Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Research

The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology faculty and students work synergistically to explore transformative scientific ideas for cutting-edge research in chemical and life sciences and for broad impact in drug discovery, precision medicine, and sustainability.

A community of molecular, cellular, and computational minds

Chemistry is referred to as the “central science” because it provides a framework to connect the physical sciences with the life sciences and applied sciences such as medicine and engineering. One of the foundational research pillars of this “central science” focuses on the study of the structure, synthesis, and function of molecules, ranging from small molecules to peptides, polymers, and biomolecules (“molecular mind”).

Chemical biology, as our legacy research area, aims to provide mechanistic insights into biological problems from the perspective of molecular synthesis, analysis, and control (“cellular mind”). At the same time, computational chemistry and biology have significantly advanced to play increasingly important roles in studying molecular and cellular systems (“computational mind”).

Our department's research strengths lie in:

  • Modulation of disease-relevant biological systems at molecular level (“molecular mind’)

  • Studying mechanisms of cancer initiation, progression, and therapy resistance using patient-derived organoids and tissue models (“cellular mind”)

  • High-accuracy predictions of molecular structures and properties (“computational mind”).

Watch more chemistry and chemical biology research videos

Research Areas

Molecular Focus

Current research includes the design and development of novel anticancer and antibacterial compounds, bioactive peptides, molecular probes to better understand and modulate cellular functions, discovery of novel molecular building blocks and chemical reactions to expand the “chemical space” of bioactive compounds and functional macromolecules.

Molecular Laboratories:

Cellular Focus

Current research includes the integration of chemical and biological processes to provide new knowledge about molecular and cellular aspects of human disease for better design of treatment approaches. The particular focus of our laboratories is on studying cancer, by combining tissue engineering of human and mouse organoids with quantitative imaging, murine models of cancer, and molecular analysis of gene and protein function. Our research addresses critical questions about mechanisms of cancer initiation, progression, and therapy resistance, as well as transformative avenues of evaluating new drugs and patient-specific treatment options, including immunotherapy, to optimize the use of very costly and potentially toxic interventions and reduce treatment failure. To this end, we employ in vivo mouse models and ex vivo approaches using organoids from various tissues and cancers.

Cellular Laboratories:

Computational Focus

Current research includes the development and employment of computational methods for high accuracy predictions and refinement of various molecular structures and properties for practical applications in catalysis and of clinical interest, and using cheminformatics and bioinformatics to accelerate the processes for discovering novel therapeutics. These computational endeavors have not only offered critical results to understand existing experimental data, but also revealed previously unknown information to facilitate new experimental studies.

Computational Laboratories:


Facilities and Instruments

The research and educational endeavors of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology are supported by the following facilities equipped with state-of-the-art instruments and occupying the total space of 20,500 square feet in McLean Building:

  • Core Facilities which provide a broad spectrum of chemical analysis and biological imaging capabilities.

  • Teaching Labs, which are used for in-depth lab and research training of CCB undergraduate and graduate students and to provide introductory chemistry and biology lab experiences to over 1,000 undergraduate students every year.

  • Research Labs which anchor individual faculty research, graduate student training, and research experience for undergraduates.

Our facilities are augmented by the shared facilities of the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science, which include the Machine, Electronics, and Welding Shops, High Performance Computing, Multi-Scale Imaging, Microdevice Fabrication, and Prototype Object Fabrication. Also, our New York metropolitan location provides us with access to major instruments at neighboring research institutions as well as Brookhaven National Laboratory’s User Facilities.

CCB Core Facilities

  • Confocal Microscopy (McLean B09)

  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (McLean 413)

  • Mass Spectrometry (McLean 409 and 408)

Teaching Labs

  • Molecular Biology Lab (McLean 118)

  • General Chemistry Lab (McLean 203)

  • Organic Chemistry Lab (McLean 219)

  • Chemical Biology Lab (McLean 323)

  • Instrumental Analysis Lab (Mclean 423-429)

  • Physical & Inorganic Chemistry Lab (McLean 522-523)

Research Video Library

Learn more about research in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Visit our YouTube channel playlist.