About our Department

The Department of Neurobiology & Biophysics formed in September 2024 via the consolidation of  the departments of Biological Structure and Physiology & Biophysics following a year of planning involving faculty, staff, and trainees across both departments. Both departments were built on the foundation of broad scientific curiosity, mentoring and teaching of the next generation of scientists, and acting in service of the mission of the university. This is reflected in the diverse disciplines of neuroscience, physiology, and biophysics of its faculty.

Both departments were formed in 1946, with founding chairs TC (Ted) Ruch, PhD, as the founding Chair of Physiology & Biophysics and W.F. Windle, PhD, as the founding Chair of the Department of Anatomy (changed later to Biological Structure in 1953). Rachel Wong, PhD, who served as the final Chair of Biological Structure, was instrumental in the founding of Neurobiology & Biophysics via her guidance and excitement about the possibilities the consolidation provides. 

Elizabeth A. Buffalo, PhD, and previous Chair of Physiology & Biophysics, was selected as the Founding Chair to lead the new Department of Neurobiology & Biophysics.

There are 54 core faculty members, 8 acting faculty members, and nearly 70 adjuncts and affiliates in the department of Neurobiology & Biophysics. The department is home to 83 trainees (postdoctoral scholars and graduate students), 75 research staff, and 11 administrative staff, making it amongst the largest biomedical research departments in the School of Medicine.