Overview
The Department of Molecular Genetics applies powerful tools of molecular biology to problems of clinical medicine with heavy emphasis on genetic and metabolic disorders. Identification and characterization of malfunctioning genes in disease can lead not only to better treatment of the disease but also to understanding how the genes operate in the normal state.
The Department of Molecular Genetics faculty holds some of science’s highest awards and recognitions:
- Two Nobel Prize Laureates
- Three Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators
- Five National Academy of Sciences Members
- Three Institute of Medicine Members
The core of our Departmental research centers on lipid research, which touches on many vital bodily functions and diseases, such as hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. The fruits of our research include the development of life-saving statin drugs. Topics of investigation include regulation of lipid synthesis and membrane composition; production of steroid hormones and bile acids; development and degeneration of the brain; and genes that control appetite and sleep.
The Department is united by weekly research conferences, sharing of equipment and ideas, and our devotion to fighting devastating diseases with the tools of basic science.