Graduate Education Overview

The Ph.D. program offers a broad education in molecular and structural biology, and is remarkable for the scope of research it encompasses. Current areas of research include:

  • regulation of the cell cycle
  • protein-nucleic acid interactions
  • control of development
  • catalytic RNAs and RNA processing
  • protein structure and function
  • mechanisms of transcription, transposition, replication, recombination, and signal transduction
  • molecular dynamics
  • membrane proteins
  • metabolism

Despite the diversity of their interests, researchers in the program are unified by a common desire to understand biological phenomena at the molecular level, whether through the use of genetic, biochemical or biophysical approaches.

The program in MB&B has close ties with the other graduate programs in the biological sciences at Yale and with the Department of Chemistry. These ties allow students in MB&B the opportunity to study and/or perform laboratory research with any of over 200 faculty at Yale. To further cement this spirit of cooperation, a more unified program was developed, called the Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences. This program retains the advantages of moderately sized, interest-based groups of faculty, such as MB&B, and yet provides even greater flexibility and choice for students.

Researchers within the MB&B graduate program have a traditional spirit of interaction and cooperation, which exists at all levels from faculty to graduate students. There is generally easy access to equipment and facilities between one research group and another, and in many instances the cooperation runs much deeper and involves active collaboration and publication.

Graduate Contact

Mark Solomon, Director of Graduate Studies
BASS 218
Email: mark.solomon@yale.edu

Michelle Cegelka, Graduate Registrar 
Yale University
Kline Tower, 307
Phone: (203) 432-5662  
Email: mbb.gradregistrar@yale.edu

Relationship with the School of Medicine

The MB&B graduate program is associated with both the School of Medicine and School of Arts and Sciences. The association often manifests in projects that have clinical implications, such as the mode of action of oncogenes or the molecular biology of the immune response.

The School of Medicine faculty are chiefly located in the Sterling Hall of Medicine and in the adjacent Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine. Within the “Science Hill” area, most research groups are in the Bass Center for Molecular and Structural Biology or in the newly completed Yale Science Building. Walkways connect the Kline Biology Tower and the Sterling Chemistry Building, uniting chemists with molecular and structural biologists.

The strength of any research effort depends significantly on the students involved, and the graduate program in MB&B is fortunate in consistently attracting some of the brightest and most committed students.