Professor Satish Nair of the Department of Biochemistry has been appointed Director of the Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology. Professor Nair has been serving as Interim Director since November 2015. Professor Martha Gillette of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology has been appointed Director of the Neuroscience Program as of August 2015.

Professor Satish Nair of the Department of Biochemistry has been appointed Director of the Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology. Professor Nair has been serving as Interim Director since November 2015.

The Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology serves physical and computer science students who are interested in applying their knowledge to biology, as well as students with a biological background interested in instrumentation, computation, and physical aspects of biology. The cooperation and cross-training of scientists with engineering, physical sciences, and life sciences backgrounds has infused biology with powerful technologies and exciting new paradigms. Close interactions between theory and experiments have led to fundamental advances in our understanding of the physical basis of life. Now biology is undergoing a transformation with application of modern computational methods and advanced experimental tools to solve problems of unprecedented complexity.

The Center for Biophysics and Quantitative Biology is interdisciplinary, consisting of over 40 faculty members who have their home departments in Biochemistry, Physics, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Computer Engineering, Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology, Microbiology, and the Medical School. The Center serves as the interface between faculty research programs in experimental biophysics and quantitative and computational biology, with common interests in elucidating the physical basis of biological phenomena. The graduate degree program of the Center offers training in all aspects of this rapidly growing area.

Professor Martha Gillette of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology has been appointed Director of the Neuroscience Program as of August 2015.

The Neuroscience Program is an interdisciplinary program of study and research leading to the doctoral degree. It offers a rigorous yet flexible program designed to foster the growth of the student through research activities, close interactions with the faculty, and exposure to top neuroscientists through seminars and attendance at professional meetings.

Recognizing that there are many paths to success in neuroscience, the program imposes few specific requirements. Students design their own programs leading to the Ph.D., with oversight by faculty committees ensuring appropriate depth and breadth of training.

The Neuroscience Program currently has over 85 affiliated faculty from more than 20 departments, and 70 students, studying the brain from a broad range of perspectives.