Welcome to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Our Mission is to conduct world-class research in biochemistry and molecular medicine. To excel in undergraduate, graduate and medical education, and to serve the university through leadership in forums committed to graduate and professional school admissions and curriculum.
The research interests of the departmental faculty are focused in the fundamental molecular aspects of cell biology, gene expression, cancer biology, membrane biology, glycobiology, neurobiology, muscle physiology, human genetics, chemical and structural biology, molecular imaging and drug development. In addition to innovative research activities, faculty are involved in the teaching and training of medical and doctoral students.
At the Davis Campus, the department maintains laboratories at Tupper Hall, the Genome Building and in the Department of Chemistry. At the Sacramento Campus, the department maintains laboratories at the Oak Park Research Building, Research I and III Buildings, and the MIND Institute.
The department’s primary research funding comes from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and a wide variety of Private agencies.
The department’s teaching focus includes Lower Division courses, Graduate courses, and Professional courses for medical students.
Each of us has an obligation to the community and the UC Davis Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine strives to build and maintain a culture and climate based on mutual respect and caring. We recognize and cherish the richness contributed to our lives by our diversity. We further recognize the right of every individual to think, speak, express and debate any idea. We support and uphold the UC Davis Principles of Community.
Department News
School of Medicine Cultivating Team Science Award
The proposal, "Overcoming therapy resistance in cancers with new-chemical-entity nanomedicine: from bench to clinic", from Li lab has been selected School of Medicine Cultivating Team Science Award.
Congratulations to Professor Yuanpei Li and his team on this well-deserved award!
2025 Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching Recipient
Professor and Vice Chair of Education, Colleen Sweeney has been selected as a recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Teaching Award for Graduate and Professional Teaching by the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Awards (DTA) Committee. This award recognizes outstanding teaching and dedication to student success. She was nominated by Professor and Vice Dean for Medical Education, Mark Servis. An in-person awards ceremony will be held on the evening of Thursday, May 29, 2025. Awardees will be highlighted in an upcoming UC Davis Dateline article.
Megan Dennis Honored as Chancellor’s Fellow
Megan Dennis, an associate professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at UC Davis Health, has been awarded the 2024 Chancellor’s Fellowship. This prestigious honor is given to outstanding faculty members early in their careers. As part of the award, she will receive $25,000 to support her research, teaching or service activities.
Anti-anxiety and hallucination-like effects of psychedelics mediated by distinct neural circuits
New research suggests that it could be possible to separate treatment from hallucinations when developing new drugs based on psychedelics. The anti-anxiety and hallucination-inducing qualities of psychedelic drugs work through different neural circuits, according to research using a mouse model. The work is published in Science.
“In the past, we did this using chemistry by making new compounds, but here we focused on identifying the circuits responsible for the effects, and it does seem that they are distinct,” said study co-author David E. Olson, director of the Institute for Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics (IPN) and a professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular medicine at the University of California, Davis. “This is an important mechanistic study that validates our earlier results.”
