Cell & Developmental Biology Education
A female CDB researcher looks through a microscope

A Career in the Building Blocks of Life Itself

The U-M Medical School Department of Cell & Developmental Biology invests in the future of humankind by supporting and educating the scientists of tomorrow.

Focused on the Fundamentals

As scientists of the fundamental questions of biology, students partner with world-class faculty to research, discover and change the world.

In the U-M Medical School Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, we foster research, education and collaboration at all levels through interdisciplinary graduate research programs and advanced post-doctoral fellowship opportunities. Our ultimate goal is to prepare the next generation of scientists to make life-changing discoveries in the biological and biomedical sciences.

Our students have access to:

  • Amazing Faculty & Cutting-Edge Science: Learn in an environment that celebrates and promotes high-impact, discovery-driven research.
  • Outstanding Mentorship and Administrative Support: Get the guidance you need to advance your career.
  • A Top-Ranked Educational Program: CDB is an NIH top-10 program and the University of Michigan is the number one ranked public university in research expenditures.
  • Professional Development & Outreach: Explore career opportunities and gain skills through a variety of organizations and resources on campus.
  • Career Options: Our trainees pursue rewarding careers in both academia and industry.
  • Awards and Funding: A range of opportunities are available to recognize accomplishments and cover costs.
  • A Great Place to Call Home: Ann Arbor combines the energy, intellect and fun of a college town with a big city’s appetite for the best in food, recreation, culture and entertainment.
PhD Program

Learn the advantages of pursuing your PhD in Cell & Developmental Biology.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Expand your skills, develop independence and carve your career trajectory.

Resources

Watch videos, connect with program directors and access onboarding guides.

Living in Ann Arbor

The home of the Michigan Medicine campus is a vibrant city that feels like a small town, with the natural beauty and recreation of all four seasons. Start planning your life in Ann Arbor, from campus life and housing to transportation and beyond.

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What Jeff Loves about CDB

No one understands the CDB program - and what makes it so special - better than our graduate students. See yourself in their stories as you consider the U-Mich CDB program.
Upcoming Events

Check out what's going on around the department and the university.

See all CDB events
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 with Dr. She
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."
2025 CDB Seminar with Dr. Dingwall
Join the 2025 CDB Seminar with Heather Dingwall, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, presenting "Uncovering the Developmental and Genetic Basis for Thermoregulatory Skin Phenotypes."
2025 CDB Seminar with Dr. Bunick
Join the 2025 CDB Seminar with Christopher Bunick, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, presenting "The Less Explored Organizers of the Cytoplasm: Structure, Function, and Disease Relevance of Intermediate Filaments in the Skin."
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."
Understanding the brain bioart
2025 Seminar Series with Dr. Watanabe
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).
 A minimal complex of KHNYN and zinc-finger antiviral protein binds and degrades single-stranded RNA bioart
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.