Research

The science and engineering of biology are in the midst of a revolution. Application of the methods and concepts of mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, and information science are providing deep insight into classical biological problems such as the nature of heredity, the control of protein function, the regulation of gene expression in cells, the regulation of cellular activity, the mechanisms of growth and development, and the nature and interactions of nerve activity, brain function, and behavior. In addition, this confluence is nurturing new disciplines such as biosphere engineering, molecular programming, neuroengineering, single cell biology, synthetic biology, and systems biology.

The research areas listed to the left provide a description of some of the more detailed topics in which faculty in BBE are currently active, along with lists of individual faculty members in each area.

BBE is also integrated with research being carried out in a number of centers and institutes at Caltech, described in more detail on their own pages:

• Beckman Institute (Chemical and Biological Sciences)
• Center for Environmental Microbial Interactions (CEMI)
• Center for Evolutionary Science
• Merkin Institute for Translational Medicine
• Resnick Sustainability Institute / Ecology and Biosphere Engineering (EBE) Initiative
• Rosen Bioengineering Center
• Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience

Finally, Caltech partners with all of the other divisions at Caltech, as well as a number of affiliated institutions:

• Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE)
• Engineering and Applied Science(EAS)
• Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)
• Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS)
• Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy (PMA)

• Carnegie Institution for Science / Division of Biosphere Science and Engineering