The new graduate program in Bioinformatics is a unique educational offering. A collaborative alliance with Wadsworth Laboratories of the New York State Department of Health has enlarged the scope of this research and leverages complementary expertise in the two institutions. Basic biochemistry research, in Rensselaer's Department of Chemistry explores topics in organic synthesis, photochemistry, molecular recognition, protein folding, drug discovery, and polymer synthesis. In biomedical engineering , Rensselaer has expertise in functional cell and tissue engineering, imaging, computer simulation and surgery, and medical devices and systems. Work in tissue engineering is linked with research in nanoscale materials.
Biotechnology is, of course, dependent on life itself.
The origin of all lifeforms is the subject of research at Rensselaer's New York Center for Studies in the Origins of Life , a NASA Specialized Center of Research and Training. Biotechnology is one of the fastest-growing, most critical areas of study of the new century potentially providing the answers to so many biological puzzles.