Research Areas

The GDCB Department uses model systems to address fundamental biological questions related to human health and food security. We are dedicated to biological discovery and excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, with research and teaching missions encompassing fundamental cellular and subcellular processes, including genetics and genomics, cell structure and function, cellular metabolism, cellular response to environmental and developmental signals, and molecular mechanisms of development.
The Department has identified three primary focus areas in which it already enjoys a strong representation - Genetics and Genomics, Cellular Biology, and Development. The other research areas of computational biology, metabolic networking, as well as instructional and pedagogical innovation, are integrated into multiple focus areas.
Cellular Biology
Molecular control of cellular structure and function
The cell is the basic unit of life, and excellence in biology learning and discovery requires a fundamental understanding of cellular structure and function. This area encompasses the assembly and function of subcellular organelles, and the channeling and compartmentalization of proteins and pathways. This research also provides the foundation for understanding the regulation of gene expression, metabolic network, and responses to environmental signals, areas in which molecular biologists and cell biologists in GDCB have developed nationally recognized programs.
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Integration of computational approaches
Genome projects and high-throughput experimental technologies produce immense amounts of information. Effective use of these data increasingly requires sophisticated computational expertise, and major breakthroughs in biological research will result from the collaborative efforts of experimentalists and computational biologists. ISU has a nationally-recognized program in bioinformatics and computational biology, with the GDCB Department as a major player. Bioinformatics and computational biology also are essential for ISU’s emerging program in the important new field of systems biology, which focuses on integrating knowledge of the functions and interactions of individual components to gain insight into the structure and dynamics of a complete biological system. This approach will be essential to address questions at increasingly complex levels of biological organization and, ultimately, will provide the basis for successful modeling of genetic, metabolic and signal transduction networks.
Development
Mechanisms of multicellular development
During multi-cellular development, individual cells must integrate intracellular and extracellular signals and implement appropriate decisions, such as whether to grow, divide, migrate, differentiate, or die. The molecular mechanisms that control developmental cell fate decisions are also the keys to solving many biomedical and agricultural concerns. GDCB is building upon strengths in genome dynamics, functional genomics, and computational biology to achieve a nationally recognized program of research that investigates the regulatory circuitry of development. Research topics in this area include specification of cell fates and cellular differentiation, cell-cell interactions and signal transduction, pattern formation, organogenesis, neurobiology, and programmed cell death.
Genetics and Genomics
Analysis of the structure, function and activity of the genome
The field of genetics and genomics studies vital processes required for the maintenance, inheritance and expression of the genetic material, including transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, segregation and recombination of genetic material, as well as CRISPR-mediated genome-editing tools to modify genomes. GDCB department has expertise in a number of these areas, most notably in genetic studies with model systems (e.g. Arabidopsis, maize, yeast, drosophila, zebrafish, and mouse), developing genome-editing tools, the experimental analysis of gene expression, and the analysis of genomic data using bioinformatics and computational biology approaches.
Metabolic Networking
Integration of metabolism into systems biology
This includes regulation of metabolic networks, metabolic regulation of gene expression and integration of metabolism into systems biology.
Pedagogy
Instructional and pedagogical innovation
This includes development and implementation of novel and innovative methods and mechanisms to aid in student learning. Faculty in GDCB are especially active in the integration of web-based technology into both traditional face-to-face and on-line courses.
The GDCB Department also is interested in the efficient and effective conveyance of biological knowledge to students at ISU and elsewhere. Because of this faculty within the department are active in designing, testing and implementing innovative methods and mechanisms to aid in student learning. These efforts are particularly active in the undergraduate biology curriculum, where novel methods are introduced and tested fairly regularly. Of particular note are the efforts of GDCB faculty in the design, testing and integration of web-based technology into courses, in both on-line and traditional classroom settings.