National Institute of
General Medical Sciences

The Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences (BBCB) facilitates advances in fundamental biomedical research by supporting:

• development of experimental and computational methods and tools for understanding biology;
• implementation of novel technologies and approaches in the study of macromolecular, organelle and cellular structure and function;
• application of innovative physical and theoretical methodologies, bioinformatics tools, and quantitative approaches to lay a foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

The long-term goals of the division are to leverage data, methods, and technologies to answer fundamental biological questions, to develop a more robust infrastructure for the biomedical research community, and to promote and facilitate the development and use of new biophysical, computational, and experimental technologies in biomedical research.

The division includes the Biomedical Technology Branch, the Biophysics Branch, and the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Branch.​​

Research areas that NIGMS supports within this division and contact names are listed on the Contacts by Research Area page. 

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Branch

The branch supports research in bioinformatics and computational biology, development of computational, mathematical, statistical, artificial intelligence and data science approaches for biomedical problems, and creation of software tools that have broad applicability in biomedical research. The branch collaborates with other parts of the NIH including the Office of Data Science Strategy on data science initiatives as well as with the National Science Foundation to support a program in mathematical biology.

Biomedical Technology Branch

This branch supports research to discover, create, and develop innovative technologies to enable discoveries in biomedical research. Areas of interest include molecular and cellular imaging and dynamics, technologies to elucidate structural and functional biology, methods to engineer and manipulate cells, and bioanalytical technologies to interrogate cellular composition and function. The branch also participates in BBCB Division management of centers and resources that provide the research community access to state-of-the-art biomedical technologies.​

Biophysics Branch

This branch supports research that applies quantitative principles and techniques to elucidate structures and structure-function relationships in fundamental biology. Areas of emphasis include application of physical and theoretical concepts to biological problems from the molecular to cellular level and development of improved methods of measurement and analysis for use by the broader biomedical research community. Of interest are new applications of established techniques and the modification of existing instrumentation to yield improved resolution, sensitivity, or accuracy.

NIGMS Resources and Centers

The BBCB Division manages Resource and Center programs that provide the research community with access to a broad range of technologies. Researchers can access these technologies at the National and Regional Resources, the Mature Synchrotron Resources, the Single Particle Cryo-Electron Microscopy Centers and the Trans-NIH Knowledgebases and Data Repositories. Additionally, the Biomedical Technology Optimization and Dissemination Centers support maturation of cutting edge late-stage technologies and broad distribution of these technologies to the research community.

For more information about the NIGMS Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences, contact:

Dorothy Beckett, Ph.D.​
​Director, Division of Biophysics, Biomedical Technology, and Computational Biosciences
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
National Institutes of Health
45 Center Drive MSC 6200
Bethesda, MD 20892-6200​