Department of Biochemistry
955 Main Street, Suite 4102Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Buffalo, NY 14203
Mark R. O'Brian
Chair
Alfred S. Ponticelli
Director of Undergraduate Education
asp@buffalo.edu
Associated Subjects
Experiential Learning
The Biochemistry program requires students to complete eight credit hours of research over the course of three semesters in an active research laboratory. By working on an independent project as part of a research team with faculty, graduate students, technical staff and postdoctoral fellows, students develop strong research-based analytical and problem-solving skills. As part of this research experience the student is required to present a poster describing their research, usually performed at the end of their senior year during the annual Biochemistry Research Day each spring.
Independent study opportunities are available with permission of an instructor.
Extracurricular Activities
Majors frequently belong to the Pre-Professional Health Student Club and the Undergraduate Biology Association.
Students are encouraged to attend our weekly seminar series and are required to participate in the annual departmental Research Day, which showcases current research activity in the department. See the UB Student Association webpage
Honors and Awards
- John F. Moran Memorial Award presented to the graduating senior with the highest grade in BCH 403.
- Deborah, Christopher, and Adam White Memorial Award presented to the outstanding senior with the highest overall GPA and acceptance into medical school.
- American Chemical Society Outstanding Senior Award. Awarded to an outstanding graduating senior with a minimum 3.500 GPA and a strong background in Chemistry.
- Outstanding Senior Award, presented to the student who has maintained a high level of academic performance throughout their undergraduate career.
Departmental Honors
To receive Departmental Honors students must have the appropriate overall GPA pursuant to UB Latin Honor’s Policy: 3.200 HONORS; 3.500 HIGH HONORS; 3.750 HIGHEST HONORS. Students must also prepare a research paper on their BCH 498 research project. The paper should be written in the format of a research article consisting of an Abstract (one page maximum); Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (minimum 5 pages, double spaced); Data - Figures with Figure Legend and/or Tables; and a Reference Section with a minimum of 5 papers with authors, year, article title, journal, volume and inclusive page numbers. The honors paper is due no later than 3 days after the end of the examination period.