The Institute focuses on integrating conventional biochemistry with modern molecular biology, cell biology, developmental biology, genomics, bioinformatics, and proteomics while adhering to national science and technology development policies. The Institute collaborates with Academia Sinica, the National Health Research Institutes, medical centers, and teaching hospitals (Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Taipei City Hospital) on disease-related molecular medical research. Furthermore, the Institute engages in collaboration with relevant industries to assist in industrial upgrading and increasing the competitiveness and research capacity of Taiwan’s biotechnology industry.
Currently, the Institute is staffed by 15 full-time and seven part-time teachers. The teachers are specialized in five fields of study:
- • Gene regulation (Tzu-Hao Cheng, Li-Ru You, Wei-Yi Chen, and Chung-Te Chang)
- • Signal transduction (Mei-Yu Chen, Jean-Cheng Kuo, and Ping-Hui Tseng)
- • Cell growth, differentiation and aging (Hong-Chen Chen, Ao-Lin Hsu, Won-Jing Wong, and Wei-Chung Chiang)
- • Proteomics and structural biology (Ta-Hsien Lin, Yeou-Guang Tsay, and Jie-Rong Huang)
- • Nanotechnology (Wei-Ching Liao)
In teaching, the Institute emphasizes the importance of broadening students’ perspectives and guiding students to think independently and learn proactively. The Institute shares the responsibilities for teaching undergraduate courses with biochemistry-related departments and supports master’s and doctoral programs. The postgraduate curriculum includes compulsory core courses, such as biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, and principles of biochemical technology, that are designed to enhance students’ abilities to engage in academic research. The Institute also offers various elective courses to enable students to acquire more profound theoretical knowledge, expand the scope of their knowledge, and adapt to trends in modern biotechnology. These courses accentuate logical thinking to nourish students’ ability to discover and solve problems independently. In addition to fulfilling the credit requirements, master’s and doctoral students must complete theses and dissertations, respectively, under their instructors’ guidance and pass their final defense to obtain their degree.