The Department of Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) at the University of California at Berkeley offers outstanding opportunities for scientific training in a highly interactive environment that enables doctoral students to pursue any of a wide range of modern fields of biological research. The Department of Molecular and Cell Biology is organized into five divisions and includes over 90 faculty.

The divisional organization offers the advantages of mid-sized, thematically focused, scientific groupings within the larger, more diverse academic environment in molecular and cell biology. The common purpose of the divisions is to foster and maintain a closely knit, stimulating and active community for study. The department is also part of a much more extensive biological sciences community at Berkeley. Often, faculty maintain affiliations with multiple divisions, as well as other graduate programs and institutes at Berkeley. These affiliations are included in the table below. Clicking on a faculty member's name will take you to their lab website. You can click on column headings to sort.

BBS - Biochemistry, Biophysics & Structural Biology CDB - Cell & Developmental Biology GGD - Genetics, Genomics & Developmental IMM - Immunology & Pathogenesis NEU - Neurobiology

 

Name Title Divisions  Roles Keywords
Hillel AdesnikAssociate Professor of NeurobiologyNEUDynamics of neural circuits underlying information processing in the cerebral cortex.
Georjana BarnesJudy Chandler Webb Endowed Chair and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDGSI AdvisorMicrotubule cytoskeleton and cell cycle controls
Greg BartonClass of ’36 Endowed Chair and Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPDivision HeadInnate immune system
Helen BateupAssociate Professor of NeurobiologyNEUYear 2 Advisor, GAC MemberMolecular mechanisms of synapse and circuit plasticity
Diana BautistaProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBEquity AdvisorMolecular mechanisms of transduction in touch and pain receptors
Robert BeattyLecturer of ImmunologyIMPGSI AdvisorInfectious disease immunology
Eric BetzigHoward Hughes Investigator and Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBDevelopment of new tools for imaging and image analysis to enable biological discovery
David BilderProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBGAC MemberGenetics of cell and tissue architecture
Michael BotchanDean of Biological Sciences Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSDeanEukaryote DNA replication and control of S phase
Gloria BrarAssociate Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBRegulation of meiotic translation, the roles of pervasive short translation products, and the co-option of stress responses for cellular differentiation through meiosis
Steven E. BrennerProfessor (Affiliated) of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDComputational Genomics
Stephen BrohawnAssistant Professor of NeurobiologyNEUMolecular basis of sensory transduction and cellular electrical signaling
Carlos BustamanteHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Raymond and Beverly Sackler Chair and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSStructural characterization of nucleo-protein assemblies
Jamie H. D. CateProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSMolecular Basis for Protein Synthesis by the Ribosome
Christopher ChangClass of 1942 Chair and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSDeciphering roles for metals and redox signals in neurobiology, metabolism, and cancer enabled by activity-based sensing and related chemical technologies
Michelle ChangProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSEnzyme catalysis and metabolic engineering
Kathleen CollinsWalter and Ruth Schubert Family Chair, Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSDivision HeadBiology, biochemistry, and biotechnology of retroelements, retroelement reverse transcriptases, and functional RNAs
Laurent CoscoyAssociate Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPYear 1 AdvisorMolecular mechanisms of immune evasion in viral infection
Jeffery CoxC.H. Li Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Endocrinology, Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPMolecular mechanisms of pathogenesis and immune evasion in mycobacteria
Yang DanHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of NeurobiologyNEUGSI AdvisorInformation processed by neuronal circuits
Xavier DarzacqAssociate Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDYear 2 AdvisorTranscription regulation during cellular differentiation
Karen DaviesAssistant Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSStructural biogenesis of mitochondria and carbon concentrating mechanisms
Abby DernburgHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBYear 2 Advisor, GSI AdvisorChromosome organization and dynamics during meiosis
Andrew DillinHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Thomas and Stacey Siebel Distinguished Chair in Stem Cell Biology and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDGAC MemberMy laboratory works on the genetic and molecular mechanisms that regulate aging and aging-related disease.
Jennifer A. DoudnaHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Li Ka Shing Chancellor's Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSRNA-mediated gene regulation
David G. DrubinErnette Comby Chair in Microbiology Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBActin and microtubule cytoskeletons in yeast and mammalian cells
Peter DuesbergProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSThe cancer karyotype: What it is and what it does
Michel DuPageAssistant Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPEpigenetic control of the functional plasticity of T cells in disease
Michael B. EisenHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDGenomics/Bioinformatics
Daniel FeldmanProfessor of NeurobiologyNEUDivision HeadSensory processing and plasticity in cerebral cortex
Marla FellerProfessor of NeurobiologyNEUThe development and function of retinal circuits
Gary FirestoneProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBMolecular endocrinology; tumor biology
Yvette FisherAssistant Professor of NeurobiologyNEUFlexibility of neural circuits for navigation
John G. FlanneryProfessor of NeurobiologyNEUMolecular mechanisms underlying diseases of the retina
Daniel A. FletcherProfessor (Affiliated) of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBMechanics and dynamics of cell movements on the purified protein, single cell, and tissue levels
Hernan G. GarciaAssistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDPhysical biology. Transcriptional regulation. Development of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
Gian GarrigaProfessor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDDevelopmental neurobiology; molecular genetics
Britt GlaunsingerHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSYear 1 AdvisorVirology; messenger RNA processing and degradation
Andrea GomezAssistant Professor of NeurobiologyNEUInstructive cues for neural form and function
Iswar HariharanDepartment Co-Chair and Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBCo-ChairMechanisms of control of growth and cell proliferation. Regulation of regenerative growth.
Richard HarlandSenior Associate Dean of Biological Sciences, C.H. Li Distinguished Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDExec. DeanMolecular biology of development
Lin HeAssociate Professor and Thomas and Stacey Siebel Distinguished Chair in Stem Cell Research Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBmicroRNA functions in cancer development, mouse tumor models
Rebecca HealdDepartment Co-Chair and Flora Lamson Hewlett Chair and Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBCo-ChairMitotic spindle assembly and function in Xenopus laevis
Dirk HockemeyerAssociate Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBTelomere biology of human stem cells
James HurleyProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBYear 1 AdvisorStructural membrane biology
Nicholas IngoliaAssociate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSYear 1 AdvisorMolecular basis and physiological roles of the Translational control of gene expression through global and genome-wide analyses
Ehud IsacoffProfessor of NeurobiologyNEUIon channel function and synaptic plasticity
Na JiAssociate Professor of NeurobiologyNEUDevelopment of microscopy methods for clearer, deeper, and faster in vivo tissue imaging
Gary KarpenProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBChromosome structure and function
Nicole KingHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDChoanoflagellates, animal origins, and the evolution of host-microbe interactions
David KirnAdjunct Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMP
Arash KomeiliProfessor (Affiliated) of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBAssembly and Subcellular Organization of Bacterial Organelles
Doug KoshlandRichard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Chair in the Biological Sciences & Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDMechanisms and principles that mediate desiccation tolerance and the structure, integrity, and evolution of chromosomes
Richard H. KramerCH and Annie Li Chair in Molecular Biology of Diseases and Professor of NeurobiologyNEUYear 1 AdvisorChemical signaling within and between neurons
John KuriyanHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Chancellor's Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSStructural and functional studies of signal transduction and DNA replication
Stephan LammelAssociate Professor of NeurobiologyNEUOrganization and function of neural circuits
Liana LareauAssistant Professor (Affiliated) of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGD
Samantha LewisAssistant Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBYear 1 AdvisorMitochondrial biology; mitochondrial genome integrity in health and disease
Polina LishkoAssociate Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBCell biology of mammalian fertilization
Ellen LumpkinProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDB
Kunxin LuoProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBSignal transduction pathways mediated by receptors and the mechanisms controlling the activity of the receptor kinases
Michael MarlettaProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSStructure/Function Relationships in Proteins; Enzyme Catalysis; Molecular Mechanisms of Cell Signaling
Susan MarquseeProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSDeterminants of protein structure and folding
Megan MartikAssistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDNeural crest in development, disease, evolution, and tissue regeneration
Andreas MartinHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSEnergy-dependent proteases and molecular machines
Sabeeha MerchantProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSBiochemistry of metals; photosynthesis and bioenergy; genomics of algae
Barbara MeyerHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDYear 1 AdvisorSex determination in C. elegans
Craig T. MillerAssociate Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDDevelopmental and evolutionary genetics
Evan MillerAssociate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSYear 2 AdvisorChemical biology, neuroscience, organic chemistry, fluorescence, imaging
Priya MoorjaniAssistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDHuman Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology
Dipti NayakAssistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDPhysiology and evolution of archaea; biochemistry of methanogenesis; genome editing tools for archaeal genetics
Eva NogalesHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSStructure-function of macromolecular assemblies: cytoskeleton self-assembly and nucleic acid transactions
Daniel K. NomuraProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSUsing chemoproteomic platforms for drug discovery against the undruggable proteome and incurable diseases
James NuñezAssistant Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSEpigenome editing, epigenetic memory and inheritance; CRISPR technology development
Molly OhainleAssistant Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMP
James OlzmannAssociate Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBRegulation of cellular lipid homeostasis: lipid droplets, lipotoxicity, and ferroptosis
Eunyong ParkAssistant Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSStructure and mechanism of membrane transport proteins; cryo-EM; biochemistry; biophysics
Daniel PortnoyProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSMolecular and cellular basis of microbial pathogenesis
David PrestiTeaching Professor of NeurobiologyNEUNeurobiology
Michael RapeHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBProtein ubiquitination, degradation and the control of cell division and differentiation
David RauletEsther and Wendy Schekman Chair in Basic Cancer Biology, and Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPInnate immune responses to cancer and infections mediated by natural killer cells and T cells
Jasper RineHoward Hughes Medical Institute Professor and Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDDivision HeadGene regulation; cell biology
Donald RioProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSMolecular genetics; transposable elements; RNA splicing
Ellen RobeyProfessor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPFate determination in the T-lymphocyte lineage
Henk RoelinkProfessor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDInduction in vertebrate development and ES cell differentiation
Daniel S. RokhsarProfessor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDCollective phenomena and ordering in condensed matter and biological systems
Kaoru SaijoAssistant Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPNuclear Receptor-mediated regulation of Neuroinflammation
David SavageAssociate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSGAC Member, Year 2 AdvisorSynthetic biology and metabolism.
David SchafferProfessor of NeurobiologyNEUMolecular investigations of stem cells and viral gene delivery
Randy SchekmanHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBOrganelle assembly; protein transport
Alanna SchepartzCZ and Irmgard Distinguished Chair of Chemistry, Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSChemical and synthetic biology; how cellular molecules and machines function and how this information can be used to design new and useful molecules.
Kristin ScottProfessor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDProcessing gustatory information in the Drosophila brain
William ShaAssociate Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPB cell gene regulation and fate determination
Sarah A. StanleyAssociate Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPYear 2 Advisor, GAC Member
Peter SudmantAssistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDEvolutionary and Functional Genomics
Ian SwinburneAssistant Professor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBMulti-scale mechanisms of organ form and function
Mark TanouyeProfessor (Affiliated) of NeurobiologyNEUMechanisms of nervous system structure and function
Denis TitovAssistant Professor (Affiliated) of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBMetabolism and mechanisms of aging
Robert TjianHoward Hughes Medical Institute President and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSEukaryotic molecular biology; biochemistry
Doris TsaoProfessor of NeurobiologyNEU
Elçin ÜnalAssociate Professor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDHead AdvisorMolecular basis of cellular rejuvenation, gene regulation during cellular differentiation
Srigokul Upadhyayula (Gokul)Assistant Professor in Residence of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBMultifunctional adaptive optical microscopy; 3D subcellular dynamics; computational tools for tera- to petabyte-scale projects.
Fyodor UrnovProfessor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDEngineered zinc finger DNA binding proteins
Russell VanceHoward Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPHost-pathogen interactions
David WeisblatProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBDevelopmental biology
Matthew WelchProfessor of Cell and Developmental BiologyCDBDivision HeadCytoskeletal function in cell migration, membrane trafficking and microbial pathogenesis
Noah WhitemanProfessor of Genetics, Genomics and DevelopmentGGDWe study the genetic basis of biotic interactions, the evolution of immune systems and toxin evolution-resistance mechanisms
Ross WilsonAssistant Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSMolecular mechanisms and therapeutic delivery of genome editing enzymes
Astar WinotoWilliams Endowed Chair and Professor of Immunology and PathogenesisIMPMolecular mechanisms of apoptosis and proliferation in T cells, cancer, host pathogen interaction and human stem cells.
Ahmet YildizAssociate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSStructural mechanism of molecular motors. High resolution imaging of subcellular structures
Qiang ZhouProfessor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSGSI AdvisorBiochemistry of HIV gene expression and transcriptional elongation
Roberto ZoncuAssociate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural BiologyBBSHow organelles sense nutrients and regulate cellular growth