Welcome to the DSCB
The Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (DSCB) Program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is one of the premier programs for doctoral studies in the United States.

The DSCB Program builds upon the outstanding strengths of basic and translational research at UCSF, and provides training in four overlapping and interrelated thematic areas:

  • Stem Cells and Cell Differentiation
  • Organogenesis and Tissue Regeneration
  • Pattern Formation and Morphogenesis
  • Evolutionary Developmental Biology

The DSCB Program offers an integrated and multidisciplinary educational opportunity for graduate students pursuing careers in these rapidly expanding fields. The DSCB Program includes more than eighty UCSF Faculty members from various clinical and basic science departments and with diverse interests.  Most DSCB Faculty have ongoing laboratory projects that span multiple thematic areas.

History
UCSF has long played a prominent and often pioneering role in shaping the disciplines of developmental and stem cell biology. The DSCB Program was created as a cross-campus interdepartmental consortium designed to consolidate related activities, and facilitate interactions among faculty and graduate students interested in the rapidly expanding and closely connected fields of developmental biology, stem cells, and regeneration.

Program Structure
The Developmental and Stem Cell Biology (DSCB) Program provides a cohesive and distinct curriculum, as well as offers unique educational activities that enrich the intellectual environment at UCSF. On the graduate level, DSCB coordinates its activities with a variety of cross-campus entities including:

The DSCB Program is directed by two faculty members and is overseen by an executive committee. This executive committee consists of developmental and stem cell biologists from multiple UCSF campuses.

Students who graduate with a doctoral degree from the DSCB Program will be well positioned to capitalize on the high levels of enthusiasm for such training by recruiters from academia and from the private sector, especially the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Moreover, because of their direct impact on human health, the fields of developmental and stem cell biology are commanding significant resources from state and federal funding agencies such as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).