The mission of the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry Graduate Program (MCBGP) is to build and sustain an equitable and inclusive training environment in which a diverse group of PhD students will successfully gain quantitative, conceptual, technical, and professional skills that will allow them to conduct the rigorous and reproducible research demanded by interdisciplinary life science. Our goal is to make fundamental contributions to understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for cellular, organ, and organismal function. We apply our findings to detect and treat human disease and to many other challenges that biotechnology can address.

The MCBGP draws faculty trainers from five departments within the Program in Biology (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry; Molecular Microbiology and Immunology; Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology; and Neuroscience), four departments within the Warren Alpert Medical School (Medicine; Pathology; Orthopaedics and Pediatrics), and from the Chemistry, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics departments.

During their first two years in the program, students engage in training activities designed to build research and professional skills. During the first year, advising is overseen by the program leadership, which includes a director, an assistant director, and a director for inclusion and diversity. Students complete three laboratory rotations and then join a thesis lab and begin to work with their primary advisor at the end of the first year. Thesis advisors are  committed to effectively mentoring graduate students and provide opportunities for students to initiate, conduct, interpret, and present research with increasing self-direction.

Additional Resources

MCBGP students have access to excellent core facilities that provide training and support in the areas of bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics, imaging, and genetic analysis of model organisms.