Ph.D. Program in Clinical/Bioanalytical Chemistry

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates there were 93,500 chemists and materials scientists employed across the United States in 2025. On average, about 6,500 openings for chemists and materials scientists are projected each year. There is great demand for chemists and materials scientists, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an 7% increase from 2025-2035, much faster than average for all occupations.

Graduates of the Ph.D. program go on to a variety of professional positions in the clinical-bioanalytical field, some pursuing postdoctoral studies before obtaining their first professional position. Examples of positions held by Ph. D. graduates include:
 

Position: Section Head of Clinical Chemistry, Toxicology and Point of Care
Employer: The MetroHealth Systems

Position: Director of Clinical Chemistry, Assistant Professor
Employer: Children’s Hospital and Intermountain Central Laboratory, University of Utah

Position: Lead Scientist II
Employer: LabCorp

Position: Senior Researcher
Employer: Bristol Myers Squibb

Position: Assistant Director of Clinical Chemistry
Employer: Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Position: Director of Analytical Operations
Employer: Doctor’s Data, Inc

Position: Imaging Specialist and Developer
Employer: Lerner Research Institute, the Cleveland Clinic

Position: Staff Scientist
Employer: The Lawrence J. Ellison Institute

Position: Toxicology Director
Employer: Beaumont Health

Position: Staff Scientist II
Employer: Covance

Position: Lecturer
Employer: Department of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University

Position: Laboratory Director
Employer: Spectrum Health Regional Laboratory

Position: Assistant Professor, Co-director of Clinical Chemistry
Employer: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Position: Bioanalytical Staff Scientist II
Employer: Pyxant Lab, Salt Lake City

Position: Research Scientist
Employer: CDC-Cincinnati, Ohio

Position: Scientist
Employer: AbbVie

Position: Senior Manager
Employer: Labcorp

Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Employer: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Position: Research Scientist
Employer: CuronBiotech

Position: Chemistry Account Manager
Employer: Waters Corporation

Position: Clinical Chemistry Fellow
Employer: Yale University

Position: Clinical Assistant Professor of Pathology
Employer: University of Arizona College of Medicine

Position: Director of Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology
Employer: Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona

Position: Medical Director of Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology
Employer: Sonora Quest Laboratories, Arizona

Position: Clinical Chemist and Adjunct Assistant Professor
Employer: Intermountain Health and University of Utah

Position: Associate Research Scientist
Employer: PPD

Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Employer: NICHD/NIH

Position: Scientific Writer
Employer: PPD

Position: Technology Coach
Employer: University of Alberta

Position: Associate Research Scientist
Employer: PPD

Position: Clinical Laboratory Technical Director and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology
Employer: The University of Cincinnati

Position: FDA Fellow
Employer: FDA

Position: Technical Director
Employer: Sanford Health

Position: Analytical Chemist-3
Employer: Avomeen Analytical Services, Ann Arbor, MI

Position: Clinical Chemistry Fellow
Employer: Cleveland Clinic

Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Employer: Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute

Position: Scientist
Employer: LabCorp

Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Employer: Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute

Position: Postdoctoral Fellow
Employer: Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute

Position: Clinical Chemistry Fellow
Employer: Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute

Position: Clinical Chemistry Fellow
Employer: University of Washington

Position: Vice President Medical Sciences, Medical Affairs
Employer: Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc.

Position: Clinical Laboratory Director, Genetics and Cardiovascular Testing
Employer: Mayo Clinic

Position: Director, Clinical Chemistry
Employer: Laboratory Medicine, Yale

Position: Global Scientific Director, Immunology/Safety Testing/Special Chemistry
Employer: Labcorp

Position: Science Director, Laboratory Operations
Employer: Quest Diagnostics Cleveland Heart Lab

Admission Requirements

Students who wish to enter the Clinical- Bioanalytical Ph.D. program must meet the requirements of the College of Graduate Studies and Department of Chemistry for admission to the chemistry graduate program as detailed below.

In addition to meeting the College of Graduate Studies requirements for admission, applicants for graduate study (Master’s and Ph.D.) in chemistry must have had one year of general, organic, analytical, and physical chemistry; a year of physics; and mathematics through partial derivatives and multiple integrals. Applicants lacking any of these requirements may be admitted, but any deficiency must be made up as soon as possible. Credits earned in remedial courses do not count toward degree requirements.

Typically, chemistry applicants are required to submit an official report of their performance on the aptitude test from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) to the University by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). However, applicants with outstanding records (grade-point average above 3.0 in addition to other evidence of solid preparation) may request that this requirement be waived by the Graduate Committee of the Chemistry Department. The GRE requirement cannot be waived for international students. International students who do not have a degree from an institution in the United States must also arrange to have the results of their performance on the TOEFL sent to the University by ETS.

The application deadline each year is February 15 (for fall admission) and October 15 (for spring admission). All applications should be done online via the CSU Graduate Admissions website.

Ph.D. Candidacy

Graduate students are required to register for the Ph.D. Candidacy Examination at the beginning of their third year of graduate studies. The examination consists of the preparation of an acceptable, written, fully referenced proposal, describing the student’s research plans and an oral presentation and committee examination. Successful performance in the candidacy examination qualifies the student to be a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry. 

Students who do not pass the Ph.D. Candidacy Examination can not advance to doctoral studies, but may pursue a Thesis-based M.S. degree if approved by the research advisor and the director of the graduate program.

Ph.D. Degree Completion Requirements

The Clinical/Bioanalytical Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 90 credit hours. Students must complete Core Courses and Specialization Courses, Research and Dissertation Requirements, and additional elective coursework to reach a total of 90 credit hours.

Core courses for all plans

The program requires completion of the following courses (20 credit hours).

• CHM 705 - Graduate Orientation
• CHM 651/751 - Clinical Chemistry I
• CHM 652/752 - Clinical Chemistry II
• CHM 653/753 - Advanced Biochemistry I
• CHM 654/754 - Advanced Biochemistry II
• CHM 695/795 - Chemistry Seminar (Two Times)
• CHM 891 - Candidacy Examination

Tracks

Plan A: Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry

This track gives flexibility to the student in designing their course of study. Courses of study include:

1. Analytical chemistry, involving advanced analytical technologies such as mass spectrometry, HPLC, biosensors, nanotechnology, imaging, and other instrumental techniques;
2. Biochemistry, chemical biology and molecular biology, applied to a wide range of physiologic systems and disease states;
3. Pharmaceutical science, applied to the development of pharmaceutical therapeutics and pharmacokinetic studies; and
4. Organic and inorganic chemistry, applied to the synthesis of novel organic and inorganic molecules with pertinent applications.

In addition to core courses, students must complete an additional 8 credit hours of elective graduate coursework.

Plan B: Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry with Cellular & Molecular Medicine Specialization (CMMS)

The Cellular and Molecular Medicine Specialization (CMMS) offers unique opportunities for Biology, Chemistry, and Chemical and Biomedical Engineering doctoral students who wish to pursue a specialization in the application of modern cellular and molecular approaches to understanding disease causes and disease mechanisms.

The Cellular and Molecular Medicine Specialization is not an independent academic program and does not replace existing doctoral programs. Thus, students in the General Clinical-Bioanalytical Doctoral track and the Graduate Certificate in Clinical Chemistry Track may add this specialization to their program of study by completing the required courses in the specialization. 

The required courses are bioethics, biochemistry, molecular biology, and genetics, as well as one of the following courses: cell biology, physiology, or macromolecular structure and dynamics. This specialization makes available several graduate assistantships to allow outstanding candidates to concentrate on their research for two years.

In addition to core courses, students must complete 8 credit hours of specialization coursework below and elective graduate coursework.

• BIO 610/810 - Molecular Biology and Genetics
• One of the following:
  • BIO 604/BIO 804 - Cell Biology
  • BIO 624/824 - Fundamentals of Biomedical Physiology
  • CHM 661/761 - Macromolecular Structure and Dynamics

Plan C: Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry - Graduate Certificate in Clinical Chemistry (GCCC) program

The accredited doctoral program in Clinical Chemistry is a dynamically integrated certificate program merging the fields of clinical diagnosis, biomedicine and analytical chemistry. It is the only doctoral program, both nationally and internationally, that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Clinical Chemistry (ComACC). 

The mission of the doctoral program in Clinical Chemistry is to give Ph.D. graduate students intensive didactic instruction in the field of clinical laboratory science and to give them appropriate biomedical research experience in their dissertation work. Knowledge of both clinical aspects and interpretation of test results, as well as knowledge of analytical techniques and various aspects of quality operation in the clinical laboratory, are central to the program’s goals and mission.

The instructional and training components are carried out by biochemistry, clinical chemistry, analytical chemistry and pharmaceutical science faculty in the Department of Chemistry at Cleveland State, with active involvement of clinical chemists and clinical scientists at the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, MetroHealth Medical Center, Akron Children’s Hospital, and other area institutions.

Students are prepared for one of the following paths upon graduation:

1. to obtain further practical training in the field through clinical chemistry post-doctoral fellowships, to prepare them for careers as directors of clinical laboratories;
2. to directly assume other scientific positions in clinical laboratories, either at medical institutions or reference laboratories;
3. to assume positions in the in vitro diagnostics, pharmaceutical, or biotechnology industries, which are increasingly seeking scientists with knowledge of clinical chemistry.

In addition to core courses, students must complete 16-17 credit hours of specialization coursework below.

• CHM 658 - Principles of Laboratory Medicine
• CHM 750 - Special Topics In Clinical Chemistry (Four Times)
• CHM 756 - Internship In Clinical Chemistry I
• CHM 759 - Clinical Chemistry Seminar (Two Times)
• One of the following:
  • CHM 655/755 - Biotechnology Techniques I
  • CHM 557 - Pharmaceutical Analysis Laboratory

See the Clinical Chemistry, Graduate Certificate page for more information
 

Research & Dissertation

Students are required to register for CHM 679/CHM 779 - Advanced Chemistry Lab for their work in research. After passing CHM 891 - Candidacy Exam, students are required to register for CHM 690/CHM 790 - Annual Research Report once per year. In the last semester, the graduate student will register for CHM 899 - Ph.D. Dissertation in the writing and defense of their dissertation.

The primary objective of Ph.D. candidacy is the completion of a major research project under the direction of the student’s doctoral advisor(s). Once the project is completed, the student must write a dissertation describing the project (prepared in the format prescribed by the College of Graduate Studies and acceptable to the student’s dissertation committee) and publicly defend the research and the written dissertation.

The time required for the completion of the research and the defense of the resulting dissertation cannot be predicted in any individual case. Ph.D. students must complete at least ninety credit hours of graduate study and their dissertation document must be approved by the College of Graduate Studies before becoming eligible for graduation.

See the Thesis and Dissertation process and guidelines

See the Graduate Student Handbook for more details

Exit Requirements

Ph.D. students must complete at least ninety credit hours of approved course work (including CHM 899 - Ph.D. Dissertation) and successfully defend a doctoral dissertation.

Learn more about the Ph.D. in Clinical-Bioanalytical Chemistry program and admission requirements
 

Advisor

Xue-Long Sun, Ph.D.

Graduate Program Director
Email: X.SUN55@csuohio.edu

Advisor for Clinical Chemistry Graduate Certificate

David Anderson, Ph.D.

Director of Clinical Chemistry
Email: D.ANDERSON@csuohio.edu

The program has outstanding faculty with whom students conduct their dissertation research. Students have the opportunity to do research with faculty and research scientists at Cleveland State and the Cleveland Clinic. The program has over fifty faculty members at Cleveland State and the Cleveland Clinic who have a broad range of research interests. Cleveland State chemistry faculty undertake research in areas including: mass spectrometry, HPLC, biomedical imaging, biosensors, nanotechnology, biomaterials, computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, coagulation biochemistry, protein chemistry, microarrays, molecular biology, chemical biology , cancer biochemistry, metabolomics, proteomics, glycomics, lipidomics and pharmacokinetics, therapeutics, chemical synthesis and other areas. Faculty at the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic undertake basic biomedical research in multiple areas, as reflected by the various departments in the institute: biomedical engineering, cancer biology, cardiovascular and metabolic sciences, genomic medicine, inflammation and immunity, neurosciences, ophthalmic research, and translational hematology and oncology research.

Student and Faculty Research Examples

Ph.D. dissertation title examples:

• An LC-MS/MS approach for gangliosides profiling in brain and retinal tissue of mice: application to glaucoma mice age studies
• Application of polarity models to characterizing the reversed-phase liquid chromatography separation of chiral steroid isomer pairs employing various ternary mobile phases
• Development of analytical methods for markers of mitochondrial dysfunction with application to biological samples
• Proteoglycan dysregulation in thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection
• A novel potential approach in the treatment of glioblastoma: Targeting Heat Shock 27k Da Protein induces androgen receptor degradation
• Ruthenium oxide based combined electrodes as nitric oxide (NO) sensors: towards measuring NO in cystic fibrosis cell line models
• Determination of novel metabolites of therapeutic agents used in the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer
• Biomimetic thrombomodulin conjugates and their biological roles
• Regulating hemostasis: the factor Va cofactor effect
• The role of RNase L in lipid homeostasis and the development of atherosclerosis
• Synthesis and functionality study of novel biomimetic n-glycan polymers
• Gut microbe metabolism of bile acids and their relationship to cardiometabolic diseases
• Quantitative and clinical studies of hydrogen sulfide
• Investigating cardiac metabolism in Barth Syndrome using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes
• Therapeutic potential of rhTRAIL for malignant melanoma
• Expression and cell surface re-engineering thrombomodulin on macrophages
• Profiling and modulating sialylation and desialylation of monocytes and macrophages and their functions
• Profiling ganglioside expression and change in THP-1 macrophages upon LPS stimulation
• Coordination chemistry of N, N’-azodoxides
   

The Chemistry Department is housed in the Basic Science Building and the Science and Research Center. In addition to well-equipped research laboratories, there are special function rooms, such as a cold room, and a darkroom. Generally, graduate students occupy research space near their research advisors, which leads to frequent interaction. State-of-the-art facilities and advanced bioanalytical technologies are available to students in the program, including (but not limited to):

• LC-mass spectrometry (including AB SCIEX QTRAP® 5500 LC MS/MS and Agilent 6545 LC/Q-TOF
• Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
• High performance liquid chromatography
• Conventional and capillary electrophoresis
• Immunoassays
• Nuclear magnetic resonance
• Electron parametric resonance spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry
• Photo diode array UV-visible and fluorometric spectrometry
• Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy
• Molecular biology techniques
• Computational chemistry and chemical imaging techniques.

Graduate teaching assistantships are available on a competitive basis. They include tuition support or tuition support with a stipend. Students who are awarded teaching assistantships are required to teach classes. Non-native English-speaking students must take and pass the SPEAK test.

Research assistantships and Cleveland Clinic Fellowships may be available through individual faculty, depending on external funding. For more information, please contact the graduate director at x.sun55@csuohio.edu.

Learn more by requesting information or contacting a program staff member directly.

Program Director

Xue-Long Sun, Ph.D.

Graduate Program Director
Email: X.SUN55@csuohio.edu