Topics being addressed in departmental laboratories span the entire size range of biology, beginning with
the determination of protein structures at atom-level resolution, continuing to the examination of single-celled
organisms and multi-cellular systems and reaching the study of whole animals and communities.
Areas of specialization:
In tackling questions related to protein science, microbiology, development, physiology, neurobiology, genomics, structural biology, ecology and other fields, Department of Life Sciences researchers rely on a wide variety of experimental systems, including Bacteria, Archaea, Yeast, Plants, Insects, Fish and other forms of marine life, and mammals, to unravel the mystery of life at the gene, protein, cell, system and organism levels.
As such, the on-going basic research efforts of department scientists are helping to provide solutions to problems related to the molecular basis of disease, cellular architecture, aging, life in extremes and wildlife conservation. At the same time, others are helping to advance aquaculture, to create enzymes capable of performing novel functions, to make biofuels and to develop an artificial visual system.
