Welcome

The Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology - MGCB - was created in 1984 through the merger of the faculties of the Departments of Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics and Theoretical Biology, and Microbiology. MGCB operates within the Division of Biological Sciences. Its faculty investigate molecular aspects of biological phenomena that operate on a cellular scale. The Department covers vital extensions of cell biology and genetics into related fields of biology, notably immunology, plant biology, development and microbiology. The Department currently represents research on a wide range of biological problems and systems - its internationally recognized strengths include:

1. invertebrate and vertebrate development
2. plant molecular biology
3. cellular structure and function
4. yeast genetics.

For graduate training, the department administers the Cell and Molecular Biology program in the Molecular Biosciences Graduate Training Program Cluster. The cluster combines five graduate programs: Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB), Human Genetics (HG), Genetics, Genomics & Systems Biology (GGSB), and Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cell Biology (DRSB). MGCB also plays key roles in the undergraduate biology curricula at the University.

The honors accorded to members of the faculty of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology attest to the quality of their scholarship and research. Among the faculty are seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, one Fellow of the Royal Society, two members of the National Institute of Medicine, and nine Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Many of the faculty have been selected for advisory or editorial positions by national and international scientific organizations, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, The American Cancer Society, and The Leukemia Research Foundation.

MGCB News

Janet Rowley to receive Japan Prize for role in development of targeted cancer therapy, January 25, 2012, UChicago News

David Kovar, PhD and Edwin “Chip” Ferguson, PhD receive 2011 Annual Distinguished Faculty Award in the category: Distinguished Educator/Mentor in Basic Science Education, May 12, 2011 (read more)

Dr. Janet D. Rowley featured in The New York Times, February 7, 2011: A Conversation with The Matriarch of Modern Cancer Genetics

August, 2010
MGCB is pleased to welcome our new faculty members:
Alex Ruthenburg has just arrived from Rockefeller University;
Michael Rust arriving January 2011 from Harvard University (joint recruit with IGSB)

Divide, Conquer
Michael Glotzer’s built-from-scratch biochemistry, and do-it-yourself genetics and microscopy, have revealed some of the secrets of cell division. The Scientist, December 2009

Sally Horne-Badovinac receives Basil O'Connor Young Investigator Award - March of Dimes - for grant proposal: "Genetic Analysis of planar polarity and organ shape", December 2009

'Doug Bishop, PhD, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology and of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, works to further his understanding of recombination in meiosis', The Scientist (2009), September, Volume 23, Issue 9, Page 48

Dr. Janet Rowley awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama, August 12, 2009

Haselkorn Lecture 2011 (QuickTime Movie; 194 MB)
Haselkorn Lecture 2010 (QuickTime Movie; 100 MB)
Haselkorn Lecture 2009 (mp4)
Haselkorn Lecture 2008 (QuickTime Movie; 112 MB)

Administrative Information
(on-campus-only)