Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences

Dates

• Existence: 1 - 2019

Biography

Abstract:

The Sackler School was established by the trustees of Tufts University on July 1, 1980 through the gifts of the late Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler and Dr. Raymond R. Sackler. Their vision was matched by that of current president of Tufts University, Jean Mayer, who saw integration across all medical fields as crucial for advancement of health. As a result of the generosity of the Sackler brothers, six fledging graduate programs at Tufts University School of Medicine were given a home. These programs: Biochemistry, Immunology, Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Anatomy, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and Physiology; and their faculty of 70 provided the foundation on which the school was built. These faculty and their students were a part of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences prior to the founding of the Sackler School.

The Sackler School was established by the trustees of Tufts University on July 1, 1980 through the gifts of the late Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler and Dr. Raymond R. Sackler. Their vision was matched by that of current president of Tufts University, Jean Mayer, who saw integration across all medical fields as crucial for advancement of health. As a result of the generosity of the Sackler brothers, six fledging graduate programs at Tufts University School of Medicine were given a home. These programs: Biochemistry, Immunology, Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Anatomy, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and Physiology; and their faculty of 70 provided the foundation on which the school was built. These faculty and their students were a part of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences prior to the founding of the Sackler School.

Since its inception, the Sackler faculty has grown. The school was quick to include the strong research faculty at Tufts Medical Center and now has members from across the schools of Tufts University. The number of Sackler graduate programs has increased. Neuroscience was added in 1985 and Genetics was founded in 1994. In addition, some programs changed their names and their focus to embrace advances in biomedical sciences. The Physiology Program spawned the Molecular and Cellular Physiology Program, a shift that strengthened program focus on the pathobiology of disease. Consistent with its strong focus on molecular pathogenesis mechanisms, the Molecular and Microbiology Program became the Molecular Microbiology Program. The Anatomy Program increased its relationship to developmental biology and translational medicine, and became the Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology Program. In addition to program-specific changes, the Integrated Studies Program (ISP) was formed when the Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Physiology, and Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology recognized the strong thread of shared fundamentals. This common admissions track provides students with a strong, integrated first year curriculum that supports discipline specific-training beginning after the first year. The Neuroscience graduate program joined the ISP in 2007. In December 2019, the name of the School was changed from the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences to the Tufts Graduate of Biomedical Sciences due to role of the Sackler family and their company, Purdue Pharma, in the opioid epidemic.

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