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Biochemistry & Molecular Biology



Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

The biochemistry & molecular biology program at Dickinson is a rigorous course of study focusing on the junctions between the chemical and biological sciences. Students explore a wide array of topics, including gene regulation, protein structure and function, intermediary metabolism, genetics, developmental genomics, medical biochemistry and thermodynamics.

Jointly sponsored by the chemistry and biology departments, this major focuses on the rapidly expanding field of DNA research and biochemistry. Majors are directly involved in research projects, either on campus or at approved off-campus laboratories. Dickinson faculty members maintain active research programs in both fields, so students learn up-to-date techniques from active practitioners.

The program is interdisciplinary, requiring coursework in both the chemistry and biology departments. The goal of the program is to train students broadly in the biochemical sciences while providing practical laboratory-based research experiences , all to prepare students to succeed in graduate or professional schools.

Contact Info

Chair

Rebecca ConnorAssociate Professor of Chemistry

Department Coordinator

Janice Wiss

Phone

717-245-1329

Fax

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Location

Rector North 1301 - Rector Science Complex Mailing Address

Department Features




Student Outcomes

Where Our Students Go From Here

Jobs:

  • Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
  • LGH Pulmonary Associates
  • Thomas Jefferson University, Vickie & Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience
  • Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan
  • MIT, Jacks Lab at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
  • Genocea
  • Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Thomas Jefferson University Department of Neurology

Graduate Schools:

  • Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science’s Chicago Medical School
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) IRTA (postbac)
  • NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (postbac)
  • University of Oregon
  • Duke University
  • University of Glasgow
  • St. George's University School of Veterinary Medicine
  • Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
  • University of Maryland School of Medicine
  • Columbia University 
Where Our Students Have Interned
  • Johns Hopkins Medicine, Drug Discovery
  • Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP), Jamkhed, Maharashtra, India
  • Hastings Research Laboratory, Loyola University Maryland
  • Boston Children's Hospital
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
  • University of Alabama at Birmingham, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care
  • National Institutes of Health's Endocrine Oncology Branch
  • UPMC Pinnacle Carlisle Hospital
  • Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation
  • Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research

Student Perspective

"I love this major because it allows me to explore many different areas of science and how they all work together with one another, specifically biology and chemistry. I went into college knowing I wanted to major in biology. However, after taking the intro chemistry classes, my passion ignited for chemistry and how it works within biology, and I decided to declare biochemistry and molecular biology for my major."

—Conor Wagner ’24


Biochemistry and Molecular Biology News

Stafford Fellowship in Bioinformatics Gives Science Students a Leg Up

Stafford Fellowship in Bioinformatics Gives Science Students a Leg Up

The new fellowship supports research and internships both on campus and off, across the academic year and through the summer.

New Internship Helps Pre-Health Students Draw a Roadmap for a Healthcare Career

New Internship Helps Pre-Health Students Draw a Roadmap for a Healthcare Career

University of Maryland School of Dentistry and world-renowned R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center welcome their first two Dickinsonians into new program.

A Global Health Mission

A Global Health Mission

At the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT and across the globe, Liam Alec Stenson Ortiz ’19 helps prepare for future pandemics, with a focus on the world's underserved communities.

On the Fast Track to Success

On the Fast Track to Success

A scholarship made Sammy Garcia '23's Dickinson research project possible. That research led to a high-level internship and career at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Major Jobs and Graduate School Acceptances 2023

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Major Jobs and Graduate School Acceptances 2023

Biochemistry & molecular biology majors secure research positions at NIAID, Lonza and the Broad Institute and are accepted to graduate programs.

Student Snapshot: Galil Cohen ’23

Student Snapshot: Galil Cohen ’23

“Studying immunology in the midst of the COVID pandemic has made for especially relevant lessons,” says Galil Cohen ’23, a biochemistry & molecular biology major and a Red Devil soccer player.