The program provides a modern, comprehensive graduate education in biomedical science while providing both maximum program flexibility, as well as appropriate specialization for graduate students. The program represents a cooperative effort among six interdisciplinary graduate concentrations with a total membership of almost 200 faculty. The faculty of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology are involved in a variety of educational and research endeavors, with the majority of research focused on topical problems in cell biology, developmental biology, and molecular biology. Laboratory research is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health , the National Science Foundation , State agencies, and private foundations. The department is currently undergoing expansion, and three new faculty have been recruited since 1991.
Graduate students have a broad range of options from which to complete and enrich their education.
New faculty will be added in the near future to generate further breadth in new areas of cell biology research and experimental expertise. This multidisciplinary program has more than 40 participating faculty members and offers an extraordinary range of opportunities for advanced study of life at the molecular and cellular levels. The diverse faculty share common interests in the molecular interactions that account for the functionally integrated subcellular, cellular, and tissue organization found in living organisms. The model systems in use range from yeast and cellular slime molds through Drosophila to birds and mammals. In the first year, students are admitted into the College of Medicine interdisciplinary program, in which they participate in a series of theoretical and practical courses as well as laboratory rotations that expose them to the fundamentals of biomedical inquiry.