Biochemistry and Biophysics (BCBP) is an interdepartmental educational program, with curriculums leading to B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

Biochemistry and biophysics are closely related fields. Biochemistry focuses on the interconversion of compounds in the many complex reactions of life, on the mechanisms whereby enzymes catalyze and regulate these reactions, and the function and structure of the molecular components of living organisms.

Biophysics is principally concerned with processes of energy conversion, information transmission, and the structure and properties of materials in biological systems, as explored with methods of physics.

Biochemical and biophysical research is advancing the frontiers of research in the basic life sciences and making possible advances in more applied fields such as medicine and agriculture. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, elucidating mechanisms of drug action and devising new ways of dealing with diseases has increasingly depended on application of knowledge and techniques of biochemistry and biophysics.

Contacts

Joyce J. Diwan, Director, Biochemistry & Biophysics Undergraduate Program

Jane F. Koretz, Director, Biochemistry & Biophysics Graduate Program

News

Megan Salt: Charting a Course for Cancer Research (May 2008)
Ask Megan Salt to look to the future and she talks about influencing the direction of cancer research, either as the principal investigator in an academic or industrial setting or as head of a research team.

Jeffrey Martin: Undergrad Has Sweet Success With Invention of Artificial Golgi (May 2008)
An undergraduate student at Rensselaer has learned very quickly that a spoonful of sugar really does help the medicine go down. In fact, with his invention, the sugar may actually be the medicine

2008 Undergraduate Research Awards (May 2008)
The 2008 Undergraduate Research Forum & Awards was held on March 21, naming three winners each in the applied and theoretical categories.