Overview
The Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Wadsworth Center
offers M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Structural and Cell Biology.
Researchers in this track focus on functional and structural aspects
of subcellular organelles, macromolecular complexes and biomolecules
and their relationship to disease. The program consists of cutting
edge research in laboratories studying cell division and motility,
glycoprotein and carbohydrate metabolism, drug resistance and
carcinogenesis, protein translation and ribosome structure, hormone
receptors and signal transduction, among others. Research makes
use of state-of-the-art techniques and facilities in structural,
cell and molecular biology. The broad spectrum of research carried
out in the Structural and Cell Biology program results in a unique
environment that fosters interdisciplinary collaborations and
provides students the opportunity to learn and apply modern techniques
of cell biology and biophysics. For information about the faculty
in the Structural and Cell Biology Track please see the SCB
faculty page.
Resources
The Wadsworth Center has extensive core facilities that are open
to all faculty members. Several faculty members are affiliated
with the Wadsworth Center's Resource for the Visualization of
Biological Complexity (RVBC), a unique, nationally recognized
and NCRR/NIH supported facility for three-dimensional imaging
of structures in the size range from macromolecules and cell organelles
to whole cells. The RVBC combines powerful electron and light
microscopy instrumentation, with computational approaches pioneered
in Albany, to generate three-dimensional reconstructions of macromolecular
assemblies in their in-vitro interactions and of various cellular
components. The Wadsworth Center offers state-of-the-art facilities
and research opportunities in Advanced Light Microscopy and Laser
Manipulations and three-dimensional Electron Microscopy. For high-resolution
characterization of biomolecules, X-ray crystallography, multi-dimensional
NMR (600 and 500 MHz spectrometers), and biological mass spectrometry,
as well as a wide range of support facilities in biophysics, biochemistry
and molecular genetics are available. For more information see
the facilities page.
