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Welcome to the Cell Biology & Biochemistry (CBB) Department

The department has nineteen faculty members with internationally recognized research programs in reproductive biology, diabetes and obesity, structural biology, development, cancer, aging and neurodegenerative diseases. Our primary mission is to perform original, cutting-edge research that leads to new discoveries on the molecular mechanisms of biomedical science and disease, and to educate and mentor a diverse group of trainees for careers in biomedical research.

The department offers a Ph.D. degree in the Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology Graduate Concentration. Our department has a strong emphasis on graduate student participation. Our students perform exciting innovative research in top-tier laboratories using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques. Our faculty mentors, support our students in classroom teaching, research projects, communication skills, preparation of manuscripts and fellowship applications, and exposure to grant writing. Our graduates pursue careers in biotechnology, academia, pharmaceutical industries and government appointments, and are researchers and teachers at many well-respected colleges and universities around the country. We enjoy a collegial and cooperative research environment both within and between departments that is especially conducive to collaboration and scientific discourse.

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Recent Awards & Achievements

Student Awards

Trainees

• Tasmin Omy (Palle lab) 2026 Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Research Grant Award
• Rachel Babcock (Dufour lab): 3rd place in the poster competition, 2026 Texas Forum for Reproductive Sciences
• PhD students Kimberly Garza (Cornwall lab) and Alexis Rodriquez (Dufour lab), and postdoctoral fellow Rachel Babcock (Dufour) presented at the 2026 North American Testis Workshop and American Society of Andrology meetings. All three were selected to give flashtalks and posters, and Alexis was also selected to give a platform presentation.
• Nghi Tran (Skyler; Urbatsch lab) recently gave a platform presentation at the Biophysical Society meeting in San Francisco.
• Alejandra Gomez from the Cornwall Lab spoke on ā€œSex-Specific Roles of Cystatin-Related Epididymal Spermatogenic (CRES) and CRES Amyloids in the Brain Extracellular Matrixā€ at the FASEB meeting on Protein Aggregation in Scottsdale, AZ.
• Kimberly Garza from the Cornwall Lab also presented on ā€œGerm Granules in Mammalian Spermatozoa: Proteinaceous Carriers of Cytosolic Inheritance?ā€ at the FASEB meeting and won an award for her outstanding research/presentation.
• Ganesh Archarya and Naresh Sah from Palle Lab receive the Phi Kappa Phi Dissertation Fellowship
  
  
  
  

  Ganesh Archarya

   

  

  Naresh Sah

   

Research

Faculty Awards

• Gail Cornwall: 2026 Chancellorā€™s Council Distinguished Research Award
• Drs. Hardy and MacDonald received the GSBS Life Time achievement awards.
• Dr. Bhutia received the 2025 GSBS Outstanding Research and Mentor Award and gave the keynote lecture at the GSBS retreat.
• 2025 Ļć½¶Ö±²„ President's Research Award: Dr. Dufour
• Ļć½¶Ö±²„ University Distinguished Professor: Dr. Urbatsch
• Jeremy Bailoo: Clifford T. Morgan Distinguished Service Award from Division of Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology at the American Psychological Society. 

Past Department Awards & Achievements