Biochemistry and Molecular Biology sits at the interface of the physical sciences (chemistry and physics), the biological sciences (medical and health sciences, evolutionary biology, microbiology, and physiology) and the computational sciences (computer science, mathematics, and statistics). Our department members make breakthrough discoveries in chromatin regulation, gene expression, cellular identity and development, cancer biology, imaging technologies, genome replication and stability, and Infectious and neurological diseases.
Department faculty members have been instrumental in developing and leading many interdisciplinary programs at CSU including the Cell and Molecular Biology graduate program, the Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Neuroscience program (graduate admission and BS degree), and the Chemical Biology graduate program.
Other university research facilities owe their origins to the Department of Biochemistry, including two Foundational Core Facilities: the Proteomics and Metabolomics Core housed in the Microbiology Building, which grew out of the Macromolecular Resource Facility started in MRB in 1990, and the Microscope Imaging Network, which developed from the Fluorescence Microscopy and Image Analysis Center, also started in 1990. Planet Protein, a unique protein purification core, is housed within the Department.
Breif History of our beginnings:
1966
Founded in 1966, with faculty from Chemistry and from the Chemistry and Endocrine Sections of the CSU Agricultural Experiment Station (what used to be a major funding agency for CSU research in many areas). The newly formed department offered both the MS and Ph.D. degrees, but all advisors needed to apply and be accepted as members of the graduate faculty.
1984
The undergraduate (B.S.) major was started in 1984 and currently has over 300 students.
1989
Completion of MRB and planning of move.
2018
Fall 2018 the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology received a prestigious accreditation by the nationally recognized American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
2019
Fall 2019 the launching of two new Professional Science Master’s programs Biological Data Analytics and Microscope Imaging Technology.
Department News
NASA astrobiology grant will support research into the search for extraterrestrial life
The Santangelo Lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is working with researchers at NASA and Rice University to develop a definitive metric for use in the search for life beyond Earth.
Researchers offer alternative to hydroxyurea in study of DNA replication process
Researchers at Colorado State University have identified an alternate method to study changes during the DNA replication process in lab settings using genetically modified yeast. The new approach offers a clearer window than current drug methods used to understand cell cycle arrest – a fundamental mechanism that is key to treating cancers and genetic issues.
Neuroscience research leverages stem cells to understand how neurons connect, communicate in the brain
Newly published research from Colorado State University answers fundamental questions about cellular connectivity in the brain that could be useful in the development of treatments for neurological diseases like autism, epilepsy or schizophrenia.
Q & A: Citing your own work
Colorado State University researcher, Sean Cascarina, delves into the significant implications of self-referencing while presenting insights gleaned from his study on the subject.
