Cell Biology and Biochemistry

Studies at the convergence of biology, chemistry and other natural sciences

www.bucknell.edu/biochemistry

Related Student Organizations

Biochemistry Society

Biology Club

Career Paths

The cell biology and biochemistry major provides excellent preparation for work in many areas of biotechnology, including biomedical research, pharmaceuticals, emerging industries using molecular and genetic engineering techniques, veterinary science, medicine and other health-science-related professions. Recent alumni have secured the following positions:

  • Biology Teacher, Peace Corps
  • Researcher, Booz, Allen & Hamilton
  • Staff Biochemist, Merck & Company, Inc.
  • Teacher, Worcester Academy
  • Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University

Quick Facts

Number of full-time faculty: 13

Average number of majors per class year: 17

Grants & Awards

Cell biology and biochemistry faculty members have recently secured grants from:

  • The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
  • Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
  • American Chemical Society- Petroleum Research Fund
  • National Institutes of Health

Facilities & Resources

  • Molecular core facilities for molecular and cellular research
  • High-speed centrifuges and ultracentrifuges
  • Two labs for conducting animal tissue culture
  • Digital gel documentation system for photographing and archiving gel electrophoresis
  • UV-visible spectrophotometers, gas and high performance liquid chromatographs and capillary electrophoresis instrumentation
  • Imaging Center equipped with a Nikon confocal microscope, CCD digital camera, fluorescent microscope and transmission electron microscope
  • Major instruments for chemical analysis, including a Bruker x-ray diffractometer, a Bruker 300 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer and three gas chromatograph/mass spectrometers.

Undergraduate Research

Most students in the cell biology and biochemistry program do independent research with faculty mentors. Many have their work published in peer-reviewed professional journals. Recent undergraduate research projects include:

  • Field, K.A., S. Charoenthongtrakul*, J.M. Bishop, and Y. Refaeli. 2008. Farnesyl transferase inhibitors induce extended remissions in transgenic mice with mature B cell lymphomas. Molecular Cancer 7:39.
  • Hebling, C.M.*; Eckenroad, K.W.; Rovnyak, D.; and Strein, T.G. “Sodium Cholate Aggregation Observed by Nuclear magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of the Probe Molecule (R,S) 1,1’-bunapthyl-2,2’- dihydrogenphophate (BNDHP)” Langmuir, 24, 2008, 13866-13874.
  • Shoener J.A.* and K.C. Page, 2006. Prenatal exposure to dexamethasone permanently alters hippocampal drive on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. American Journal of Physiology, 290:R1355-R1373.

Graduate and Professional School

Most cell biology and biochemistry graduates go on to graduate and/or medical school. Recent graduates have gone to schools including:

  • Georgetown University
  • Thomas Jefferson University
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Drexel Medical University
  • Temple University School of Medicine
  • Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • University of Pittsburgh

Program Details

  • Cell biology and biochemistry is an interdisciplinary program coordinated by faculty from the chemistry and biology departments.
  • The majority of courses in the program involve extensive laboratory experience.
  • Many cell biology and biochemistry students work in the cell culture laboratory, where they clone genes and purify and characterize nucleic acids and proteins.
  • The major requires five biology courses and six chemistry courses, as well as an interdepartmental biochemical methods course and a number of electives.
  • Because of the potential impact of this discipline on society, students must also take a course in which the social or ethical implications of biotechnology are considered.

Faculty

Bucknell’s biology and chemistry faculty members provide close, personal attention to students in the classroom and in the lab. The professors are active researchers who often invite students to become involved in their work.

Dee Ann Casteel, chemistry
B. Mus. Coe College; Ph.D. Illinois
Scholarly interests: organic synthesis, synthesis of peroxides, antimalarial and medicinal chemistry

Mitchell Chernin, biology
B.S. Massachusetts; M.S. University of Guam; Ph.D. Clemson
Scholarly interests: molecular biology, gene regulation in the cardiac renin-angiotensin and bone osteogenesis systems

Charles Clapp, chemistry
A.B. Bowdoin College; Ph.D. Harvard
Scholarly interests: enzyme mechanisms, enzyme inhibitors Kenneth A. Field, biology B.S. Vermont; Ph.D. Cornell Scholarly interests: immunology, role of protein localization in oncogenic signaling

Julie Gates, biology
B.S. University of Wisconsin–Madison; Ph.D. University of Utah
Scholarly interests: developmental biology of Drosophila melanogaster

Matthew Heintzelman, biology
A.B. Dartmouth College; M.S., Ph.D. Yale
Scholarly interests: cell biology, cytoskeleton and cell motility

Lisa Marin, biology
B.S. UCSD; Ph.D. Stanford University
Scholarly interests: nervous system development

Kathleen Creed Page, biology
B.S., M.S., Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: cell physiology, gene regulation in brain: response to stress and diet

Marie Pizzorno, biology
B.A.Whittier College; Ph.D. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Scholarly interests: molecular and cellular biology of eukaryotic viruses, specifically herpes viruses

David Rovnyak, chemistry
B.S. Richmond; Ph.D. MIT
Scholarly interests: biological applications of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Thomas Selby, chemistry
B.S. University of Akron; Ph.D. Ohio State University
Scholarly interests: structure-function relationships in signaling proteins

Emily Stowe-Evans, biology
B.A. College of Wooster; Ph.D. University of Missouri-Columbia
Scholarly interests: genetics, light regulated developmental processes in photosynthetic organisms

Timothy Strein, chemistry
B.S. North Carolina State; Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: capillary electrophoresis of biological fluids, charge transfer reactions at ultrasmall electrodes, GC/MS of environmental samples

James Swan, chemistry
B.S. Kentucky; Ph.D. Penn State
Scholarly interests: bioanalytical chemistry, chiral separations, bile salt interactions

Brian Williams, chemistry
B.S. Harvey Mudd College; Ph.D. Cornell
Scholarly interests: synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of solvent sensitive materials, photophysical processes, molecular modeling

Study Abroad

Fall semester courses and summer fellowships are available at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass. Bucknell also offers a Virgin Islands marine science course. Students have recently studied abroad through programs in countries including:

  • Spain
  • Australia
  • South Africa

Selected Faculty Publications

Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

Development

Journal of Parasitology

Transplant Immunology

Biochemistry

Journal of Magnetic Resonance

Langmuir

Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry

Journal of Chromatography

Internships

Cell biology and biochemistry majors can gain career experience through summer internships. Recently, students have interned at:

  • Bucknell Department of Chemistry
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Mayo Clinic

Courses Offered

Required courses
Analytical Chemistry I
Biochemistry I
Biological Physical Chemistry
Calculus
Cell Biology
Genetics
Inorganic Chemistry
Introduction to Molecules and Cells
Molecular Biology
Organic Chemistry
Organismal Biology
Physics

Electives
Advanced Environmental Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry II
Biochemistry II
Comparative Physiology
Developmental Biology
Endocrinology
Functional Genomics
Immunology
Inorganic Chemistry II
Mechanistic Organic Chemistry
Microanatomy
Microbiology
Molecular Genetics
Neuroscience
Physical Chemistry II
Physiological Mechanisms
Physiological Psychology
Plant Growth and Development
Neuro Physiology
Special Topics in Organic Chemistry
Synthetic Organic Chemistry
Techniques in Microscopy
Undergraduate Research
Virology