Program Coordinator
Rene Eubank
Phone: (205) 975-7145
Fax: (205) 975-5648
eubank@uab.edu

Cell biology has entered a new era in which recently developed techniques are rapidly beginning to unravel the basic principles of cell function. The aim of the Graduate Program in Cell Biology is to prepare a new generation of investigators who will contribute to this progress.

First-year students participate in the Cellular and Molecular Biology (CMB) Program, a unified laboratory research, lecture, and seminar program staffed by faculty from the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, Cell Biology, Microbiology, and Neurobiology, as well as several clinical departments of the School of Medicine. Other students enter the Cell Biology Program through the M.D./Ph.D. Training Program, the Integrative Biomedical Sciences (IBS) Program, or the Program in Neuroscience. This curriculum emphasizes (a) the multidisciplinary and quantitative aspects of modern biomedical sciences; (b) a diversity of laboratory research training experiences; and (c) the development of skills in scientific literature appreciation, writing, and speaking. Advanced students are primarily engaged in research, but also take courses and tutorials in specialized areas of interest, participate in seminars, and have opportunities to gain teaching experience while satisfying other requirements of their doctoral programs.

Students carry out their research in state-of-the-art laboratories occupied by the faculty. In addition, the department maintains core laboratories for light and electron microscopy, microspectrometry, tissue culture, biochemistry, graphics, and computer analysis.

Faculty research interests include cell motility; vesicular trafficking; immunopathology; cellular and molecular immunology; mechanisms of endocytosis; structure and function of cartilage, muscle, and ocular tissues; structure of extracellular matrix and its impact on gene expression and involvement in human genetic diseases; cytokine regulation of gene expression; transmembrane signaling; structure and function of the cytoskeleton; structure and biochemistry of fibrinogen; neuroimmunology; neurobiology of sensory and motor systems; and cardiovascular regulation.