Students entering the BMS program will have the opportunity to conduct thesis research with over 60 faculty members. Wadsworth Center faculty, with primary appointments in the department, are principal investigators on research, training, and resource grants totaling over ten million dollars, with major funding coming from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Among our faculty is a senior investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, both honors of the highest order.

Many of the faculty-directed ongoing research projects deal with fundamental biological processes, including: gene expression; RNA processing; cell motility and the cytoskeleton; membrane transport; protein translation, modification and structure; cell recognition; hormone action; blood coagulation; organismal development; and development and regulation of immune responses. In addition, many lines of investigation deal directly with such health-related issues as the uptake and mechanisms of action of drugs, neurotoxins, lead and asbestos; computer-brain interfacing; the genetic basis of disease susceptibility, and the etiology of AIDS, Lyme disease, and epilepsy. NIH-funded research programs address questions of the structure and infectivity of viruses and other pathogens; molecular and cellular mechanisms of vector/virus interaction; and the molecular basis of tissue tropism of viruses such as the encephalitis-producing West Nile virus. Bioterrorism preparedness research is directed toward development of highly sensitive and specific methods for detection of bioterrorism agents.

This varied and vigorous research environment provides students with a spectrum of choices for dissertation research that may be unparalleled among schools of public health. For an overview of the research interests of our faculty please go to the individual track pages.