The Section of Molecular Medicine focuses on performing cutting-edge research in cellular and molecular mechanisms of human disease and supports graduate and postgraduate level educational programs within the Department of Internal Medicine.

Our Goal

A major goal of the section is to serve as a nidus for translational research by providing an environment where clinical and basic science faculty interact to make new discoveries and to educate future scientists.

Our Faculty and Research

The section consists of 19 primary faculty members and one emeritus faculty member who use cellular and molecular approaches to gain a better understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying acute and chronic human conditions, including sepsis, arthritis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, fatty liver and cancer.

Molecular Medicine faculty collaborate on forward (disease/phenotype -> molecule) and reverse (molecule mutation/deletion -> disease phenotype) translational research to bidirectionally link new molecule discovery to disease pathogenesis using state-of-the-art “omics” (transcription, epigenetics, proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics) and gene editing/deletion/overexpression technologies.

Our Training and Educational Programs

The Molecular Medicine Section is the academic home for the Molecular Medicine and Translational Science (MMTS) graduate program, one of the largest biomedical sciences graduate programs at Wake Forest University. MMTS offers PhD and MS training for BS, MD and DVM students. The section also provides laboratory research training and education in translational research for medical students, residents and postdoctoral fellows, including subspecialty fellows in the Department of Internal Medicine. A seminar series and journal club are held weekly as part of the training program in MMTS. 

We invite you to explore our department and contact us with any questions you may have.