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
Open Faculty Positions
The Departments of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and Neurobiology at Stanford University, in partnership with the new Stanford Center for Molecular Neuroscience in Health and Disease (CMNHD), invite applications for two tenure-track positions as Assistant Professors in molecular neuroscience, broadly defined.
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.”
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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.
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Cryogenic electron microscopy facility opens
The new facility, led by two School of Medicine researchers, provides advanced tools for exploring tiny biological machines, from viral particles to the interior of the cell.
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Reducing side effects of a cancer therapy
Stanford scientists created an odd couple: a modified version of an immune-signaling protein and a coordinately modified receptor for this protein. The two bind only to each other, easing an advanced anti-cancer therapy’s side effects.
MCP Faculty
