Work undertaken by faculty members and their trainees is frequently multidisciplinary and crosses many pillars of health research including basic and clinical sciences and population health.  Various aspects of the molecular and biochemical basis of Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer, cancer biology, lysosomal storage diseases, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, neuromuscular and cardiovascular diseases are being investigated. Model systems are being created in mouse, C. elegans, and S. cerevisiae . Areas of research include development, signal transduction, steroid hormone receptor action, chromatin structure, transcription and gene regulation, biosynthesis and transport of membrane proteins, membrane lipid metabolism, arachidonate metabolism. Other areas of research include dysmorphology, the molecular basis of genetic disease, prenatal diagnosis and screening, as well as community genetics. For specifics, please click on our Faculty info page.

Research facilities

The administrative office and some faculty are housed on the 3rd floor (24,000 square feet) of the Basic Medical Sciences Building located at the Bannatyne Campus of the University. Research resources include preparative and ultracentrifuges, visible and ultraviolet spectrophotometers, spectrofluorometers, luminometers, liquid and gamma scintillation spectrophotometers, high pressure liquid chromatography, radiochromatogram scanners, instruments for gas, liquid, paper and thin-layer chromatography and electrophoresis, phosphoimagers and a variety of modern instruments for molecular biology. The department is well-equipped with bacteria/cell/tissue culture facilities and coldrooms and has access to state-ofthe-art transgenic mouse modeling facilities.