- Advanced Materials by Design: Theory and Computation
- African Diaspora and the Atlantic World Research Circle
- Agroecology
- American Indian Studies
- Bioethics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biophotonics
- Chemical Biology
- Chemistry
- Cognitive Sciences
- Communication Technologies Research
- Comparative Political Economy
- Comparative U.S. Studies
- Computational Sciences
- Computational Systems Biology
- Computer Engineering
- Computer Sciences
- Cultural Studies in a Global Context
- Disability Studies
- Energy Sources and Policy
- Expressive Culture and Diversity in the Upper Midwest
- Food Pathogens and Toxins
- Functional Brain Imaging
- Functional Organic Materials
- Genomics
- Global Governance and International Finance
- Initiative for Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship
- Interdisciplinary Arts Residency Program
- International Environmental Affairs and Global Security
- International Public Affairs
- Land Use
- Law, Society and Justice
- Mathematical Physics - String Theory
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Molecular Biometry
- Nanophase Inorganic Materials and Devices
- Political Economy
- Poverty Studies
- Religious Studies
- Science and Technology Studies
- Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
- Structural Biology
- Symbiosis
- Translational Research - Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Very High Energy Astrophysics and Cosmology
- Visual Culture
- Vitamin D
- Women's Health Research/Biology of Sex and Gender Differences
- Zebrafish Biology
Cluster focus
The Chemical Biology Cluster was established to recruit and unite faculty and students who simultaneously use chemical and biological approaches to ask critical questions. Interdisciplinary research in chemical biology seeks to provide a molecular understanding of living systems. As such, the dynamic field of chemical biology is an extremely exciting and vibrant area of research, and it is attracting many undergraduate and graduate students. UW-Madison was early to recognize the importance of this field. Subsequently, a number of universities have followed in those footsteps. The cluster is critical to maintaining and building our leadership in this area.
Cluster accomplishments
- The cluster has revitalized the NIH-supported Chemistry–Biology Interface (CBI) Training Grant that provides three years of support to 10 graduate students. The program brings outstanding graduate students in chemical biology to UW-Madison. The cluster coordinator is the current program director and each of the cluster faculty functions as a trainer. The training grant program has helped the cluster remain extremely competitive through the recruitment of several outstanding graduate students in chemical biology and through other departments. UW-Madison’s program is the largest and one of the longest running CBI training programs in the country. In addition, program was highlighted by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for success in increasing the number of graduate students from underrepresented groups that participate in our program.
- The cluster has raised $1.5 million to establish the Keck Center for Chemical Genomics, a small molecule screening facility located in the School of Medicine and Public Health. A number of biologically active compounds have been identified from this facility, and it has been used by a number of campus researchers, including many not initially associated with the cluster.
- Cluster faculty have brought major grants totaling more than $12 million to the university that combine biochemistry, chemistry, biology and genetics to understand living systems and to develop new biologically active compounds, antibiotics, and the development of drugs to treat cancer and other diseases.
- The cluster has developed several new graduate courses focused on chemical biology. These include two specialized courses, Natural Product Chemistry and Engineered Biosynthesis (Pharm Sci 677) and Mass Spectrometry in Health Sciences (Pharm Sci 492), and two core courses, the Chemical Biology Seminar (Biochem 945) and Chemical Biology (Biochem 704).
- The cluster coordinator has been named editor in chief of the newly created monthly American Chemical Society’s ACS Chemical Biology journal, which will provide a forum for research at the interface of chemistry and biology.
Cluster structure
The Chemical Biology Cluster interacts through several venues. Members of the CBI Training Grant Steering Committee are key participants. They meet several times during the academic year to handle administrative issues and to establish priorities for the cluster. The cluster is strongly affiliated with the Keck Center for Chemical Genomics.
Cluster coordinator, faculty and lead dean
Cluster Coordinator
- Laura Kiessling, Professor and MacArthur Foundation Fellow, Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Cluster Faculty
- Ben Shen, Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Charles M. Johnson Chair in Pharmacy
- Lingjun Li, Assistant Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chemistry
- Doug Weibel, Assistant Professor, Biochemistry
Lead Dean
- Molly Jahn, Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences