Chemical biology is an exciting subdiscipline that uses chemistry to answer questions and solve problems in complex biological systems. Chemical biology is guided by the unifying philosophy that biology is an emergent property of chemical processes and can be understood in chemical terms. In contrast to biochemistry or molecular biology, chemical biology often involves small molecule probes that take advantage of fundamental biological processes to manipulate, understand, and/or mimic biological systems. This research area is inherently interdisciplinary and often combines techniques used in organic chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, systems biology, and metabolic engineering, among other disciplines.

Faculty members associated with the chemical biology program in the Chemistry Department are listed on this page. Associated labs encompass the Departments of Chemistry, Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry (MBB), Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology (MCDB), and several departments in the Yale School of Medicine. The chemical biology community has ready access to world-class facilities and is strongly supported by research, education, and training grants, such as the National Institute of Health Chemical Biology Training Grant program.