Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Understanding Cell Signaling and Behavior
The Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology explores how cells communicate, interact and enable complex physiological function. Our labs take an interdisciplinary approach, with an emphasis on quantitative and structural approaches drawn from multiple scientific disciplines, including structural biology, biophysics, cell biology, immunology and neuroscience. By uncovering molecular and cellular processes, MCP scientists have established new paradigms in the biology of signaling and communication, such as the relationship between the structure and function of GPCRs, and the presynaptic molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal communication. We have more than 100 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working in our 14 faculty labs.
Research News & Notable Events
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Using worms to investigate drugs
Humans have relied on plants for millennia to treat a variety of neurological ailments. Now, researchers are using microscopic worms to better understand how plant molecules shape behavior — and perhaps develop better new drugs.
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Eight researchers awarded NIH grants
The Stanford scientists will receive $32 million over five years to fund explorations of cancer, the brain, the aging process, chromosomes and the development of cells.
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‘Discovery Curriculum’ launched
A redesigned curriculum for Stanford medical students is now being fully implemented. It provides new courses, more flexibility and financial incentives for pursuing long-term research.
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Neurons quickly generated from blood
Fresh or frozen human blood samples can be directly transformed into patient-specific neurons to study disorders such as schizophrenia and autism, Stanford researchers find.
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Award to support physician-scientist training
A grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund will support a new scientific scholarship program for medical students at Stanford.
Jackson Liang Receives Weintraub Graduate Student Award
Recent MCP graduate Jackson Liang (O'Brien Lab) received the prestigious Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award. One of 13 national winners chosen for outstanding research achievement, Dr. Liang uncovered a new feedback mechanism that ensures homeostatic control of stem cell divisions during turnover of epithelial organs. Dr. Liang presented his work at a scientific symposium in honor of the late Hal Weintraub at Seattle's Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center in May.
Physics Professor Steven Chu selected as AAAS president-elect
Steven Chu, a professor of physics at Stanford University and the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, has been chosen as the president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an international nonprofit organization with a mission to “advance science, engineering and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people.”
MCP Faculty
