harvard chemistry phd program

Chemical Biology PhD

Harvard university.

Chemical biology is a rapidly growing field that combines the rigor and quantitative aspects of traditional chemistry and biochemistry programs with the excitement and medical relevance of modern molecular, cellular, organismic, and human biology. We believe that many biological problems demand molecular and quantitative answers that can only be supplied by tools and approaches derived from chemistry — such as single-molecule measurements, single-cell imaging, and the use of exogenous molecules to modulate the activity of cellular components. The integration of chemistry, biology, and medicine has become an integral and essential aspect of the training and research culture at Harvard, and this spirit is embodied in the Chemical Biology Program.

The Program links together faculty on Harvard's Cambridge campus (Faculty of Arts and Sciences, or FAS) with faculty at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute.  Students in the Program are encouraged to take full advantage of this remarkable breadth of opportunity by working with faculty to devise novel approaches to important biological, medical and chemical problems.

While the list of program faculty is large and diverse, the Program itself is small, flexible and intimate. Our goal is to encourage students to develop their own ideas, drawing on the expertise available in the community to make exciting new discoveries.

Meet a ChemBio Student

Victor Miranda

Hi everyone! I’m a current G4 PhD student in Andrew Kruse’s lab at Harvard Medical School (HMS). My thesis project focuses on developing a toolkit to modulate the function of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) in very specific cellular contexts.

Opensource Drug Discovery

James Bradner, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, discusses opensource drug discovery at a 2011 TEDx talk.

Recent Research

Manipulating metabolism(devlin lab).

Gut Flora Fix for Fitness?

DNA base editing(Liu lab)

Technique has potential to help reverse the most common type of disease-associated mutations

Amping Up Antibodies(Kruse lab)

Institute for Protein Innovation looks to new protein technologies for drug discovery

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Degrees Offered

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• Master of Engineering (ME) (2)
• Master of Science (SM) (4)

GRE Requirement

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African and African American Studies

American studies, anthropology, applied mathematics, applied physics, architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning, bioengineering, biological and biomedical sciences, biological sciences in public health.

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Department of chemistry and chemical biology.

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• MASTER OF ARTS

The Department does not grant a terminal AM degree. However, upon completion of certain requirements, students in the Chemistry PhD program may apply for the AM degree in Chemistry. An AM degree in Chemical Physics is not offered, but Chemical Physics students may also apply for the AM degree in Chemistry. 

A minimum of one year of full-time study is required.

Course Requirements and Research

The student must pass eight advanced four-credit courses diversified among the fields of chemistry with average grades of B or higher. Grades of B- will count as a pass if balanced by a B+ or better on a one-for-one basis. Grades of C+ or below will not count. Typically, four of these four-credit courses are classroom work, and the remaining four are research courses. As many as four four-credit courses of the required eight may be taken outside the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, provided the Curriculum Advising Committee approves them. Students planning to take such courses should petition the CAC in advance of taking the courses in order to have them count for the AM degree. Approval of the application for the AM degree is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the required eight four-credit courses.

No thesis is required.

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Working during COVID-19

Polices, guidelines, and resources, the department of biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology.

The Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology (BCMP) is a community of creative scholars, talented scientists and dedicated staff focused on advancing the research, teaching, and service missions of Harvard Medical School. The focus of research in BCMP lies in the elucidation of molecular mechanisms in biology and disease, emphasizing molecular, structural, and chemical approaches to understanding form and function in biology. 

Steve Blacklow elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Congratulations to Steve Blacklow, Department Chair and Gustavus Adolphus Pfeiffer Professor of BCMP, on his election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences!

Sun Hur elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Congratulations to Sun Hur, Oscar M Schloss, MD Professor of BCMP, on her election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences!

Andrew Kruse receives John Jacob Abel Award in Pharmacology

Congratulations to Andrew Kruse, Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, for receiving the 2024 John Jacob Abel award from the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)!

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Biochemistry

Jonathan Abraham

We use methods in molecular biology, immunology, and structural biology to study host-pathogen interactions, with the goal of informing strategies aimed...

Karen Adelman

The Adelman lab aims to elucidate how cells react in a rapid yet balanced manner to external signals, at the transcriptional and epigenetic level. We use...

Frederick W. Alt

Mandana Arbab

We are a collaborative group of genome editing scientists at the Translational Neuroscience Center of Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical...

Joseph F. Arboleda-Velasquez

There is now overwhelming evidence indicating that VEGF, TGFβ, PDGF, and Notch among others, the molecules that are essential for vascular formation, are...

Haribabu Arthanari

Liron Bar-Peled

Cancer cells display remarkable plasticity allowing them to adapt to ever changing environments. A key feature of this plasticity is their ability to...

Thomas G. Bernhardt

Bacterial cells come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Within a given class, however, cells typically grow and divide in such a way as to maintain...

Joyce E. Bischoff

My laboratory is focused on endothelial cells and how they become disrupted in disease. We also study a normal, yet highly proliferative endothelial cell...

Stephen Charles Blacklow

T. Keith Blackwell

My lab studies how organisms defend against environmental and metabolic stresses, and how these stress defenses influence aging. Most of our work involves...

We are interested in understanding transport mechanisms in the cell. In particular, we are interested in how molecules are transported into, out of, and...

Joan Brugge

Sara Buhrlage

Stephen Buratowski

Our lab studies eukaryotic gene expression. We are concentrating on three areas: (A) the functions and interactions of the RNA polymerase II (RNApII)...

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Chemical Biology

Chemical biology is a rapidly growing field that combines the rigor and quantitative aspects of traditional chemistry and biochemistry programs with the excitement and medical relevance of modern molecular, cellular, organismic, and human biology. The program’s goal is to encourage students to develop their own ideas, drawing on the expertise available in the community to make exciting new discoveries. The program links together faculty on Harvard’s Cambridge campus in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences with faculty at Harvard Medical School, and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

School of Chemistry & Biochemistry

College of sciences, college of sciences announces new minors, ph.d. program and curriculum additions.

May 15, 2024

This fall, the College of Sciences will debut three new minors, a new Ph.D. program, and a new “4+1” B.S./M.S. degree program. 

The announcement follows curriculum updates for the 2023-24 academic year, including the launch of the Minor in the Science of Mental Health and Well-Being in the School of Psychology and the creation of three new bachelor of science degrees in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. 

“We are excited to announce these additions to the College’s portfolio of academic opportunities for our students,” says David M. Collard , senior associate dean in the College of Sciences and professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry . “The updates reflect our College’s growth and respond to our students’ interest in pursuing advanced study.”

The additions for the 2024-2025 academic year include: 

“4+1” B.S./M.S. Degree Program

The College offers several options for undergraduate students to earn both a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree as a part of a “4+1” program. Students may apply to the B.S./M.S Degree Program after being at Georgia Tech for about one year. This allows them to tailor their undergraduate and graduate academic requirements to complete both degrees in a timely manner. 

Computing and Cognition Minor 

The Minor in Computation and Cognition is a highly interdisciplinary program that combines advanced computational training with the study of human cognition. Students will learn about the computational mechanisms underlying human cognition and use computational methods to better understand human cognition. Established by the School of Psychology in collaboration with the College of Computing and with support from the Schools of Physics and Mathematics , the minor is open to all students starting this fall.

There are several new courses in the School of Psychology supporting this minor, including PSYC 4690 (Sensation and Perception: A Computational Perspective) and PSYC/PHYS 4745 (Physics of Cognition). These two classes are offered as special topics this fall but will have permanent course numbers in Spring 2025. More new courses in computation and cognition are planned for the next year and beyond.  

Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Ph.D. Program, Neuroscience Minor

The new Ph.D. and minor offerings build on the recently launched Neuro Next Initiative in Research and the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience , respectively. 

The new Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Ph.D. Program is a joint effort across the Colleges of Science, Computing and Engineering. It is focused on educating students to advance the field of neuroscience through an interdisciplinary approach, with scientists and engineers of diverse backgrounds — ultimately integrating neuroscience research and technological development to study all levels of nervous system function. The program expects to enroll its first graduate students in Fall 2025.

Approved by the Board of Regents in 2017, the interdisciplinary B.S. in Neuroscience degree enrolled more than 400 undergraduate students in 2022, and has been the fastest growing undergraduate major at Georgia Tech. The Minor in Neuroscience is set to become available during the 2024-25 academic year.  

Quantum Sciences and Technology Minor

In response to the explosion of research, development, investment, and hiring in quantum information science taking place across academia, national labs, and private industry, the School of Physics is now hosting a new Minor in Quantum Sciences . 

Available starting this fall, the program is open to all students, regardless of major, who are interested in learning more about quantum information theory, applications of quantum information to measurement, quantum materials, quantum computation, quantum algorithms, quantum communication, or any other quantum science related topics. The coursework includes basic training in quantum mechanics and quantum information, and a choice of quantum-related electives in physics, math, chemistry, computer science, and electrical engineering. 

The minor was established by the School of Physics in partnership with the School of Mathematics and the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry in addition to the Colleges of Computing and Engineering.

Writer: Lindsay C. Vidal

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