The Graduate Fields of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology (BMCB),Genetics, Genomics, and Development (GGD), and Biophysics provide top-ranking, multidisciplinary training with the mission to educate research scientists for successful careers in the biological sciences.

Administratively overseen by the Molecular Biology and Genetics (MBG) Department, these three programs provide interdisciplinary research opportunities that span across departments and institutes on the Cornell campus. Major research focus areas within these programs include:

• Biochemistry & Structural Biology

• Biophysics

• Cell & Developmental Biology

• Computational Genomics

• Developmental Biology

• Molecular & Cell Biology

• Molecular Genetics

• Population Genetics & Molecular Evolution

Our graduate programs are committed to providing a welcoming and inclusive training environment for all students, and we have built a curriculum that provides all students with foundational scientific knowledge and skills for success. The Cornell campus offers state-of-the-art facilities and provides many opportunities for collaboration. This fertile environment, led by an enthusiastic and dedicated faculty, provides a rigorous training atmosphere. We place a great emphasis on training our students to be rigorous scientists ready for a successful career. Our graduates enjoy rewarding careers in a variety of settings, including academia, industry, government, law, and the private sector.

Graduate Fields Supported by MBG

fruit flies being moved around with a paintbrush

The BMCB Field operates in partnership with the GGD Field, bringing together 100 faculty across 18 departments and institutes and providing a wealth of research possibilities. Research in BMCB encompasses three major focus areas: Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Cell & Developmental Biology, and Molecular & Cell Biology. Project areas span many topics including the regulation of enzymes and metabolism, protein and RNA structure, cell signaling, development and tissue homeostasis, membrane trafficking, host microbiome interactions, and gene regulation and genome stability.

microscope image of larva with different sections highlighted in rainbow colors

The GGD Field operates in partnership with the BMCB Field, bringing together 100 faculty spanning 18 departments and institutes and providing a wealth of research possibilities. Research in GGD encompasses four major focus areas: Computational Genomics, Developmental Biology, Molecular Genetics, and Population Genetics & Molecular Evolution. Project areas span many topics including gene regulation and genome stability, population genetics and molecular evolution, cell signaling, development and tissue homeostasis, and host microbiome interactions.

microscopy of illuminated cells

The Graduate Field of Biophysics encompasses a diversity of interdisciplinary research topics. Biophysicists seek to understand the fundamental processes of life by applying the methods of physics and chemistry to biological systems. To investigate life at this most basic level, biophysicists use some of the most powerful tools available - X ray crystallography, optical and laser spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and advanced computational science.

News

Student Awards 2024

  • Rita and Joe Calvo Teaching Award
    • Jaymee Palma 
    • Isaac Lamptey
  • 2024 LPS Best Paper Award
    • Jacob Odell
  • George P. Hess Award
    • Shamar Wallace
  • Harry and Samuel Mann Outstanding Graduate Student
    • Jonathon Thomalla

Other News

Annie Gardella receives Honorable Mention for NSF GRFP submission
Annie Gardella (BMCB Class of 2022) was awarded Honorable Mention for her 2024 NSF GRFP application.  Annie is mentored by Iwijn De Vlaminck in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering.

Marissa Annis was awarded a SUNY Provost Diversity Fellowship for Spring 2024
Marissa Annis (BMCB Class of 2019) was awarded a SUNY Provost Diversity Fellowship by the Graduate School for Spring 2024.  This award is a competitive fellowship designed to support students who are progressing in their dissertation research and have made significant contributions to Cornell’s core values.  Marissa is mentored by Klaas Van Wijk in the School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Biology Section.

Alaa Farghli awarded SUNY Provost Diversity Fellowship for Spring 2024
Alaa Farghli (GGD Class of 2017) was awarded a SUNY Provost Diversity Fellowship by the Graduate School for Spring 2024.  This award is a competitive fellowship designed to support students who are progressing in their dissertation research and have made significant contributions to Cornell’s core values.  Alaa is mentored by Praveen Sethupathy in the Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Nora Brown is a finalist in the SUNY Chancellor’s Distinguished Dissertation Awards
Nora Brown (GGD) was awarded as a finalist in the Chancellor’s Distinguished Dissertation Awards for her dissertation Function and evolution of seminal fluid components in Drosophila.  Nora received her PhD in August 2023 and was mentored by Mariana Wolfner and Andrew Clark. 

Donald Long awarded HHMI Gilliam Fellowship
Donald Long (GGD Class of 2019) has been awarded a Gilliam Fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).  This program seeks to increase a more diverse community of scientific researchers and is awarded to people who will become leaders in science and will actively support that goal.  Don is mentored by Praveen Sethupathy in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Read about this achievement in the Grad School Announcements and read a conversation with Don that is featured in the Graduate School Student Spotlights.  Learn more about the HHMI Gilliam award.

Jawuanna McAllister receives 2023 Social Justice award at Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Awards Celebration
Jawuanna McAllister (BMCB) received the 2023 Social Justice Award at the 2023 Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Awards and Recognition Celebration. This award honors Jawuanna’s demonstrated commitment to identifying and addressing inequities, creating avenues of access, advancing diversity and inclusion, and/or promoting human rights within and beyond Cornell.

Ky’ara Carr received 2023 Exemplary Service Award for Advanced Career Student
Ky’ara Carr (BMCB) received an Exemplary Service Award for Advanced Career Student at the 2023 Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Awards and Recognition Celebration. This award honors Ky’ara’s demonstrated track record of exemplary service to the Cornell graduate and professional student community, especially in the areas of diversity, inclusion, outreach, and student engagement.

Ari Broad awarded 2023 Exemplary Service Award for Advanced Career Student
Ari Broad (BMCB) received an Exemplary Service Award for Advanced Career Student at the 2023 Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Awards and Recognition Celebration. This award honors Ari’s demonstrated track record of exemplary service to the Cornell graduate and professional student community, especially in the areas of diversity, inclusion, outreach, and student engagement.

Gerardo Arroyo awarded NIH F31 grant – Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award
Gerardo Arroyo (BMCB) has been awarded an NIH F31 grant – Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award – through the National Cancer Institute. The Kirschstein-NRSA program seeks to support mentored research training of promising predoctoral students with potential to develop into a productive, independent research scientists while they are conducting their dissertation research. Gerardo is mentored by Robert Weiss, Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Saket Bagde awarded 2022 Porter Prize for Research Excellence, American Society for Cell Biology
Saket Bagde (BMCB Class of 2018) received 2022 Porter Prize for Research Excellence from the American Society for Cell Biology.  This award is given to one graduate student on the basis of “individual scientific excellence, and the creativity and novelty of the research described.”  Saket is mentored by Chris Fromme.

Jessica Maya awarded American Association of Immunologists 2023 Travel Grant
Jessica Maya (GGD Class of 2017) was awarded a 2023 Immunology Travel Grant from the American Association of Immunologists.  Jessica is mentored by Maureen Hanson.

Alaa Farghli receives the 2023 Excellence in Leadership Award
Alaa Farghli (GGD Class of 2017) received the 2023 Excellence in Leadership Award at the 2023 Graduate Diversity & Inclusion Awards and Recognition Celebration. This award honors Alaa’s demonstrated consistent and sustained ability to improve the graduate and professional student experience through leadership activities.

Will Comstock awarded NIH F31 grant – Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award
Will Comstock (BMCB Class of 2019) has been awarded an NIH F31 grant – Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award – through the National Cancer Institute.

Fangyu Wang receives NIH F99/K00 Award
Fangyu Wang (BMCB Class of 2018) was award an NIH/K00 Award. This Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Fellow Transition Award will support the completion of her thesis research and her transition into her postdoctoral career.  Fangyu is mentored by Richard Cerione, Department of Molecular Medicine.

Saket Bagde receives Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award
Saket Badge (BMCB Class of 2018) was awarded the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award.  This prestigious award was presented to only 12 graduate students from across the United States. Saket is mentored by Chris Fromme, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics.

Fangyu Wang awarded Hsein Wu & Daisy Yen Wu Scholarship
Fangyu Wang (BMCB Class of 2018) was awarded the Hsein Wu and Daisy Yen Wu Scholarship.  Fangyu is mentored by Richard Cerione, Department of Molecular Medicine.

Samuel Deck receives 2023 NSF GRF Award
Samuel Deck (BMCB Class of 2021) was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship award. Samuel is mentored by Richard Cerione, Department of Molecular Medicine.

Daniel Lamm receives 2023 NSF GRF Award
Daniel Lamm (BMCB Class of 2021) was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship award. Daniel is mentored by Ilana Brito, Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Jumana Badar receives OISE Awards for Community Outreach
Jumana (BMCB Class of 2018) received the Community Outreach Award at the Cornell Graduate School Office of Inclusion & Student Engagement Awards Ceremony in 2022. Her leadership and coordination of outreach activities in the community and efforts to expand scientific knowledge and interest in school-age students.

Destiny Van receives Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship Honorable Mention
Destiny Van (BMCB Class of 2019) received an Honorable Mention for her submission to the  Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship program.  Destiny is mentored by Robert Weiss, Department of Biomedical Sciences.

Contact Us

For questions about the administrative aspects of the program, please contact the Graduate Field Assistants:

  • bmcb [at] cornell.edu (bmcb[at]cornell[dot]edu) | gendev [at] cornell.edu (gendev[at]cornell[dot]edu) | biophysics [at] cornell.edu
  • Lindsay Schaffner; 607-255-2100
  • Vicki Shaff; 607-255-2313