On July 1, the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will merge with the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology to form the new Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology. Preparations are underway as a national search is being launched for the merged department’s first leader.
Both departments’ current chairs support the move as synergistic. Michael Weiss, MD, PhD, MBA, began his career at Harvard Medical School around the same time its biological chemistry and molecular pharmacology departments merged in 1988.
“The combined departments at Harvard have really surpassed the distinguished histories of their two departments of origin,” said Weiss, who has chaired IU’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for the past seven years. He sees its merger with pharmacology as a logical combination. “There are a lot of scientific synergies between the two.”
Alex Robling, PhD, the interim chair for pharmacology and toxicology, agrees. “There’s a natural chemistry — not to make a pun — between biochemistry and pharmacology.”
Biochemistry and molecular biology aim to uncover the biological and molecular mechanisms behind diseases like cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and many other critical health conditions. Pharmacology uses those discoveries to develop new drug targets and therapies to treat and cure diseases.
“Science is a contact sport,” Robling said. “Biochemistry and pharmacology cover areas of medicine that benefit from mingling together.”
Six years ago, Robling helped lead another merger of basic science departments at the IU School of Medicine which formed the Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology. Robling was vice chair at the time and became the combined department’s chair a year later.
“We’ve done this in the past quite successfully when we put anatomy and physiology together, and this is going to be another great merger with biochemistry and pharmacology,” Robling said. “There will be a great deal of momentum when this happens because key players in developing new treatments for diseases will be coming together.”
A survey of statewide faculty in both departments showed an 80% support rate for the merger, which was proposed by IU School of Medicine Dean Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, last spring. The move will increase operational efficiency with an estimated savings of $600,000 in administrative costs annually.
“Biochemistry and pharmacology share many research tools. More and more new pharmacologic therapies are based on fundamental biochemical and molecular biological insights,” Hess said. “This departmental merger will not only increase operational efficiency but will also foster collaboration and acceleration of discovery.”
After July 1, Weiss will step away from his administrative duties but will continue his work as an IU Distinguished Professor researching diabetes and human sex determination within the combined department. Robling, who has served as interim chair for pharmacology since January 2024, will continue in his role as chair for the anatomy, cell biology and physiology department.
“Even if there were zero financial incentives, there would be good reasons to merge,” Weiss said. “There are wonderful cultural and scientific synergies that make it all fit beautifully together.”
Selecting a strong leader
After the merger, the Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology will become the largest basic science department at the IU School of Medicine with about 150 faculty statewide.
“I’m anticipating great candidates for this nationwide search,” said Robling, who is co-chairing the search committee. “It’s exciting to think about the kinds of new scientific directions the new chair will grow us in. It’s important for the chair to have a vision of 10 years from now and bring in new technologies and expertise to tackle those pressing issues.”
The combined department will have a large research portfolio spanning fields including cancer, metabolic diseases like diabetes, and neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s.
“The merged department could be a leader in developing cutting-edge models and new drug targets and facilitating the testing of drugs in ways that are more relevant to humans,” said Meena Madhur, MD, PhD, director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and a member of the search committee. “It’s also a chance to create new training programs and bring in funding to support bigger, more innovative projects.”
On the departmental level, a greater number of core strengths can translate into funding for large, collaborative training grants, said Patrick Sheets, PhD, who represents pharmacology faculty on the search committee. As a member of the Stark Neurosciences Institute, Sheets sees greater opportunities for collaboration that could benefit his own research in chronic pain.
“There are techniques used in biochemistry I’m not an expert on that could be used to help answer questions in my research and could be beneficial in strengthening papers and grants,” said Sheets, who currently has a collaborative grant with a faculty member in biochemistry and welcomes more opportunities to mingle with that department’s faculty.
Collaborating to combat cancer
Ronald Wek, PhD, sits on the other side of the table as a biochemistry department representative to the search committee. He agrees with Sheets on the potential for increased collaboration.
“A primary focus of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is structural and mechanistic processes underlying health and disease processes, especially those involving diabetes and related metabolic diseases and cancers,” explained Wek. “These foundational studies provide for insights into new therapeutic targets that are central for drug development in pharmacology.”
His research in prostate cancer illustrates the importance of combining both fields’ expertise. Wek’s lab recently discovered a new way to “starve” cancer tumors at the cellular level.
“In our research, we are striving for effective drug treatments to target the GCN2 protein kinase and optimize combination therapies with the goal of a cure for late-onset metastatic prostate cancer,” said Wek, a member of the IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. “A merged department offers potential advantages for drug discovery and development, with biochemistry providing a deep understanding of molecular mechanisms and pharmacology guiding the development and therapeutic application of small molecule inhibitors.”
Mark R. Kelley, PhD, has been active in drug development and commercialization for years and co-leads the cancer center’s Cancer Drug Discovery and Development Accelerator.
“Potential benefits of the merger would be more interactions on projects, similar to what I’m doing, where basic understanding of molecules on the biochemistry side is partnering with pharmacology folks to look at drug development,” said Kelley, whose primary faculty appointment is in pediatrics with secondary appointments in both biochemistry and pharmacology. “It’s bringing together experienced investigators in two disciplines to advance needed discoveries and therapeutics for our patients in Indiana.”
Merging departmental strengths
The more “cross-pollination” of disciplines the better, Kelley said. “Some of our best ideas happened when we used to have a coffee shop that brought together researchers from three buildings.”
In the new department, researchers from biochemistry and pharmacology will have greater opportunity for organic conversations to sprout up during joint social functions and seminars.
Interestingly, this is not the first time these two departments have been combined at the IU School of Medicine. The Department of Pharmacology was merged with biochemistry in the 1930s under the leadership of Rolla N. Harger, MD, the inventor of the Drunkometer, now known as the breathalyzer. In 1958, the Department of Pharmacology was reestablished as a separate unit and was later renamed the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
Combing the current departments, however, is not without its challenges. PhD program requirements will need to be aligned, administrative functions merged, and a new departmental vision established. Finding the right leader to guide this process is critical.
Most faculty are embracing the transition with the belief that together they will be able to attract top scientists, postdocs and graduate students and accelerate medical discoveries.
Sheets has this saying on his office wall: “Nothing changes within your comfort zone.”
“Both departments have very talented researchers doing incredible work,” he said. “The key will be finding a chair to help facilitate this merger in a way that takes advantage of everybody’s strengths and combines them into a cohesive effort to improve our ranks nationally. The hope is it fosters an environment where my colleagues and I can collaborate to answer scientific questions that will ultimately improve people’s health and quality of life.”
