Viewed broadly, research by students in GGD seeks to uncover the fundamental genetic, biochemical, developmental, and cell biological principles that govern life. Such research utilizes state-of-the-art tools in genetics, genomics, biochemistry, proteomics, cell biology, computational biology, imaging, nanobiotechnology and a variety of in vivo methods to characterize the mechanisms regulating a wide range of biological phenomena.

The Field of GGD enrolls 8-15 new students per year into its Ph.D. program, which has been supported by a National Institutes of Health training grant for nearly 30 years.

The Field is administered by the Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics (MBG), and is guided and supported by the Director of Graduate Studies, Andrew Grimson, and the Graduate Field Assistants, Casey Moore, Vicki Shaff, and Ginger Tomassini.

There are more than 55 faculty in GGD, half of whom are in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics (MBG) with the rest from 15 other departments or units. All of the faculty have independent laboratories; however, many of their interests overlap, resulting in group collaborations and shared activities.