Message from the Chair
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology traces its origins to the Chemistry Department and the subsequent Department of Biochemistry. A remarkable history of more than 190 years. Research activities by the faculty serve as a training ground for graduate students, medical students, undergraduates, high school students, and teachers seeking meaningful experience in laboratory-based studies.
Areas of research strength in the department include Nucleic Acids Biochemistry, Protein and Peptide Biochemistry, the Biochemistry of Protein Modifications, Cancer Mechanisms, Cancer Immunology, Cancer Stem Cells, Cancer Biology, and Drug Discovery. Graduate training in the department draws on the tools of genetics, cell biology, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, computer science, and several other disciplines.
Supplementing the interdisciplinary training environment in the department are state-of-the-art instrumentation facilities, a seminar program/grand rounds that invites a number of speakers from on-campus and off-campus per year, including the annual Adrouny Lectureship by an invited distinguished scientist, and a number of collaborative activities involving research groups at Tulane, LSU New Orleans (formerly UNO), Xavier University, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) - New Orleans, Ochsner Cancer Center, and other national and international institutions.
