Welcome to the MCDB Program
The Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (MCDB) is an interdisciplinary unit involving the collaborative efforts of over 140 faculty members from twenty-five departments in six colleges:
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Biological Sciences
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Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
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Medicine and Public Health
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Pharmacy
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Mathematical and Physical Sciences
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Veterinary Medicine
MCDB offers a course of study leading to the doctoral degree. Research training is very diverse and areas of study include: Cell Biology, Gene Expression, DNA Replication, Developmental Biology, Molecular Medicine, Virology, Cancer Biology/Genetics, Plant Molecular Biology, Molecular Neurobiology, RNA Processing. Other research focus groups, consisting of several faculties with common research interests, also exist within the Program. In collaboration with the College of Medicine's Medical Scientist Program, a combined M.D./Ph.D. degree program is available.
MCDB emphasizes an integrative approach to the discipline, encompassing the molecular, cellular, and organismic levels of organization. Students undergo training in a core of courses in molecular biology, cell biology, developmental biology and biochemistry. A typical graduate program begins with a course-intensive first year of study, followed by some additional elective coursework in the second year.
Most students are required to do at least three lab rotations and to select a research advisor (with the concurrence of the faculty member selected) only at the end of the Spring quarter.