Biosciences

Translating science into healthier living

Biosciences at the University of Colorado Boulder aim to understand processes underlying behavior, function, disease and health at the molecular, cellular and whole-systems levels to develop interventions that improve human health.

Understanding healthy human and animal systems

Exploring disease states and diagnoses

Treatment strategies (shifts from disease to health; maintaining and optimizing health)

Biosciences News

A histological slide of cancerous breast tissue
Study unravels mystery of cancer-fueling enzyme—could lead to new treatments

A new CU Boulder study unravels a decades-old mystery around an enigmatic enzyme—a cancer driver known as CDK7. Read more

Faith Kipyegon running with a Kenyan flag
‘Breaking 4’: How the 1st female runner could soon break the 4-minute-mile barrier

With ideal conditions and strategic pacing and drafting, Kenyan Faith Kipyegon is on the brink of hitting the fabled track and field milestone, a new study suggests. Now, the authors are urging her to go for it. Read more

Lily Mortensen
Grad student researching 3D printing and ultrasound for medicine

Lily Mortensen is advancing research at the leading edge of biomedicine, working on new ways to improve human health. Read more

Read more at CU Boulder Today

Biosciences In-Depth Stories

Read more Biosciences Stories
Faculty Leaders

With over 650 faculty and students involved in interdisciplinary bioscience research, CU Boulder is home to a dynamic scientific ecosystem that is shaping tomorrow’s leaders.

Impacting Humanity

Biosciences is the single greatest contributor to commercialization activity at CU Boulder. In the last two decades, at least 89 biotech startups have emerged with roots at CU.

Research Institutes

Researchers at CU Boulder are empowered to explore new areas of bioscience by leveraging resources and talents across the university’s dedicated institutes.

13

National Academy of Science members

89+

Biotech startups with roots at CU (past 20 years)

7

Distinguished Professors

8

 American Association for the Advancement of Science members

RNA & DNA Discoveries

Tom Cech discovered that RNA is not only a molecule that encodes information but also a catalyst. Cech’s discovery laid the foundations for advances in molecular genetics and a growing appreciation of the biological roles of RNA. 

  • Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1989)
  • National Medal of Science (1995) 
  • Distinguished Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Faculty Leaders

Making Chemotherapy Safer

Marvin Caruthers co-founded Amgen in 1980 to apply his work with RNA synthesis, DNA synthesis and analogues. Today, Amgen’s therapies help prevent infections in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Faculty Leaders    Impacting Humanity

Fighting Cancer

Tin Tin Su’s innovative work with fruit flies led to the patenting of a compound that keeps radiation-treated cancer cells from re-growing. Her startup, SuviCa, develops cancer therapeutics that exploit a cellular mechanism critical to cancer re-growth after treatment with standard therapies.

Faculty Leaders    Impacting Humanity

Preventing Cardiovascular Disease

Doug Seals founded the Clinical Translational Research Center in 1999 to establish lifestyle and pharmacological strategies to extend “healthspan,” the period of healthy life. Now, Seals’ research focuses on slowing and preventing cardiovascular disease.

  • National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging MERIT Award
  • Professor of Distinction, Integrative Physiology

Faculty Leaders

Leading in the Classroom

Leslie Leinwand is renowned for her study of the molecules involved in muscle contraction and heart disease. Her research opens the door to the possibility of personalized heart-disease treatment. Committed to teaching and training, Leinwand is a national influencer in shaping biomedical research policies.

Faculty Leaders

Developing Treatments for Infectious Disease

Biologist Larry Gold, an internationally regarded DNA and RNA researcher, co-founded Synergen in 1981, when biotechnology was still an emerging field. In 1992, he founded NeXagen, now part of Gilead Sciences, which develops treatments for infectious disease. And in 2000, he founded SomaLogic with the goal of transforming how diseases are detected and diagnosed.

Faculty Leaders    Impacting Humanity

Pain Management

Linda Watkins strives to understand how to control pathological pain states. Her work has yielded 300-plus peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Nature, Science and Journal of Neuroscience. A co-founder of Xalud Therapeutics, she is a world-renowned authority on the neurological applications of glial attenuation, focusing on alleviating chronic pain.

  • John Liebeskind Pain Management Research Award (2010)
  • Distinguished Professor, Psychology and Neuroscience
  • Co-Chair, Xalud Therapeutics Scientific Advisory Board

Faculty Leaders    Impacting Humanity

Extraordinary Facilities & Resources

Clinical Translational Research Center
Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building
Intermountain Neuroimaging Consortium
Wilderness Place

Key Departments, Institutes, Centers & Entities