Overview
The faculty members of the Department of Biological Sciences are a diverse group of outstanding scientists and educators carrying out funded research in a wide range of areas. These areas include, but are not limited to, Cell Biology, Neurobiology, Molecular Biology, Cancer Biology, Biophotonics, Immunology, Signal Transduction, Gene Expression/Regulation, Biochemistry, and Developmental Biology. We publish papers in high impact peer-reviewed journals and successfully compete for external research funding. The laboratories are federally, and foundation, funded, with grants in place from The National Institutes of Health, The National Science Foundation, and different private foundations ( a list of agencies is shown below). In 2008 Hunter College Scientists garnered 20 R01 research grants and ranked 217th in the NIH ranking system and we are ranked 2nd for NIH funding among Research Centers in Minority Institutions without a Medical School.
In addition, since 1993, funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Education Program has enabled the Department of Biological Sciences to provide summer research opportunities for biology majors at the Marine Biological Laboratory, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. For more information, contact Dr. Ben Ortiz, Chair, and Department of Biological Sciences at 212-772-5281 or email: Ortiz@genectr.hunter.cuny.edu.
The Minority Access to Research Careers Program facilitates intensive biomedical research under the guidance of faculty mentors. Students spend at least 15-20 hours during the academic year and full days during the summer in a research lab. They attend the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students where they are expected to present the results of their lab research in poster and oral presentations. The MARC program is administered by Susana Vargas, Program Director, Department of Biological Sciences, email: susana.vargas@hunter.cuny.edu
Graduate study towards the Ph.D. can be carried out with research active faculty who are also faculty at the CUNY Graduate Center in the Programs of:
- Biology: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/Page-Elements/Academics-Research-Centers-Initiatives/Doctoral-Programs/Biology
- Biochemistry: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/Page-Elements/Academics-Research-Centers-Initiatives/Doctoral-Programs/Biochemistry
For a comprehensive list of Ph.D. programs and available Ph.D. faculty mentors please see:
- CUNY Biology faculty
- CUNY Biochemistry faculty
and look for Hunter College faculty.