Our departmental graduate program is highly interactive in which students move easily among disciplines within the department and interact with other programs and institutions. Graduate research is generally in one of two areas 1) cell and molecular biology, and 2) systematics, evolution, and ecology. Students in the program often take advantage of other researchers, faculty, and facilities at GW and elsewhere in the Washington area. These include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

A strong background in cell and molecular biology is essential for many competitive careers. Graduate students in this area conduct research on both well-studied model systems and non-model organisms, and often use comparative approaches. Common research themes among department faculty include cell signaling processes, and the genetic and cellular mechanisms governing virulence, behavior, immune responses, neurobiology, development, and the phenotypic expression of a variety of morphological traits. Students are trained in both experimental and comparative approaches and use a diverse array of modern research methods, ranging from precision imaging to gene editing to the assembly and analysis of genomes/proteomes/metabolomes.