The Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Immunology offers a program of coursework and experimental research leading to a doctoral degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. Areas of strength within the department include the molecular biology of gene structure and function in bacteria, fungi, viruses, and higher organisms, bioenergetics, enzymology, macromolecular structural biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, and structure-based drug design.<br><br>In their first year, all Ph.D. graduate students in the School of Medicine's Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (IBS) program (of which we are a part) participate in a combined First Year curriculum, which provides broad-based knowledge in important areas of fundamental biomedical research. Faculty from all departments participate in the teaching, which emphasizes critical discussion of primary and secondary literature. The fall semester covers Molecular and Cell Biology. During the winter semester of the first year, coursework includes two two-credit IBS course offerings chosen by the student, together with two departmental courses that are required for our Ph.D. students: Protein Structure and Function (BMB 7320) and Molecular Biology (BMB 7330).