The Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto was founded in 1907-1908 and has a proud tradition of excellence in research and education. Now housed in the Temerty Faculty of medicine, the Department hosts a large faculty (over 60 members and growing), whose research and teaching spans the breadth that is modern biochemistry.
Biochemistry occupies a central place in the life sciences and encompasses traditional disciplines such as molecular biology and cell biology and newer areas such as bioinformatics. Our faculty members have active research programs in signal transduction and regulation, membranes and transport, molecular medicine and drug discovery, cell biology, biomolecular structure and function, gene expression and development, genome organization and integrity, computational biology, microbiology, and science pedagogy.
The Department has fully-equipped laboratories and superb research facilities. Major installations include NMR, Biophysics and Molecular Interaction suites, X-ray diffraction equipment, computation facilities, confocal and electron microscopes including Cryo-EM, and mass spectrometry for protein and small molecule identification. Core concentrations of our researchers are located in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine Medical Sciences Building, MaRS Discovery District, and the Hospital for Sick Children, while over 10 additional on-campus Research Centres and over Hospital-based Research Facilities contribute to the geographical and technological network of the Department.
The Department offers graduate programs leading to MSc and PhD degrees and attracts students from across Canada and around the world. These research-intensive programs are complemented by courses on selected topics in biochemistry, a dynamic seminar series, and our internationally-recognized graduate professional development program. Our graduates go on to successful careers in academia, industry, and policy research.
We offer high quality undergraduate Specialist and Major programs in biochemistry. Students are impressed with the range and quality of courses that we offer. We are particularly proud of our laboratory courses and the many opportunities for undergraduate students to get involved in research. The Research Opportunities Program allows students to participate in a faculty member’s research project as early as second year. Many of our students also take advantage of our Summer Student Research programmes to gain valuable laboratory research experience. In their 4th year, Biochemistry Specialist students can conduct their own research project under the guidance of our faculty members.
The City of Toronto provides a rich mosaic of neighbourhoods and activities in a vibrant multi-cultural milieu. The St. George campus of the University is conveniently located in the heart of the city, close to the hospital research institutes, housing, and other amenities.
