The MIT Department of Biology ("Course VII") is a center for research and teaching in the life sciences. Many members of the faculty hold joint appointments with other departments at MIT and with outside institutions.

Faculty members

As of 2020 faculty members include:

Full Professors

  • Tania A. Baker
  • David Bartel
  • Stephen P. Bell
  • Christopher Burge
  • Iain Cheeseman
  • Jianzhu Chen
  • Cathy Drennan
  • Gerald Fink
  • Frank Gertler
  • Alan Grossman
  • Leonard P. Guarente
  • H. Robert Horvitz, S.B. 1968
  • David Housman
  • Richard Hynes
  • Barbara Imperiali
  • Tyler Jacks
  • Rudolf Jaenisch
  • Chris Kaiser
  • Amy Keating
  • Monty Krieger
  • Eric S. Lander
  • Michael T. Laub
  • Jacqueline Lees
  • Troy Littleton
  • Harvey F. Lodish
  • David C. Page
  • Uttam RajBhandary
  • Peter Reddien
  • Aviv Regev
  • David M. Sabatini
  • Robert T. Sauer
  • Thomas Schwartz
  • Phillip A. Sharp
  • Anthony Sinskey
  • Hazel Sive
  • Frank Solomon
  • Lisa Steiner
  • Susumu Tonegawa
  • Matthew Vander Heiden
  • Graham Walker
  • Robert A. Weinberg, Ph.D. 1969
  • Michael B. Yaffe
  • Richard A. Young

Associate professors

  • Laurie Boyer
  • Mary Gehring
  • Michael Hemann
  • Adam C. Martin

Assistant professors

  • Eliezer Calo
  • Lindsay Case
  • Joseph H. Davis
  • Ankur Jain
  • Rebecca Lamason
  • Gene-Wei Li
  • Pulin Li
  • Sebastian Lourido
  • Stefani Spranger
  • Seychelle Vos
  • Omer Yilmaz

Professors with primary appointments in other departments

  • Sallie (Penny) Chisholm
  • Douglas Lauffenburger
  • Elly Nedivi
  • Matthew Wilson

Professors emeriti

  • Martha Constantine-Paton
  • Malcolm Gefter
  • Nancy Hopkins
  • Jonathan King
  • Terry Orr-Weaver
  • Mary-Lou Pardue
  • Sheldon Penman
  • Phillips Robbins
  • Robert Rosenberg
  • Leona D. Samson
  • Paul Schimmel
  • Edward Scolnick
  • Ethan Signer
  • JoAnne Stubbe
  • William (Chip) Quinn

Department Heads

  • 1889-1921 William T. Sedgwick
  • 1921-1942 Samuel C. Prescott
  • 1942-1955 Francis O. Schmitt
  • 1957-1966 Irwin W. Sizer
  • 1966-1977 Boris Magasanik
  • 1977-1985 Gene M. Brown
  • 1985-1989 Maurice Fox
  • 1989-1991 Richard O. Hynes
  • 1991-1999 Phillip Sharp
  • 1999-2004 Robert T. Sauer
  • 2004-2012 Chris Kaiser
  • 2012-2014 Tania Baker
  • 2014-2023 Alan Grossman
  • 2023 Amy Keating

Alumni

Alumni of the department include:

Nobel laureates

The department can claim several winners of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine among its faculty and alumni. They are:

  • Michael Rosbash, 2017
  • Andrew Fire, 2006
  • H. Robert Horvitz, 2002
  • Leland H. Hartwell, 2001
  • Phillip A. Sharp, 1993
  • E. Donnall Thomas, 1990
  • Susumu Tonegawa, 1987
  • David Baltimore, 1975
  • Salvador Luria, 1969
  • Har Gobind Khorana, 1968

Former faculty

Former faculty include:

  • Angelika Amon
  • Gene Brown
  • Arnold Demain
  • Herman Eisen
  • Vernon Ingram
  • Susan Lindquist
  • Maurice Fox
  • Har Gobind Khorana
  • Irving London
  • Salvador Luria
  • Alexander Rich

Other notable alumni

Other notable alumni include

  • Victor Ambros, Ph.D., 1979
  • Cornelia Bargmann, Ph.D., 1987
  • Kevin Eggan, Ph.D., 2002
  • Stephen J. Elledge, Ph.D., 1983
  • Andrew Fire, Ph.D., 1983
  • Leland H. Hartwell, Ph.D., 1964
  • Richard O. Hynes, Ph.D., 1971
  • Cynthia Kenyon, Ph.D., 1979
  • Michael Rosbash, Ph.D., 1970
  • Allan C. Spradling, Ph.D., 1975

References


Homepage MIT Department of Biology

Diversity MIT Department of Biology

Undergraduate MIT Department of Biology

BIOLOGY AT MIT Department of Biology

Graduate MIT Department of Biology