its programs. there are 32 full-time and 8 part-time faculty. in addition, there are more than 240 clinical and adjunct faculty who contribute to the college's educational programs. research as a biomedical research enterprise, upstate focuses on the most prevalent human diseases, including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, nervous system disorders, vision, and infectious diseases. the quest for treatments and cures is built upon expertise in structural, molecular and systems biology. grants are concentrated in five basic science departments; upstate's clinical departments host more than 450 active clinical trials. upstate's research expenditures of more than $35 million ripple through the state economy and generated an additional $20.7 million in indirect and induced activity.institute for human performanceupstate medical university completed the construction of the upstate cancer center, a five-story $74-million facility, in july 2014 and expanded it in 2018 to meet patient's demands and further research capability. in addition, the nappi longevity institute at upstate medical university—a five floor, nearly 200,000 square foot health and wellness complex—will be completed in 2023. to fund the $154 million project, upstate received a $70.6 million grant as part of the capital restructuring financing program and essential health care provider support program, and an additional $70.6 million in matching bonds from new york state. upstate is currently designated as a center of excellence for alzheimer's disease by new york state. governor andrew m. cuomo congratulated upstate medical on its no.1 ranking covid-19 saliva test by the u.s. food and drug administration for detecting the virus in its earliest stages. the test developed by upstate medical and ny start-up quadrant biosciences, called clarifi covid-19, was also cited by the fda as being among the most sensitive tests. on march 12, 2021, upstate announced the opening of the upstate medical vector biocontainment lab established to research infectious diseases that pose major public health risks. the new $7.6 million 2,500-square-foot laboratory was funded by new york state investment and will house clinical experts from state university of new york institutions who will collaborate on cutting-edge research of coronavirus, lyme, west nile, zika, dengue, and other infectious diseases. the vbl also features a human challenge room, where a human test subject may receive a mosquito bite, allowing for natural disease transmission and a potentially more accurate understanding of the disease and how to treat it. “you would find this only at the cdc or in an army laboratory,” thangamani, md said of the human challenge room. “it’s rare to find this in an academic setting." on march 3, 2022, the united states patent and trademark office (uspto) issued a patent to upstate research foundation, quadrant biosciences and penn state research foundation for developing a novel epigenetic saliva test for autism. the patent covers the scientific foundation for the development of a saliva-based, multiomic autism diagnostic aid, that can differentiate individuals with autism from individuals with typical development or developmental delays by measuring microrna (mirna) and microbiome levels in saliva. cross-functional collaboration in 2013, upstate medical university, in partnership with suny college of environmental science and forestry (esf), syracuse university, cornell university, the university of rochester and suny buffalo received a $2 million federal grant to acquire an 800 mhz nuclear magnetic resonance (nmr) spectrometer. the acquisition of the spectrometer filled a void in the region's research landscape as this instrument will be the only one of its kind in central and western new york. "it speaks volumes about the power of a system when this grant was led by suny upstate, the equipment will be housed at esf, and its use will be open to scientists from across central and western new york," said suny chancellor nancy zimpher. in addition, upstate and esf were recently awarded $15 million through a competitive grant program to create the suny institute of environmental health & environmental medicine. in addition, a joint master of public health degree program and a joint phd program in biomedical engineering are offered by suny upstate and syracuse university. the campuses of the two universities are adjacent to each other on university hill in syracuse. in 2021, a research collaboration between upstate medical university and syracuse university on detecting alzheimer's disease won the iaai-21 deployed application award on innovative applications of artificial intelligence. in their paper the team states, "our research is the first to develop an effective machine learning approach that can identify the latent patterns due to preclinical ad from mri brain scans, which can significantly improve ad patients’ intervention and treatment.” selectivity most recently, the md program received over 7,000 applications for 160 seats, an increase of over 26% from the previous year to what some described as the "fauci effect". in 2020, the incoming class had an average gpa of 3.77 and mcat score of 513, which is 90th percentile nationally. over 52.6% of applicants were "out of state" with respect to state residency and the remaining 47.4% were nys residents. the college of medicine has a 97% pass rate on the united states medical licensing examination (usmle) step 1. in addition, upstate had a match rate of 97% vs. 92.8% nationally for us md schools in 2021 for first-year residency positions.u.s. news & world report ranked the ncom 31st in the best research category among all public medical schools nationally. in 2020, the pa program was ranked #46 nationally in the best physician assistant programs by u.s. news & world report. the physical therapy program (dpt) was ranked #57 nationally in the best physical therapy programs by us news. in addition, the mph program was ranked #104 nationally in the best public health schools category by us news. notable alumni college of medicine, class of 1876 charles antzelevitch, phd - american cardiovascular research scientist in the fields of cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia syndromes. a. v. apkarian, phd - professor of physiology, anesthesiology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation at northwestern university in the feinberg school of medicine. sir frederick ballantyne, m.d. - governor-general of saint vincent and the grenadines elizabeth blackwell, m.d. - first woman in the united states to be awarded the degree of medical doctor; founder of the new york infirmary, now lower manhattan hospital penny budoff, m.d. - famously known for her seminal research to alleviate menstrual pain george w. cole, major general by brevet in the american civil war. mary fowkes, md/phd - american physician and neuropathologist. she is noted for her early autopsies of covid-19 victims that significantly contributed to the identification of long-term effects of the novel coronavirus sarah loguen fraser, m.d. - in 1876, became the first woman to gain an m.d. from syracuse university school of medicine; believed to be the fourth african-american woman to become a licensed physician in the united states marcus j. goldman, m.d. - associate professor at tufts university school of medicine david b. levine, m.d. - director of the department of orthopedic surgery at hospital for special surgery pamela lipkin, m.d. - facial plastic surgeon specializing in nose work. clemence sophia harned lozier, m.d. - founded the new york medical college and hospital for women and served as president of the new york city suffrage league and the national women's suffrage association. elizabeth r. mcanarney, m.d. - pediatrician who is recognized for her leadership in the fields of adolescent medicine and pediatrics patricia numann, m.d. - founder of the association of women surgeons, former president of the american college of surgeons, and professor emeritus at the upstate medical university. james b. preston, m.d. - professor emeritus and chairman of the department of physiology, suny upstate medical university. mark c. rogers, m.d. - influential in the development of pediatric intensive care as an independent medical specialty in the united states. thomas szasz, m.d. - professor emeritus of psychiatry nancy j. tarbell, m.d. - c.c. wang professor of radiation oncology at harvard medical school and massachusetts general hospital. samuel o. thier, m.d. - president of brandeis university from 1991 to 1994, the president of the massachusetts general hospital from 1994 to 1996 and professor of medicine and health care policy at harvard university. sid watkins, m.d. - professor of neurosurgery, 1962–1970; later became head of the formula one on-track medical team herman gates weiskotten, served as dean of syracuse university medical school from 1922 to 1951 michael weitzman, m.d. - american pediatrician specializing in public health and policy known for his research focusing on the social and environmental determinants of child health. thomas bramwell welch, m.d. - british–american minister and dentist warren winkelstein, md/mph - american epidemiologist, professor in the school of public health at the university of california, berkeley, and a member of the institute of medicine of the u.s. national academy of sciences frank e. young, m.d. - commissioner of food and drugs from 1984 to 1989 and later deputy assistant secretary in the united states department of health and human services.