Targeted Programs

The clinical psychology program subscribes to a clinical science model of training that includes strong research training in conjunction with evidence-based practicum experiences.

It provides training in two areas—clinical health psychology and severe mental illness/psychiatric rehabilitation—to integrate the assessment and intervention strategies of evidence-based clinical psychology with health/rehabilitation psychology's emphasis on optimizing adaptation for persons with chronic, disabling medical conditions.

The program addresses the psychological and social consequences of physical and mental disabilities through the acquisition of the methods, theories, and knowledge of behavioral science along with the practitioner skills of clinical psychology.

As scientists, clinical psychology faculty study behaviors, experiences, and attitudes of persons with clinical problems and their families, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment interventions. As practitioners, they assess individuals and their environment, plan and implement psychosocial interventions, and monitor their progress over time.

Faculty Liaison Melissa Cyders, Ph.D.

The addiction neuroscience program emphasizes the acquisition of methods, theories, and knowledge of behavioral neuroscience, focusing on addictive behavior and substance abuse.

The range of addictive behaviors in the general population is broad and varied in severity. However, regardless of the addiction, all are ultimately defined by behavioral measures that have both biological and environmental causes as well as genetic influences and neurobiological adaptations.

Although most current and past addiction neuroscience students have studied animal models of addictive behavior, an important training goal is to generate basic scientists who are highly trained within this multidisciplinary spectrum that includes behavioral science and neuroscience.

Faculty Liaison Stephen L. Boehm, Ph.D.

The biomedical engineering program focuses on the application of modern molecular biology and genetics to engineering problems. Department faculty represent a diverse range of expertise, including orthopaedic biomechanics, cardiovascular instrumentation, medical imaging, biomaterials, molecular engineering, biosensors, neurosciences, and tissue engineering.

Research efforts currently focus on cardiovascular biomechanics, mechanobiology, biomaterials research, imaging, and neurosciences to further health detection and treatment technologies.

Faculty Liaison Joseph Wallace, Ph.D.

Exercise science is the study of physiology and functional adaptations to movement. Preventative practices are gaining favor over the traditional treatment approach to health care in the U.S. because they improve overall health and quality of life, and also are much more cost effective than the treatment required for diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

With the growing awareness that exercise plays a role beyond traditional areas such as athletic performance and K–12 education, graduate students pursue careers in health and wellness settings, become exercise specialists and personal trainers, and expand their knowledge base as higher-level educators.

Three areas of study can be chosen for the Ph.D. degree at Indiana University Indianapolis: biomechanics, exercise physiology, and motor control/motor learning.

Faculty Liaison Rafael E. Bahamonde, Ph.D.

The medical neuroscience program is an inter-departmental program that is administered through the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. The program is housed within the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute (SNRI), a state-of-the-art research facility. The institute houses researchers from a variety of disciplines and focuses on applying advances in molecular, genetic, and imaging technologies to fundamental questions about brain function, dysfunction, and development.

Substantial interaction and collaboration takes place between the faculty and students of the psychobiology and medical neuroscience programs, even though the two programs have separate missions and grant independent degrees. Mutually complementary classes are offered, and crossover of students taking classes offered by the other program is commonplace.

Faculty Liaison Gary Landreth, Ph.D.

 

The Division of Infectious Diseases has conducted clinical trials and research to improve the health and well-being of Indiana adults and adolescents with a variety of infections for over 30 years. Their goal is to improve the quality of life of patients with infectious diseases and to reduce the spread of these infections in our community.

The division specifically has performed studies in the areas of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (herpes, human papillomavirus, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia), and sexual behavioral medicine. The research group currently conducts trials to determine the usefulness of vaccines to prevent infections and new medicines to treat existing infections. They also conduct studies to learn more about how infectious agents interact with humans to cause disease in order to devise new ways to protect us from illness. 

Faculty Liaison Janice S. Blum, Ph.D.

The musculoskeletal and cell biology area at Indiana University is coordinated through the Indiana Center for Musculoskeletal Health, which comprises a network of highly productive laboratories working in areas related to musculoskeletal health, disease and repair. The center provides a holistic approach to the study of the musculoskeletal system from mineralized (bone) to non-mineralized (cartilage, muscle, tendon, ligament) tissues. Collectively, the musculoskeletal biology research community is one of the largest, most diverse, and most accomplished in the United States.

The scientific focus of IU investigators is diverse and includes subdisciplines such as osteoclast biology, osteoblast biology, osteocyte biology, stromal cell biology, megakaryocyte biology, bone cancer and metastasis, cartilage biology, fracture healing/bone regeneration, polytrauma, Fgf23 signaling, chronic kidney disease effects in bone, mechanical signaling, mechanisms of existing drug therapies, development of new drug therapies, collagen ultrastructure, diabetes effects on bone, hormone signaling, bone cell transcription factors, cellular apoptosis mechanisms, mechanisms of bone remodeling, microdamage effects in bone, vascular biology in bone, calcium and phosphate metabolism, extraskeletal mineralization, spinal disk degeneration, genetics of bone disease, and sarcopenia.

Faculty Liaison Matt R. Allen, Ph.D.

The pharmacology division conducts cutting-edge basic, translational, and clinical research designed to improve understanding and predicting therapeutic drug responses. The division's ultimate goal is to personalize drug therapy by optimizing beneficial effects while minimizing adverse effects and cost.

The division specifically focuses on genetic and nongenetic mechanisms of inter-individual variability in drug effects. Research projects encompass a broad range of areas including cardiology, nephrology, obstetrics, reproductive endocrinology, hematology/oncology, medical oncology, GI/hepatology and infectious diseases. 

Faculty Liaison Anthony J. (A.J.) Baucum II, Ph.D.

Cellular and integrative physiology is multifaceted and performs translational research with particular strengths in hormonal signaling, eye research, renal research, and neural and skeletal development. The program maintains ties with classical integrative concepts of whole animal and organ physiology, while using sophisticated tools to approach important physiological questions at molecular, cellular, organ, and clinical levels.

The departmental theme is integration by skills, projects, student training, and centers. Their department and the discipline of physiology are among the leaders in translating mechanistic research to improve human health.

Faculty Liaison Lilian Plotkin, Ph.D.