> Organization Chart

The BIO organizational structure shows the relationship between departments and staff responsibilities. Click miniature to View org chart download pdf version

> Mission

The basic mission of the Biosciences Division is to conduct multidisciplinary research that further increases understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of life and enables valuable advances in health protection, environmental restoration, energy production, industrial processing, and other applications. 

Research projects in the Division range from fundamental studies of DNA sequences using molecular biology and computational strategies to practical use of genomic information, including selection of targets for protein structure determinations and protein engineering to elucidate relationships between protein structure and function.  Within the broad goal of understanding biological mechanisms relevant to bioremediation, energy production, and protection of human health, the major objectives for research projects in the Division are:  

• To characterize the mechanisms involved in regulation of gene expression through the development and use of tools for analysis of DNA, RNA, and proteins,
• To deepen understanding of protein stability and protein-protein interaction by using protein engineering techniques,
• To predict protein structure and function from gene sequence data and then use the predictions to select protein targets for structure determination,
• To probe genome sequences with both laboratory and computational techniques in order to discover regulatory pathways relevant to human health, environmental restoration, and energy production,
• To develop the analytical approaches and software required to exploit massively parallel computers for exploration of the three-dimensional structures of proteins and
• To exploit fully the unique capabilities of Argonne 's Structural Biology Center (SBC) at the APS in exploring currently intractable questions involving reaction mechanisms and molecular structure