Yale University School of Medicine can be considered as the birthplace of modern molecular cell biology. To this day, Cell Biology remains one of Yale's great strengths; Cell Biology at Yale remains one of the top 2-3 centers anywhere in the world for research in the field.
The current Department of Cell Biology was founded in the early 1970's by George E. Palade (see "History"), who received the Nobel Prize in 1974 for fundamental discoveries that began to define the cell in mechanistic terms. In subsequent years, Palade's legacy has been built upon by an illustrious faculty based in the Department and also spread throughout the School of Medicine and the main University campus. Today, Cell Biology at Yale comprises a dynamic and intensely interactive group of 25 faculty members who span literally every major area of investigation central to the field (see "Faculty"; "Areas of Research"). They are joined by nearly 150 postdoctoral fellows and 50 graduate students. Many of our postdoctoral and student alumni have themselves gone one to successful careers in academia, biotech, and elsewhere (see "Careers after Yale").
Scientifically, Cell Biology at Yale is as broad as the field. Although our foundation is in cellular organization, membrane traffic, and organelle biogenesis, we have also become leaders in cytoskeletal dynamics (especially actin), cell polarity and morphogenesis, embryonic development, and nucleic acid dynamics.
We believe that the future of the field will develop at areas of interface between conventional molecular cell biology of single cells with more complex cellular systems. To this end, we have developed unique programs in the cell biology of synaptic transmission, the immune response, microbial pathogenesis, and cancer.
In each interest area, a remarkable blend of techniques and experimental strategies is applied to a common goal. Genetics, informatics, molecular biology, structural biology, and cell imaging are but some of the more popular techniques used. We are particularly proud of the resources for cell imaging we have developed, including the Center for Cell & Molecular Imaging (which performs state of the art electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry, as well as routine single and multi-photon confocal microscopy), and the CINEMA Lab (a world leader in the development of new optical techniques for live cell imaging and quantitative analysis). One need not be chosen at birth to get involved in any of this; all of our resources exist to be available to any and all members of the Cell Biology community at Yale.
