IBT is organized around centers organized by research themes. These include the Centers for Cancer Biology and Nutrition, Environmental and Genetic Medicine, Infectious and Inflammatory Diseases, Genome Research, and Molecular Development and Disease. All senior faculty have working relationships with biotechnology companies, many licensing agreements have been made based on IBT research, and three new companies have been incorporated.
Faculty expertise includes the areas of protein structure and function; RNA and DNA structure and function; molecular basis of genetic disease, structure-function relationships between growth factors and their receptors; elucidation and regulation of signal transduction cascades; transcription factors and growth and development; environmental and genetic impact on fetal growth and development; biosynthesis, function and organization of the extracellular matrix; molecular mechanisms of microbial adhesion to the extracellular matrix; and vaccine development against pathogenic bacteria.
Researchers use a variety of experimental approaches and systems to solve important biomedical questions. These include protein engineering, X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, enzymology, molecular biology, microscopy, molecular genetics, conventional and conditional gene knockouts in the mouse and the development of transgenic mouse lines, mouse developmental biology, human genetics, and yeast genetics.
The Institute offers a program of study that leads to a Ph.D. degree in biomedical sciences. Incoming students learn how to conduct biomedical research, and their curriculum provides both theoretical background and appropriate skills. Students interact often with postdoctoral fellows and faculty members, sharing in the excitement of making scientific discoveries.
IBT is part of The Texas A&M Health Science Center. Other academic components are the College of Medicine, the School of Rural Public Health, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences-all in College Station-and Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas.
