About Us

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology strives to bring a molecular perspective to problems in biology and medicine.  The Department currently has 25 faculty who, with 171 postdoctoral fellows, research associates, graduate students and staff, conduct research on a wide variety of topics.  The Department occupies two floors in a nine-floor 350,000 square-foot research building designed to integrate research and teaching in an exciting, state-of-the-art environment. 

Research topics include:  mechanisms of protein folding, protein dynamics and assembly, bio-organic chemistry, RNA biology, structural biology, molecular modeling, molecular pharmacology, mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance, drug discovery, developmental biology, DNA repair and recombination, protein translocation mechanisms, gene expression, neuroscience and membrane biology. 

Departmental facilities, including x-ray spectrometry, NMR spectroscopy, and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, are complemented by proteomics, genomics, imaging, cell sorting, electron microscopy and a transgenic mouse facilities supported by the Medical School.    Research in the Department is supported by both public and private agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Keck Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, Human Frontiers in Science Program, Goldhirsh Foundation, National Alliance for Autism Research, March of Dimes, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, and US Army Department of Defense.  In addition, the Department research programs receive funding from private companies. 

The umbrella Graduate Program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is described at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences site along with specific requirements for each degree program.  The Department supports a graduate program in Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, including courses in Molecular Biophysics, Chemical Biology and Structural Biology.  The Department also teaches medical biochemistry to first-year students and medical pharmacology to second-year students. 

The faculty and staff is committed to providing a stimulating environment that makes biomedical research an exciting educational endeavor for all students and post-doctoral researchers.