The Molecular Biology Institute, or MBI, is an interdepartmental organized research unit (ORU) within the Life Sciences Division of the College of Letters & Sciences. The Institute is designed to bring together UCLA researchers in the now broad area of molecular biology. Over 150 faculty from the College of Letters and Science and the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry participate in the Institute as members or associate members. The large Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Ph.D. Program is currently training more than 75 graduate students conducting dissertation research in the laboratories of our members. Institute-sponsored programs and activities include:

Dr. Boyer (left) receives his Nobel Prize from His Majesty the King of Sweden.

• The MBI Thursday Seminar Series
• The MBI Faculty Research Club
• The David S. Sigman Memorial Lectureship and Symposium
• The MBI Lake Arrowhead Research Conference
• The Postdoctoral Recognition Awards
  (co-sponsored with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry)
• Events at UCLA in Molecular Biology weekly calendar

Founded in 1965, the MBI is located in Paul D. Boyer Hall, named for the Institute’s founding director and recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. At 72,000 square feet, Boyer Hall contains the laboratories of 30 of the Institute’s members. It is also the home of our colleagues in the Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, and the combined recruitment, admission and first year graduate program UCLA ACCESS. A recent contribution to Boyer Hall's history was made by Richard Dickerson, the Institute's second director, in the form of a booklet, Ars Gratia Scientia, the story of Art and the Molecular Biology Institute describing the various artwork displayed throughout the building.Research support facilities and services housed in Boyer Hall include:

• The UCLA-DOE-MBI Protein Expression Core, providing expertise in expression vectors and protein expression in E. Coli and eukaryotic cells
• The UCLA-DOE X-ray Crystallography Core, providing expertise in X-ray crystallography to all MBI Members and Associates.
• The UCLA-DOE Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Core, providing expertise in two-dimensional NMR techniques for the analysis of nucleic acid and protein structure and interactions
• The Computer Core, providing expertise in two-dimensional NMR techniques for the analysis of nucleic acid and protein structure and interactions.
• UCLA-DOE Biochemistry Instrumentation Facility, providing modern instruments for biomolecule characterization.