WashU Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences

35 Years, 1000 Graduates ONE Celebration

Washington University's Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences (DBBS) celebrated two milestones May 1-2: its 35th anniversary and the graduation of its 1,000th student. Established in 1973, DBBS has become the national model for graduate education in Biology and Biomedical Sciences because of its collaborative interdisciplinary approach.

The Division spans both the University's Danforth and Medical campuses to provide Ph.D. training programs in biology and the biomedical sciences. Established in 1973, the Division has become the national model for graduate education in biology and biomedical sciences because of its collaborative, interdisciplinary approach.

Unlike traditional doctoral training programs, which are organized along departmental lines, the Division trains students in programs organized around 12 scientific interests - computational biology, developmental biology, human and statistical genetics, and neurosciences among them.
Faculty and graduate students regularly cross disciplines, devising novel questions and approaches that might otherwise go unexplored. The Division currently consists of 662 graduate students and 385 faculty members from 34 university-wide departments.

To mark its celebratory events, the DBBS held an opening reception May 1. Events on May 2 included scientific talks by four alumni and career-path panel discussions on academics, science policy and regulatory affairs, government labs, and patent law and intellectual property.

Floyd E. Bloom, M.D., a member of the WUSTL Board of Trustees and professor emeritus at The Scripps Research Institute, gave the keynote address. Dr. Steven Wise (Neural Sciences 1977), the Division's First Graduate was on hand to present Dr. Zhen Mahoney (Molecular Genetics and Genomics 2007) with an award as the Division's 1000th Graduate.