The Department of Physiology and Biophysics plays a unique role in biological research.  It is in effect a conduit through which the powerful techniques and tools of the physical sciences are brought to bear on significant problems of biological importance.  The range of problems being addressed in the Department runs the gamut from understanding functionally important atomic scale motions of proteins to characterizing complex behavior on the cellular through organelle level.  The tools being used to pursue these cutting edge problems include state of the art instrumentation for magnetic resonance, laser and synchrotron radiation spectroscopies as well as extensive computer modeling.  The strength of the Department stems not only from the significant problems that are being aggressively addressed by the departmental faculty, but also from the resources and the collaborative spirit within the department.