About Molecular Biophysics at FSU
 The Institute of
Molecular Biophysics
(IMB) at Florida State University is
associated with the Graduate Program in Molecular
Biophysics (MOB). The Institute has a long
history as a unique interdisciplinary research unit
dedicated to the application of physical and chemical
principles to the investigation of biological phenomena.
The seeds of the Institute were sown in 1959 by a group of
chemists, biologists, physicists, and other campus
scientists who foresaw the need for close-knit cooperation
among traditional disciplines in the rapidly evolving
research area of molecular biology. This group, led by
Professor Michael Kasha and strongly supported by
University and State officials, actively sought financial
resources to establish a truly integrated research program
in Molecular Biophysics. This concept endorsed by the
Atomic Energy Commission which, in 1960, awarded the
Institute a five-year grant of over $3 million for research
personnel and equipment. Construction of the Institute of
Molecular Biophysics building in 1962 provided 50,500
square feet of space for 12 professors and a total staff of
over 100 researchers.
 The
early stage of generous funding provided not only for
highly advanced equipment and technically superior
facilities but also for many new permanent and visiting
professorships, postdoctoral and predoctoral research
positions. Scientists associated with the Institute have
been one of its greatest strengths. Two of the Institute's
past Directors, Professors Michael Kasha and the late J.
Herbert Taylor, and Professor Donald Caspar, are members of
the National Academy of
Sciences. The Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program and
postdoctoral mentorship have contributed to the Institute's
position as a fertile training ground for over 200
scientists who now hold academic, industrial and government
positions. On November 18, 2001 the building housing the
Institute has been named Kasha Laboratory Building
(KLB) in honor of the founding director Prof.
Michael Kasha.
In early 1990s Institute has developed
Structural Biology as a one of its research focuses. A
generous grant from the Lucille P. Markey Foundation and
the State of Florida supported substantial expansion of
faculty and research facilities in this area. With Structural Biology as a general
focus, students in the Molecular Biophysics Graduate
Program can work in labs with research programs ranging
from physical characterization of biopolymers to genetic
engineering, using interdisciplinary approaches and
state-of-the-art technology to investigate the structural
basis for biological function and dynamics.
In 2000, with a $1 million grant from
the FSU's Cornerstone
Program Professor Michael Chapman and others have
inaugurated the Center of Excellence (COE) for
Bio-Molecular Computer Modeling & Simulation Computational Biophysics as
another research focus. The Center establishes a bridge
between two strengths at Florida State University -
Experimental Structural
Biology, and School
of Computational Science. It is the focus of efforts to
build internationally renown programs in research and
training in the application of computational methods to an
understanding how biomolecules work.
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