The Graduate Program in Biochemistry is a PhD-granting program that provides opportunities for research in major areas of biochemistry, including protein and nucleic acid characterization and function as well as physical biochemistry. The program is distinctive in its chemical orientation and focus on molecular mechanisms associated with reaction pathways and studies of the assembly and function of macromolecular complexes. Current research activities include studies of enzyme mechanisms, catalytic ribonucleic acids (ribozymes), signal transduction, cell cycle control, cytoskeletal structure, prokaryotic and eukaryotic transcription, genetic diseases, glycoproteins, DNA, mRNA decay and translational control, multidrug resistance and tolerance, membrane biogenesis, endocytosis, insertion of proteins into membranes, ion channel structure and function, analysis and design of protein and RNA structures, metalloproteins, post translational modification and protein folding.