Physiology and Biophysics

The Physiology and Biophysics Department seeks to explain the functions of the human body’s building blocks: cells, tissues and organs. Faculty focuses on several areas of research, such as uncovering receptors that make cell function and intercellular communication possible in the brain and throughout the body. The department’s graduate program prepares students in some of the most advanced modes of biomedical research through specialized courses and seminars. 

News

Study Establishes “Ball and Chain” Mechanism Inactivates Key Mammalian Ion Channel

March 4, 2025

A new study unveils a precise picture of how an ion channel found in most mammalian cells regulates its own function with a “ball-and-chain” channel-plugging mechanism. The...
Dr. Samara Reck-Peterson Named Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine

January 31, 2025

The newly configured department marshals biochemists, biophysicists and experts in protein engineering and imaging to drive discoveries in the basic mechanisms of cell function.
Three Institutional Scientists Receive Presidential Award

January 16, 2025

Drs. Steven Josefowicz, Ekta Khurana and Kristen Pleil were among 400 early-career scientists and engineers to receive the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and...