Artist's rendering of human body and large-scale DNA molecule.

Integrative and Biomedical Physiology

Reduce disease and improve the health of individuals through research ranging from molecular and cellular physiology to human organ systems

Program Overview

The Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Integrative and Biomedical Physiology—ranked among the top-10 physiology programs in the country—trains students to advance society’s understanding of how body systems work at all levels—molecular, cellular, tissues, and organs—and to apply that knowledge toward reducing disease and improving the health of individuals. The program’s recently awarded NIH Predoctoral Training Program in Stress Physiology includes a cutting-edge interdiscliplinary curriculum that prepares students to enter the 21st century biomedical workforce. To learn more, view a short video about our program.

Program Benefits

Aging, Exercise, and Muscle Biology

Biophysics

Immunology and Inflammation

Cardiovascular Regulation and Disease

Nutrient Regulation, Obesity, and Metabolic Diseases

Reproductive Biology

News

Alternative understanding of brain leads to new treatments for stroke patients

Since the early 20th century, researchers believed that movements on the right and left sides of the body were controlled by the opposite hemisphere of the brain. However, Penn State researcher Robert Sainburg proposed the complimentary dominance hypothesis, which states that both sides of the brain have a role to play in control of both sides of the body.

Jeff and Ann Marie Fox name Graduate School with $20 million commitment

The Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the naming of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School in recognition of the couple and the endowment they have created to provide support, in perpetuity, for graduate students and faculty and for initiatives that enhance the academic caliber of graduate education at the University.

Troy Sutton named Huck Early Career Chair in Virology

Troy Sutton, assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, has been awarded a Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Virology.

News

Alternative understanding of brain leads to new treatments for stroke patients

Since the early 20th century, researchers believed that movements on the right and left sides of the body were controlled by the opposite hemisphere of the brain. However, Penn State researcher Robert Sainburg proposed the complimentary dominance hypothesis, which states that both sides of the brain have a role to play in control of both sides of the body.

Jeff and Ann Marie Fox name Graduate School with $20 million commitment

The Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the naming of the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School in recognition of the couple and the endowment they have created to provide support, in perpetuity, for graduate students and faculty and for initiatives that enhance the academic caliber of graduate education at the University.

Troy Sutton named Huck Early Career Chair in Virology

Troy Sutton, assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, has been awarded a Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Virology.

Re-engineering cancerous tumors to self-destruct and kill drug-resistant cells

A team led by Penn State researchers has created a modular genetic circuit that turns cancer cells into a “Trojan horse,” causing them to self-destruct and kill nearby drug-resistant cancer cells. Tested in human cell lines and in mice as proof of concept, the circuit outsmarted a wide range of resistance.