To the
Prospective Student:
I'm
delighted to hear that you're interested in our department. I'm certain
that you will be pleased with the opportunities we can offer you for
a broad based flexible educational experience in biochemistry and
related disciplines. Our graduates have chosen a variety of career
paths including those in academia and the biotechnology industry,
some have pursued degrees in law and medicine. Science is certainly
an exciting field today and the opportunities are limitless. If you've
already decided that this is the field for you, you're next faced
with the question as to where to pursue your graduate education. The
department is housed in a modern, well-equipped facility within the
Boston University Medical Center. One of our major strengths lies
in our faculty who are committed to a strong educational program stressing
basic coursework and research into life processes, with an emphasis
on the underlying mechanisms of human disease and treatment. Members
of the Department of Biochemistry are actively involved in collaborative
efforts, both within the department and with other researchers throughout
the various basic and clinical science departments at the Medical
Center. The other major strength is our extremely active and productive
student body, pursuing advanced degrees in biochemistry including
MA, PhD and combined MD/PhD degrees. The major focus of the biochemistry
research in the department is on the fields of molecular and cellular
biology. Specific research interests include extracellular matrix
biochemistry and molecular biology, regulation of gene expression
in eukaryotic cells, developmental biochemistry, vesicle trafficking
and signal transduction, protein structure and function, mechanisms
of catalysis, porphyrin biochemistry, protein membrane interactions,
growth control and cell cycle, neurobiochemistry, mechanism of action
of steroid hormones, and mechanisms of oncogenesis. Research activities
are well supported by a variety of interdisciplinary research program
project grants, graduate student training grants, and individual research
grants. For the past five years, the department's funding from the
National Institutes of Health has ranked in the top 10% of Biochemistry
departments throughout the nation. Last year our department ranked
14th out of 142 departments of biochemistry that received
funding from the NIH. The Department of Biochemistry provides research
training to graduate, postdoctoral, medical, and allied health sciences
students. Graduate-level courses covering the major subdisciplines
of biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology are presented
by faculty with particular expertise in these areas. These advanced
courses emphasize recent findings as well as relevant fundamental
background information. Seminar programs within the department and
in the surrounding biomedical community provide students with an opportunity
to actively participate in discussions on the most recent advances
in the field of biomolecular sciences.
Sincerely,
