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Theresa
Wang '01 at the bench in the laboratory of her faculty
mentor, Nobel Laureate Sidney Altman.
Original
research is an integral part of undergraduate education
in Molecular,
Cellular and Developmental Biology. MCDB students
play a key role in faculty research laboratories, and
are often co-authors on original scientific research
articles. Research experiences play an important part
in many students' career decisions, and provide valuable
preparation for graduate and professional school programs.
Each year, Yale MCDB graduates go on to many of the
country's top graduate and medical school programs,
and from those programs to successful careers in academia,
industry and clinical medicine.
There
are numerous opportunities for MCDB students to carry
out research in faculty laboratories. A broad spectrum
of state-of-the-art facilities and research programs
in the MCDB Department and in related departments (including
the Yale Medical School) provide access to research
in areas including molecular biology, biochemistry,
genetics, cell biology, neurobiology, physiology, environmental
sciences, ecology and evolution.
All
interested students (first years through seniors) are
encouraged to participate in research. Students may
work in laboratories for academic credit and/or experience.
Stipend support is available in many cases; students
who are not receiving academic credit are often supported
by faculty research grants or through other programs
described on the YSER
home page.
During
the academic year, students can take either of two original
research courses. MCDB 475 is a single credit course
that may be taken in either term, ordinarily in the
junior or senior year, while MCDB 495 is normally taken
for two credits each semester during the senior year.
Each year, approximately 90% of MCDB seniors perform
original research in conjunction with MCDB 475 and 495
(year
2000 MCDB 475 and 495 projects, year
2001 MCDB 475 and 495 projects, year
2002 MCDB 475 and 495 projects, year 2003 MCDB 475 and 495 projects).
Dustin
Khiem, recipient of the 2001 Edgar J. Boell prize
for excellence in senior research, describes his research
on Schistosome anticoagulant proteins to Department
Chair Michael Snyder at the annual Senior MCDB Research
Fest.
Yale
students can also perform research in the laboratory
of a faculty member during the summer months, which
allows students to devote full-time effort to a research
project. Summer research enables students to continue
research that was initiated during the previous academic
year, or to begin research that will be continued during
the following academic year.
Research
with MCDB Faculty
The
choice of a research laboratory should be made after
consultation with faculty members. The director of undergraduate
studies, course instructors or a student's academic
adviser can often provide guidance as to potential mentors
in a student's area of interest. Research interests
of MCDB faculty span a wide range of disciplines in
contemporary biology, including cell, molecular and
developmental biology, genetics, plant biology and neurosciences.
Links to MCDB faculty research descriptions may be found
on the MCDB
Departmental Research Interests Page.
Research
with faculty in other departments
MCDB
students who are interested in research in other areas
of the biological sciences may pursue their research
in faculty laboratories of other Faculty of Arts and
Sciences departments, including Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology,
Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Biomedical
Engineering and Chemistry,
in the Yale
School of Forestry and Environmental Studies or
in any of the 28 academic departments of the Yale
School of Medicine.
Peter
Paik '01 reviews his data with faculty mentor Mark Mooseker.
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