Understanding biology at the molecular and systems levels will require new approaches to biomedical research, including the integration of quantitative, chemical, and biological methods.   Our next generation of scientists must therefore be capable of seamlessly bridging these diverse disciplines, serving to help unify the physical and biological communities. In response to this need for interdisciplinary scientists, Stanford University has created the Quantitative Chemical Biology (QCB) Training Program as an interschool initiative that will provide graduate students and postdoctoral fellows with research opportunities in QCB-related areas.   The cornerstones of this new program are the Department of Chemical and Systems Biology and the Department of Chemistry, both of which have strong traditions of innovative research that uses quantitative and chemical methods.   Members from these departments are joined by other Stanford researchers who are leaders in quantitative and chemical biology, comprising a highly interactive group of twenty faculty from six academic departments in Stanford's School of Medicine and School of Humanities and Sciences.   Current research interests of the QCB faculty broadly span the biosciences, with emphases on the development of chemical and genetic methods for deciphering complex signaling networks, the mathematical modeling of such processes, and the advancement of future therapeutic agents through basic science.

As part of the QCB Program, students are provided with unrestricted access to any QCB-affiliated laboratory regardless of its home department or school affiliation. In addition, QCB Program students participate in (1) specialized coursework taken during the first two years of training; (2) seminars, journal clubs, and discussion groups; and (3) research work, consisting of laboratory rotations during the first year, preliminary thesis work during the second year, and full-time thesis research thereafter.   These experiences are complemented by annual QCB retreats and NIH-sponsored symposia.   Although QCB students pursue research projects in diverse areas, achieving a broad knowledge of the quantitative, chemical, and biological sciences is a unifying theme in their graduate education.

The QCB Program also supports outstanding postdoctoral fellows who spearhead collaborative projects between two or more QCB-affiliated research groups.   This arrangement serves two major goals:   (1) preparing postdoctoral fellows for independent careers in interdisciplinary research and (2) encouraging collaborations between QCB faculty members. Postdoctoral fellows participate in departmental seminar programs, the annual QCB retreat, and the annual NIH-sponsored meeting, and QCB Fellows are expected to work more independently than traditional postdoctoral researchers--taking a leadership role in project design and coordinating the collaboration between research groups.

QCB Faculty

Matthew Bogyo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pathology and Chemical and Systems Biology
Steven G. Boxer, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry
James K. Chen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and Chemistry
Karlene A. Cimprich, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and Chemistry
Jennifer Cochran, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Bioengineering
Ricardo E. Dolmetsch, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
James E. Ferrell, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Chemical and Systems Biology and Biochemistry
Pehr A. B. Harbury, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Daniel Herschlag, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry
Chaitan Khosla, Ph.D., Professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Brian K. Kobilka, M.D., Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Eric T. Kool, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry
Tobias Meyer, Ph.D., Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology
Daria Mochly-Rosen, Ph.D., Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and Senior Associate Dean for Research in the School of Medicine.
Richard A. Roth, Ph.D., Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology
Vijay S. Pande, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Chemistry and Structural Biology
Aaron F. Straight, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Thomas J. Wandless, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology and Chemistry
William Weis, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Structural Biology and Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Paul A. Wender, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry and Chemical and Systems Biology

Contact Information

For additional information about the QCB Training Program, please contact:

Margaret Tuggle
Administrative Associate Student Services
Department of Chemical and Systems Biology
mtuggle@stanford.edu