Harvard Biological & Biomedical Sciences PhD Program

Gordon Hall at Harvard Medical School

Welcome to Harvard BBS!

The Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Program at Harvard offers Ph.D. training in the biosciences, built outward from core training in contemporary genetics, biochemistry, and molecular, cellular, and mechanistic biology. Under BBS, are interwoven research communities comprised of basic science departments and interdepartmental programs at Harvard Medical School. We think of these communities as our “neighborhoods within the city.” Each provides a close-knit environment where faculty and trainees with common interests work together to advance research in their field and participate in training activities tailored to the diversity of career trajectories for today’s PhDs. BBS combines the unparalleled choice of research lab, made possible by its unique breadth and depth, with the cohesiveness of shared-interest communities typical of smaller departmental programs.

News & Research

3D Map of Cell Signaling Sites Could Help Improve Cancer Treatment

Cell-communication molecules called kinases play a key role in the growth and spread of many cancers. But exactly which kinases are active in a particular cancer is not always clear — there are 1.8 million sites on human proteins that kinases might act on...
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Lab-grown brain ‘organoids’ set longevity record

In a new milestone for stem cell research, Harvard neuroscientists have set a record for keeping alive lab-grown human brain “organoids” and proven that they mimic key developmental stages seen in living people. In a paper published this week in Nature...
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Meet the Leadership Team