• Elucidating molecular mechanisms plants use to specify & maintain cell fates

  • Investigating the mechanisms that allow cancer cells to survive treatment

  • Discovering signaling mechanisms in chemotaxis and cell migration

  • Studying unstable chromosomes and the impact of fork error in telomeres

  • Gene networks & evolution: How did wormlike creatures give rise to mammals?

  • Stress granules & P-bodies: A dynamic duo of bodies that affect mRNA function

  • Biophysics and Synthetic Biology of Multi-cell Systems

  • Reading history from genomes

  • Structural Mechanisms of Proteins and Enzymes involved in Immune Function and Cellular Metabolism

  • How do students learn about complex biological mechanisms?

Research

MCB's 21 primary faculty represent a diverse array of research that builds fundamental insight and translates into treating diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, and aging. Our faculty investigate a wide range of basic questions concerning cells and genes and their impact on evolution, aging, and disease. We are also researching novel approaches in science education and studying the very origins of life. Click on the research areas below to learn more about our work.

Aging

Understanding the fundamental processes that drive aging to identify molecular targets to simultaneously treat multiple classes of age-associated disease and extend healthy human lifespan.
Cell Signaling, Trafficking, and Polarity

Each living cell senses and integrates external cues and makes corresponding responses.
Differentiation, Development, and Evolution

Mutations in development are the root of human disease and disability. On the other hand, they also allow for the evolution of new forms.
Genetic Mechanisms

How do genes work?
Mechanisms of Disease

Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of disease is one of the key goals of modern biomedical research.
Organelle Biogenesis and Function

How particular organelles are created and placed within the cell.
Origins of Life and Astrobiology

Has life comparable to our own arisen elsewhere?


Science Education

Seeking to understand teaching and learning in the sciences with the goal of improving it.
Systems and Computational Biology

Understanding many cellular processes demands an integrative approach, considering systems of interacting biomolecules, rather than focusing on individual genes or proteins.
Undergraduate Research

Research Opportunities for Students