Our Mission

The mission of the Department of Molecular Biology is to advance knowledge and improve human health through the discovery of fundamental mechanisms, cellular functions, and processes that control disease. We are especially committed to creating an environment that fosters creativity in our research and enables trainees to achieve their highest potential.

High-Impact, Internationally Recognized Research

Research in the Department of Molecular Biology focuses on understanding mechanisms that control development and disease. Many of the basic molecular mechanisms that govern these activities are evolutionarily conserved in widely divergent organisms. Thus, the elucidation of molecular pathways in simple, genetically tractable organisms can have direct relevance to comparable human processes.

In the Department of Molecular Biology, investigators use a variety of model organisms to uncover and characterize fundamental cellular, molecular, and genetic pathways that control proliferation, differentiation, and disease. Our faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students constitute a diverse group of investigators with overlapping expertise in different research areas relating to this common theme.

The Department operates labs in modern research buildings on UT Southwestern’s North Campus.

Educating and Training Leaders in Biomedical Research

The Department of Molecular Biology provides both a rich intellectual environment and cutting-edge research laboratories to train our graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Our goal is to challenge and motivate the next generation of researchers. We pride ourselves on being a friendly, supportive, and interactive Department with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.