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Chemical biology is a rapidly growing field that combines the rigor and quantitative aspects of traditional chemistry and biochemistry programs with the excitement and medical relevance of modern molecular, cellular, organismic, and human biology. We believe that many biological problems demand molecular and quantitative answers that can only be supplied by tools and approaches derived from chemistry — such as single-molecule measurements, single-cell imaging, and the use of exogenous molecules to modulate the activity of cellular components. The integration of chemistry, biology, and medicine has become an integral and essential aspect of the training and research culture at Harvard, and this spirit is embodied in the Chemical Biology Program.

The Program links together faculty on Harvard's Cambridge campus (Faculty of Arts and Sciences, or FAS) with faculty at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute.  Students in the Program are encouraged to take full advantage of this remarkable breadth of opportunity by working with faculty to devise novel approaches to important biological, medical and chemical problems.

While the list of program faculty is large and diverse, the Program itself is small, flexible and intimate. Our goal is to encourage students to develop their own ideas, drawing on the expertise available in the community to make exciting new discoveries.