Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
Learn. Discover. Make the unknown known.

We rigorously pursue answers to the fundamental questions of biological and biomedical sciences. 

 Faculty and students in lab coats examining a specimen under a microscope in a research laboratory.
Investigating and Understanding the Fundamentals of Life

Since 1854, the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology has been dedicated to guiding the next generation of leaders to pursue rigorous fundamental questions in biological and biomedical sciences with an eye on the future.

Our faculty, students and trainees pursue discovery-driven research in the disciplines of cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, neuroscience, organogenesis, stem cell biology, and tissue repair and regeneration.
Contact Us
Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
3062 Biomedical Sciences Research Bldg.
109 Zina Pitcher Place
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2200

Email: [email protected]

CDB Internal site
ABOUT US

Explore the evolution of our Department over more than a century.
EDUCATION

We offer programs for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, as well as post-baccalaureate and post-doctoral trainees.
PEOPLE

Meet the remarkable faculty, staff, postdoc fellows, and students of CDB.

DEI

Our department is committed to DEI and finding innovative approaches to helping diversity thrive in our community.

Cell & Development Biology department in action

Watch the Cell and Development Biology department in action on campus in this short video.
cell & developmental biology faculty group shot

CDB Primary Faculty

 graphic: Department of cell & developmental biology ranks 6th in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding.

CDB ranks 6th in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding.
Welcome from the Chair

In CDB, we value an eclectic mix of junior, mid-career and senior faculty, of model systems and cutting-edge technologies, and of trainees at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. By synergizing, we investigate, discover, and understand the biology that will shape the textbooks of tomorrow.

Department Chair, Cell & Developmental Biology
faculty profile pierre coulombe
Upcoming Events View all CDB Upcoming Events
CDB Recruitment Social
Connect with prospective PhD students at the CDB Recruitment Socials on Fridays, January 24 and 31, 2025, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Conor O'Neill's in downtown Ann Arbor. Enjoy delicious food, beverages, and lively conversation as we share what makes our department special and introduce potential new members to the CDB family. This is a great chance to engage with future students, highlight the exciting research happening in our department, and show them what it’s like to be part of our community.
CDB PhD student Recruitment Socials 2025
2025 CDB Seminar
Nicole Edwards, Ph.D., will present "Discovering the development basis of trachea-esophageal congenital anomalies."
CDB Recruitment Social
Connect with prospective PhD students at the CDB Recruitment Socials on Fridays, January 24 and 31, 2025, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Conor O'Neill's in downtown Ann Arbor. Enjoy delicious food, beverages, and lively conversation as we share what makes our department special and introduce potential new members to the CDB family. This is a great chance to engage with future students, highlight the exciting research happening in our department, and show them what it’s like to be part of our community.
CDB PhD student Recruitment Socials 2025
2025 CDB Seminar
Join the 2025 CDB Seminar with Liyun Miao, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow at Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, as she presents "Deciphering the chromatin basis of genome activation combining genomics and expansion microscopy."
CDB Colloquium
Hannah Hafner, Mitre Athaiya (Roman Giger’s lab) and Linkang Zhou (Jiandie Lin’s lab) will present the first CDB Colloquium of 2025, "Mad Macs: Diverse Functions of Macrophages in Tissue Degeneration and Regeneration."
2025 CDB Seminar Series
Join the CDB 2025 Seminar Series with Richard She, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow at Whitehead Institute, MIT in Cambridge, MA, presenting "Decoding the genetic landscape of human evolution."
Burton L. Baker Memorial Lecture Series
The 2025 Burton L. Baker Memorial Lecture Series will feature Paola Arlotta, Ph.D., presenting "Understanding how our brain is made: a tale of embryos and organoids."
2025 Seminar Series
Join the 2025 CDB Seminar with Shigeki Watanabe, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department of Cell Biology and Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University presenting "Ultrastructural plasticity of neurons."
Featured News & Stories See all news
Department News
New Publication by the Yang Lab
Nature Communications published "Spatial heterogeneity accelerates phase-to-trigger wave transitions in frog egg extracts" by the Yang lab.
Department News
New Publication by the Khoriaty and Engel labs!
Blood published "The LSD1 Inhibitor RN1 Rescues Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anemia Type II" by the Khoriaty and Engel labs.
Department News
New Publication from Claire Drysdale (Khoriaty lab)
The American Society of Hematology Blood Journal published "The Saga Complex Member TADA2B Is a Novel Regulator of γ-Globin Production" by first author Claire Drysdale (Khoriaty lab).
Department News
New Publication from a collaborative effort between the Janet Smith and Melanie Ohi labs
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a research article entitled "A minimal complex of KHNYN and zinc-finger antiviral protein binds and degrades single-stranded RNA" with collaborative authorship by the Janet Smith and Melanie Ohi labs.
 Cover image in Development: Confocal microscope image of a mouse embryonic kidney section identifying the metanephric mesenchyme (WT1+, cyan) and the ureteric bud epithelium (CDH1+, magenta) during early renal branching morphogenesis. See Research article by Franks and Allen
Department News
New Publication by Nicole Franks (Allen Lab)
Hedgehog-dependent and hedgehog-independent roles for growth arrest specific 1 in mammalian kidney morphogenesis”, has been published in Development, where it is featured as the cover article!”
Department News
New Publication by Joseph Durgin (Wong Lab)
"Hair follicle stem cells and the collapse of self-tolerance in alopecia: the interplay of barrier function, the microbiome, and immunity" has been published in EMBO Molecular Medicine.
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