UNIVERSITY
OF
CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN BIOLOGY
Division of Biological Sciences
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Graduate Program in the UCSD Division of Biological Sciences, in affiliation with the Salk Institute for Biological
Studies, provides extraordinary opportunities for students who wish to pursue doctoral studies in the many areas of
modern biological research. The Program brings together the resources of two outstanding scientific institutions to
provide students with the broadest possible training environment while maintaining a tightly integrated graduate
experience.
Students have access to over 100 distinct laboratories and are exposed to the latest technology in an incredibly diverse
training program. Through formal and informal training opportunities, students not only develop the ability to conduct top
quality, independent research, they also acquire the skills and confidence in teaching, public speaking and scientific
writing which are critical for future success.
The Division of Biological Sciences is composed of four academic sections: Cell & Developmental Biology (CDB),
Ecology, Behavior & Evolution (EBE), Molecular Biology (MB) and Neurobiology (NB). Graduate students in the Division
can choose labs in any of these sections, and often develop collaborations among laboratories in two or three sections.
THE FACULTY
Eric Allen (UCSD / MB / SIO): Molecular genetics and
ecological physiology.
Raffi Aroian (UCSD / CDB): Mechanism of action of
bacterial pore-forming toxins and bacterial pathogenesis in
animals.
Doris Bachtrog (UCSD / EBE): Population genetics,
molecular evolution & comparative genomics; evolution
of sex.
Tim Baker (UCSD / MB): Cryoelectron microscopy and
three-dimensional, computer reconstruction of
macromolecules.
Darwin Berg (UCSD / NB): Molecular and cellular
neurobiology; regulation of synaptic components on
neurons.
Ethan Bier (UCSD / CDB): Molecular and genetic
analysis of Drosophila neural development.
Lisa Boulanger (UCSD / NB): Role of immune
molecules in normal and abnormal neuronal
development and synaptic plasticity, mechanisms of
axon guidance.
Steve Briggs (UCSD / CDB): Systems biology and
regulatory problems in a variety of organisms, including
plants.
Stuart Brody (UCSD / MB): Biochemical genetics of
circadian rhythms and mitochondrial membranes in
Neurospora.
Gert Cauwenberghs (UCSD / NB): Analog and digital
VLSI microsystems for adaptive neural computation and
sensory information processing.
Lin Chao (UCSD / EBE): Evolutionary processes in
microbes: bacteria and their viruses.
Andrew Chisholm (UCSD / CDB / NB): Genetics of
neuronal and epidermal morphogenesis in C. elegans.
Senyon Choe (Salk / MB): Molecular interactions among
biological macromolecules.
Joanne Chory (Salk / CDB): Genetic and molecular
analysis of light-regulated development in plants.
Maarten Chrispeels (UCSD / CDB): Plant molecular and
cell biology. Regulation of gene expression and protein
targeting.
Nigel Crawford (UCSD / CDB): Plant molecular biology,
control of gene expression and ion transport.
Michael David (UCSD / MB): Mechanisms by which
interferons and other cytokines activate the transcription of
early response genes.
For more information about our academic program and in-depth faculty research descriptions,
please visit our website: www-biology.ucsd.edu
UNIVERSITY
OF
CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN BIOLOGY
Andrew Dillin (Salk / MB): Pathways that regulate the
aging process.
David Holway (UCSD / EBE): Ecological basis of
invasive species. Argentine Ants, Fire Ants - California.
Joseph Ecker (Salk / CDB): Plant genetics.
Tony Hunter (Salk / MB): Molecular basis of oncogenesis
and growth control.
Mark Estelle (UCSD / MB): Understanding the molecular
mechanisms of plant hormone action.
Beverly Emerson (Salk / MB): Transcriptional regulation
in differentiation and disease.
Ron Evans (Salk / MB): Molecular mechanisms of steroid
hormone action.
Richard Firtel (UCSD / CDB): Mechanisms regulating
gene expression and cell differentiation during
development. G. proteins and signal transduction
mechanisms.
Douglass Forbes (UCSD / CDB): Nuclear transport in
vitro; nuclear pore structure; nuclear assembly.
Fred Gage (Salk / NB): Regeneration in the adult
mammalian nervous system.
E. Peter Geiduschek (UCSD / MB): Biochemical and
genetic approaches to the control of gene activity.
Anirvan Ghosh (UCSD / NB): Molecular neurobiology;
mechanisms of cortical development and plasticity;
calcium regulation of gene expression.
Partho Ghosh (UCSD / MB / CHEM): Mechanisms of
bacterial and protozoan pathogenesis, and host
response against infectious microbes.
Ananda Goldrath (UCSD / MB): Generation and
maintenance of T cell immunity.
Martyn Goulding (Salk / NB): Neural development.
Colin Jamora (UCSD / CDB): Cell biology of
morphogenesis. Molecular mechanisms of organ
development in mice.
Walter Jetz (UCSD / EBE): Ecological patterns at the
level of the individual, population and community.
Yishi Jin (UCSD / NB): Molecular genetic mechanisms of
synapse formation, neuron circuit regulation and nerve
regeneration.
Randall Johnson (UCSD / MB): Regulation of response
to hypoxia and other microenvironmental stresses in vivo.
Tracy Johnson (UCSD / MB): Messenger RNA splicing in
eukaryotic gene expression.
Katherine Jones (Salk / MB): HIV transcriptional
regulation in vitro.
Leanne Jones (Salk / MB): Identification of factors
regulating stem cell behavior.
James Kadonaga (UCSD / MB): Mechanisms of
transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes.
Jan Karlsedar (Salk / MB): Structure and function of
mammalian telomeres.
Steve Kay (UCSD / CDB; Dean of Biological Sciences):
Genetics and genomics of Circadian Clocks.
Amy Kiger (UCSD / CDB): Cellular morphogenesis.
Functional genomic analysis of cell shape changes in
Drosophila development.
Shelley Halpain (UCSD / NB): Activity-dependent
regulation of neuronal structure; neural development;
neurite initiation; synapse formation and stability.
Chris Kintner (Salk / CDB): Pattern formation and
morphogenesis in vertebrate neurogenesis.
Randolph Hampton (UCSD / CDB): Genetics and
molecular biology of protein degradation in yeast.
Joshua Kohn (UCSD / EBE): Plant population biology,
mating system evolution, ecological genetics.
Stephen Hedrick (UCSD / MB): Immune recognition and
development.
William Kristan (UCSD / NB): Neurobiology; neuronal
basis of behavior; development of simple nervous
systems.
Martin Hetzer (Salk / MB): Organization and assembly of
the nuclear envelope during development and cell
proliferation.
Kuo-Fen Lee (Salk / NB): Study of neural development
and function using gene targeting.
For more information about our academic program and in-depth faculty research descriptions,
please visit our website: www-biology.ucsd.edu
UNIVERSITY
OF
CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN BIOLOGY
Jeff Long (Salk / CDB): Understanding apical/basal
polarity in plants.
Amy Pasquinelli (UCSD / MB): Role of regulatory RNAs
in controlling gene expression and development.
William Loomis (UCSD / CDB): Developmental biology;
molecular genetics of development in Dictyostelium.
Gentry Patrick (UCSD / NB): The translation of neuronal
activity into structural and functional changes in nerve
connections.
Vicki Lundblad (Salk / MB): Studies in the unique
properties of telomeres, the specialized structures found
at the ends of linear chromosomes.
Eduardo Macagno (UCSD / CDB): Cellular and
molecular mechanisms underlying the specification of
neuronal identity, growth cone motility and navigation,
target selection and the generation of neuronal arbors.
Therese Markow (UCSD / EBE): Speciation and
adaptation to novel environments; Mating system
evolution; Drosophila evolutionary genetics.
William McGinnis (UCSD / CDB): Molecular genetics of
early Drosophila embryogenesis.
Samuel Pfaff (Salk / NB): Molecular mechanisms that
control vertebrate motor axon pathfinding.
Lorraine Pillus (UCSD / MB): Chromosome structure and
function; genetics and epigenetics of transcription; position
effects and transcriptional repression.
Joseph Pogliano (UCSD / MB): DNA segregation in
prokaryotes.
Kit Pogliano (UCSD / MB): How the progeny of a single
cell division assume differing fates.
James Posakony (UCSD / CDB): Pattern formation and
cell fate specification in Drosophila development.
Mauricio Montal (UCSD / NB): Molecular neurobiology;
molecular basis of electrical excitability and signal
transduction in neural membranes; molecular design of
channel proteins.
Paul Price (UCSD / MB): Analysis of protein structure and
physiological function; post translational protein
modification.
Marc Montminy (Salk / MB): Characterization of the
structure and dynamic regulation of nuclear factors which
stimulate gene expression.
Pamela Reinagel (UCSD / NB): Cell response and
understanding of the role of behavior in structuring our
sensory experience.
Cornelis Murre (UCSD / MB): Helix-loop-helix proteins in
B cell development and oncogenesis.
Kaustuv Roy (UCSD / EBE): Physical and biotic controls
on the distribution and diversity of species in benthic
marine ecosystems.
James Nieh (UCSD / EBE): Evolution of animal
language: symbolic communication in highly social bees;
sensory physiology and mechanisms of multi-modal
communication; bioacoustics; Cyborg bee project.
Milton Saier (UCSD / MB): Transmembrane transport
and the regulation of cellular physiology and transcription.
Maho Niwa (UCSD / MB): Intracellular signaling pathway.
Massimo Scanziani (UCSD / NB): Mechanisms by which
neurons achieve precise temporal resolution of signal
transmission and actions of neurotransmitters.
Joseph Noel (Salk / MB): Stereochemical principles
governing biological processes, emphasis on signal
transduction.
Dennis O’Leary (Salk / NB): Development of neural
connectional specificity in vertebrate systems.
Clodagh O’Shea (Salk / MB): Exploiting viruses to
understand and treat cancer.
Satchin Panda (Salk / MB): Molecular mechanism of
Circadian Rhythms in mammals.
Robert Schmidt (UCSD / CDB): Plant molecular biology,
molecular mechanisms of tissue-specific gene expression
in maize.
Julian Schroeder (UCSD / CDB): Plant cell and
molecular biology, signal transduction and ion channels in
higher plant cells.
Terrence Sejnowski (UCSD & Salk / NB): Neurobiology;
computational models of the nervous system;
mechanisms for synaptic plasticity.
For more information about our academic program and in-depth faculty research descriptions,
please visit our website: www-biology.ucsd.edu
UNIVERSITY
OF
CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN BIOLOGY
Reuben Shaw (Salk / MB): Genetic and biochemical
dissection of signaling pathways underlying cancer and
diabetes.
Tatyana Sharpee (Salk / NB): Theoretical principles of
how the brain processes information.
Paul Slesinger (Salk / NB): Neurobiology of ion
channels.
Laurie Smith (UCSD / CDB): Molecular genetic analysis
of plant cell division and morphogenesis.
Nicholas Spitzer (UCSD / NB): Developmental
neurobiology; control of expression of neuronal
phenotypes.
Lei Wang (Salk / MB): Molecular evolution and imaging
for studying and creating biological functions.
Steven Wasserman (UCSD / CDB): Molecular genetic
analysis of patterning, cell-cycle control, and signal
transduction in Drosophila development.
Matthew Weitzman (Salk / MB): Replication and
integration of a non-pathogenic human parvovirus called
Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV).
Jim Wilhelm (UCSD / CDB): mRNA localization,
translational control, and membrane trafficking in
Drosophila melanogaster.
Christopher Wills (UCSD / EBE): Molecular evolution;
genetic variation at DNA level.
Suresh Subramani (UCSD / MB): Organelle
homeostasis; peroxisome function and biogenesis;
peroxisomal disorders; peroxisomal protein import;
peroxisome turnover by autophagy.
David Woodruff (UCSD / EBE): Conservation and
evolutionary biology; speciation; genetics of endangered
species.
John Thomas (Salk / NB): Molecular genetics of
Drosophila neuronal development.
Yang Xu (UCSD / MB): Lymphocyte development and
signaling pathways in response to DNA damage.
David Traver (UCSD / CDB): Vertebrate blood cell
development, biology of hematopoietic stem and
progenitor cells.
Martin Yanofsky (UCSD / CDB): Molecular and genetic
analyses of flower development.
Jim Umen (Salk / CDB): Control of cell size and organelle
DNA inheritance.
Inder Verma (Salk / MB): Regulation of oncogenes,
protooncogenes, transcription factors and approaches to
human gene therapy.
Geoff Wahl (Salk / MB): Cell cycle regulation, genetic
instability in cancer and normal cells, DNA replication
control in eukaryotes.
Jing Wang (UCSD / NB): Systems neurobiology;
representation and processing of olfactory information in
simple olfactory system.
John Young (Salk / MB): Mechanisms of retroviral and
anthrax toxin entry into cells.
Yunde Zhao (UCSD / CDB): Plant Biology, molecular
mechanisms of auxin homeostasis and signal
transduction.
Yimin Zou (UCSD / NB): Molecular and cellular
mechanisms of axon pathfinding, target specificaton and
neuronal migration in nervous system development.
Charles Zuker (UCSD / NB): Molecular neurobiology;
signal transduction.
Elina Zuniga (UCSD / MB): Dendritic cells in innate and
adaptive responses during viral infections.
For more information about our academic program and in-depth faculty research descriptions,
please visit our website: www-biology.ucsd.edu