About Us

Emily Notch

The Department of Molecular & Biomedical Sciences (MBMS) at the University of Maine provides undergraduate and graduate degrees in BiochemistryMicrobiology, and Molecular and Cellular Biology. Each field offers excellent opportunity in challenging and exciting careers.

In addition, the Department participates in a state-wide Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBSE) Ph.D. program, with cooperating faculty at The Jackson Laboratory, the Maine Medical Center Research Institute, the Foundation for Blood Research, the University of Southern MaineMount Desert Island Biological Laboratory and others to offer graduate students expanded research and educational opportunities.

In the fall of 2011, the department joined a large group of universities in teaching a yearlong course that is sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). The course is part of an HHMI, nationwide program called the Science Education Alliance Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science (SEA-PHAGES). The course has become extremely popular with our undergraduates and as of fall 2015, we now offer two section of this laboratory course so that all of our first-year students are enrolled. The course is featured in the current issue of UMaine Today.

The MBMS faculty are very active in a variety of research fields, many in the basic Biomedical Sciences.  You can find brief descriptions of their research programs by going to the Faculty page.  Dr. Carol Kim (Kim-Insight) and Dr. Robert Wheeler (Wheeler-Insight) have also been  featured in UMaine Today.  Click here to see additional UMaine Today articles on MBMS faculty and their research.

 

MBMS  News

Dr. Roger Sher is moving on to Stony Brook University in New York this fall. We will miss him dearly. His outstanding teaching and very interesting research on ALS were significant and meaningful contributions to the department and UMaine. We wish him great success in his new position.

Congratulations to Dominika Trzilova, the Outstanding International Student in NSFA for 2015-2016. Dominika graduated in May 2016 with a double major in Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology.

Congratulations to Gwendolyn Beacham (’15’)   Valedictorian of the Class of 2015.  Gwendolyn a Biochemistry major is heading to Cornell University to pursue her Ph.D.  Gwen is featured in UMaine Toady’s, “Hooked on science”  in the Spring/Summer ’15’ issue!

Dr. Keith Hutchison started his  retirement at the end of the S15 semester and is now a Faculty Emeriti.  He will be spending time in the department helping/continuing to teach the Phage Genomics two semester course with Dr. Sally Molloy.  Keith  started with the department (then the Department of Biochemistry) in 1985!