Our collaborative program--offered jointly by Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry--is one of only a few doctoral programs in structural biology in the country. The dawn of a new scientific era calls for a new paradigm in training. It is no exaggeration that the completion of the DNA sequences for humans, plants, bacteria, and other important organisms heralds that new era. Determining the structure, function, and relationships of thousands of newly discovered biomolecules will be among the most important scientific accomplishments of the 21st century.

How should we train a new generation of scientists to participate in this adventure? Our approach recognizes the central role of structure in biological function. The Program emphasizes training in the application of quantitative techniques to research at the interface of biology, chemistry, physics and medicine. All students learn to model biomolecules on high-speed computers and are challenged to explore the molecular details of biological processes. The SB3 Program also emphasizes that structures alone are insufficient -- life depends on the relative stabilities of structural alternatives, as well as the rates of structural change.

Breadth is critical in developing the intuition to attack interesting and tractable scientific problems. Depth comes from problem solving at a specialized scientific frontier -- in a research laboratory surrounded by other labs with similar interests. Consequently, courses, laboratory rotations, and seminars spanning our three universities provide breadth in biochemical and biophysical techniques and access to an impressive array of research areas and facilities that would not be available at any one institution.

The SB3 Program offers unique research opportunities in

• Tissue and organismal structure and dynamics
• Biochemistry and photophysics of vision
• Chromosomal and nuclear structure
• RNA structure and interactions
• Protein structure and dynamics
• Motility of cellular structures
• Plants and polysaccharides
• Developmental biology
• Membrane transport
• Natural products
• Protein and RNA folding

We emphasize training in the application of quantitative techniques to research at the interface of biology, chemistry, physics and medicine. All students learn to model biomolecules on high-speed computers and are challenged to explore the molecular details of biological processes. Students participate in laboratory research rotations to familiarize them with a variety of instrumentation and techniques; half-semester rotations are required in labs from at least two of the participating universities.

Although students may apply to the SB3 Program at any one of the three participating universities, degrees are awarded based on the university affiliation of a student's research advisor. Students in the SB3 Program select their dissertation research advisors from among 40 faculty members:

• Students with an advisor from Syracuse University receive a Ph.D. in Structural Biology, Biochemistry & Biophysics from Syracuse University.
• Students with an advisor from one of the SUNY schools receive a Ph.D. from their advisor's department with a specialization in Structural Biology, Biochemistry & Biophysics.

For curriculum and program requirements, please click here.

For information about the history of our program, please click here.