Study how biological macromolecules such as DNA and proteins, regulate the chemical processes of cells affecting gene expression, and cell structure and function.
In order to understand how cells function at the molecular level a solid foundation in chemistry, biology, math and physics is necessary. In addition, gaining first-hand research experience is a goal of our major, which is why some of our core courses incorporate investigative research into the curriculum.
In the past five years, graduates of the Molecular Biology Program have gone on to Ph.D. programs at Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, UCLA, and others.
What You’ll Study
- Cell structure, function and biochemistry
- Genetics and Genomics
- General, Organic and Physical Chemistry
- Molecular biology research approaches and tools
- Fundamental math and physics
Researching at Pomona
Animal Egg Coats
Under the guidance of Dr. Sara Olson, Essi Logan ’24 is working to determine the structure of PERM-2, a protein on the C. elegans eggshell, through protein crystallization. Her senior thesis combines findings from developmental biology, biochemistry, and structural biology.
Rab 5 protein’s Effects on Fruit Flies
José Carranza ’22 is studying the Rab 5 protein and its effects on hematopoiesis in Drosophila Melanogaster (fruit flies). He hopes to establish a connection between the Rab 5 protein and the Eater receptor by knocking down the genes for both and then observing the effects in flies.
Studying Transcription Factors Czf1 and Sef1
Ysabella Alcaraz ’22 participated in the Building Diversity in the Biomedical Sciences Program at the Tufts Medical School and explored the roles of two transcription factors, Czf1 and Sef1, that elicited an invasive filamentation response in the gastrointestinal yeast Candida albicans, which causes infections such as vaginitis and thrush.
Gene Editing
Fernando Bolio ’22 worked on a project that involved creating a novel system to engineer homing endonucleases to cut DNA sequences of our choosing, which allowed for targeting genes in a similar fashion to CRISPR.
In Biology 41C (Introductory Cell Chemistry and Cell Biology with Laboratory) with Professor Johnson, we did a lot of work with case studies and hypotheticals. What if something was not doing what we expected it to? And we had to work backwards with the knowledge we learned in class and figure out what was happening, why it was happening, and how to fix it.