Welcome to the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, the second largest department in the College of Health and Sciences at North Carolina Central University. The department is home to approximately 400 undergraduate majors and 20 graduate students. Our department is home to a team of highly credentialed and experienced faculty spread across four buildings and three research institutes. Our primary building is the Mary Townes Science Complex, a state-of-the art teaching and research facility where many of our faculty are housed. Some of our faculty hold joint appointments in one of the three campus research institutes: the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnical Research Institute (BBRI), the Biomanufacturing Research Institute and Technology Enterprise (BRITE), or the NC Research Campus located in Kannapolis, NC. We also have faculty located in the Lee Biology Building, our original Biology building built in 1956. Faculty areas of expertise include cancer biology, discipline-based education research, genetics, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, and toxicology.
The department offers three undergraduate degree programs: (i) a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, (ii) a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences, and (iii) a Comprehensive Science Licensure concentration. Our undergraduate degrees prepare students for many career paths such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, research and education. At the graduate level, the department offers a Master of Science degree in Biological and Biomedical Sciences with two options: a thesis option and a non-thesis (project) option. The department is also a major stakeholder in the Integrated Biosciences (INBS) Ph.D. program, as it provides curriculum and faculty that support the INBS doctoral program.
Student achievement is at the center of everything we do. We are deeply committed to student success, with a strong emphasis on expanding internship and shadowing opportunities that offer real-world experience and support professional growth. Together with innovative curricula and meaningful research experiences, these opportunities demonstrate our dedication to teaching, research, and service.
Gail Hollowell, Ph.D.
Professor and Interim Chair
Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences
2242 Mary Townes Science Complex
919-530-6407