We’re one of the few programs in the country that trains in structure/function—where students learn at the molecular level and from the ground up to find the cause and cure of disease. In our program, students take the lead in their research and frequently collaborate with different labs. And the research? It’s cutting-edge in a supportive environment. See how we train the next generation of biochemists.

Considered the most prestigious award in the world, the Nobel Prize was given to two faculty in the Department of Biochemistry. In 2015, Dr. Paul Modrich received the Nobel in Chemistry for his mechanistic studies in DNA repair and in 2012, Dr. Robert Lefkowitz won the Nobel in Chemistry for his discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family of G protein-coupled receptors.

The Bartesaghi Lab works closely with researchers from the School of Medicine and the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences to computationally determine the structure of macromolecular complexes using high-resolution, single particle Cryo-EM, Cryo-ET, and sub-volume averaging.  They were the first to visualize atomic resolution features in density maps and regularly incorporate geometric constraints into the refinement of image orientations, so structures can be determined at significantly higher resolutions than using conventional refinement techniques. Bartesaghi “art” has graced the covers of multiple scientific journals.