Mission Statement

The scientific mission of the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie major biological functions using an integrated approach that encompasses genetics, biochemistry, chemistry, biophysics, structural biology, and computational biology. The research programs of our faculty employ bacterial, archaeal and eukaryotic organisms, viruses, and mammalian cell systems. Our teaching philosophy and responsibilities reflect the faculty’s scientific interests and expertise. Our research activities interface both with the physical and biological sciences in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and with the basic science and clinical departments in the School of Medicine. Indeed, the Department views itself as a bridge between these geographic/administrative and intellectual disciplines of the biological sciences. The Department’s research interests are broad enough to render this bridging effect substantive, but our faculty size is still small enough to allow us to be a cohesive academic unit.