The Section of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology (MCDB) is one of four units in the School of Biological Sciences. Other Sections are Integrative Biology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and Neurobiology.

MCDB faculty head research groups studying fundamental biological processes using modern tools of genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and developmental biology. Among the systems being studied are control of plant growth and development by gravity and light, the molecular basis of cytokinesis in Dictyostelium and Drosophila, vertebrate gastrulation and neural tube closure, light signal transduction in plants, the evolution of developmental mechanisms, and regulation of membrane traffic in eukaryotic cells.

Other topics of research include the splicing, localization and translational regulation of RNAs, Drosophila eye development, signal transduction in the immune system, circadian control of gene expression, and cell fate determination in plants. Additional topics are described in faculty profiles.

The Section includes labs in several buildings: Biological Laboratories, T.S. Painter Hall, J.T. Patterson Laboratories, and the Moffett Molecular Biology Building. Many of the MCDB faculty are members of the Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, which provides state-of-the-art imaging, genomics and proteomics core facilities in the Moffett Molecular Biology Building.

Students and postdocs from around the world work with MCDB faculty. Graduate students enter through one of several graduate programs, and postdocs are recruited by individual labs. Many undergraduate students work on research projects in MCDB labs. Research training is enhanced by variety of journal clubs, inter lab research meetings and seminars. Monthly meetings of labs with shared interests include the RNA Club, which emphasizes presentations by students and postdocs.