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Molecular Biology Department Website
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Pomona College is unusual among liberal arts colleges in having a major
dedicated to the study of molecular biology, one of the most rapidly advancing
areas in the natural sciences. This interdisciplinary major is supported by
faculty in the biology and chemistry departments, in addition to one in the
Molecular Biology Program, and was made possible by two grants from the Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, the more recent awarded in 1996. Molecular biology
seeks to understand the processes involved with and regulating the biochemistry
of cells, gene expression, and cell structure and function.
Gaining first-hand experience in research is a primary goal of the major, and
students have access to the sophisticated equipment resources of the biology and
chemistry departments. In their junior year, majors enroll in Molecular Biology
Laboratory, where they use the latest recombinant DNA and molecular biology
techniques to undertake group and independent research project. Students
organize and schedule their own research and gain familiarity with a variety of
procedures used for molecular genetic analysis which may include gene cloning
and polymerase chain reactions. They have the opportunity to continue their
research or start new projects in collaboration with faculty as part of their
Senior Exercise.
As a result of the second Hughes grant, a new faculty position in computational
molecular biology was established, and a computer laboratory was built for
teaching and research. The Director of the Molecular Biology program, Maria
Cristina (Tina) Negritto, studies the process of homologous recombination which
is one of the essential pathways for the repair of DNA double strand breaks,
using yeast as a model system. |
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Molecular
Biology Department Website
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