BS Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology

Students in Harvard’s Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology (HDRB) concentration gain practical research experience throughout their undergraduate years, with hands-on laboratory work integrated into the program and independent research required as part of the concentration. Students can work in Harvard laboratories studying human development, stem cells, regeneration, disease mechanisms, and related areas, with access to specialized research infrastructure across HSCRB, Harvard Medical School, and the wider Harvard research ecosystem.

The program’s practical opportunities are particularly research-focused:

• Independent Research: Required independent research is a core part of HDRB; students complete at least one semester of independent research, and many continue their laboratory work toward an undergraduate thesis.
• Four-Year Research Exposure: Experimental research throughout the undergraduate years allows students to gain laboratory experience alongside their coursework rather than waiting until the final year.
• Laboratory Selection: Approximately 300 laboratories across Harvard work in human developmental and regenerative biology, giving students a wide range of research areas from which to identify a laboratory aligned with their interests.
• Research Advising: HDRB undergraduate advising specifically assists students with finding research laboratories, securing research funding, selecting courses, and fulfilling concentration requirements.
• Stem Cell Research: HSCI iPS Core Facility provides human induced-pluripotent-stem-cell line derivation and genome-editing services and distributes human pluripotent stem-cell lines produced by Harvard scientists.
• Flow Cytometry: HSCRB-HSCI Flow Cytometry Core provides sophisticated mammalian cell sorting and analysis, including BD FACSDiscover S8, Bigfoot Spectral Cell Sorter, FACSAria systems, and BD Symphony 5 instrumentation.
• Histology: Histology Core Facility provides histological and immunohistochemical services, with technical expertise available to support experimental work and interpretation.
• Live-Cell Imaging: Live Cell Imaging Satellite includes a Bruker TruLive3D Lightsheet system for long-term, high-speed 3D imaging of live or fixed tissue.
• Genome Modification: Genome Modification Facility supports transgenic, gene-targeting, and related mouse-model research for Harvard investigators and affiliated institutions.
• Therapeutic Screening: HSCI Therapeutic Screening Center provides capabilities in therapeutic screening, bioinformatics, and cheminformatics, connecting biological research with potential therapeutic applications.
• Research Computing: FAS Research Computing and Harvard’s biomedical computing resources support computational research alongside laboratory-based biological investigation.
• Interdisciplinary Research: Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Medical School scientists teach HDRB courses, creating an interdisciplinary environment connecting fundamental biology with biomedical research.
• Translational Research: Clinical-application research is emphasized alongside fundamental biology, allowing students to see how discoveries in developmental and regenerative biology can connect with disease and medical applications.
• Thesis Research: Undergraduate Thesis opportunities allow students to develop extended independent research projects; Harvard reports that 50% of HDRB seniors completed a thesis in 2023.
• Research Presentation: Scientific communication can extend beyond laboratory work through thesis-related research and presentation opportunities associated with the HDRB undergraduate research community.
• Research Locations: Harvard’s biomedical research network includes facilities and affiliated research environments at the Broad Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and other Boston-area locations.
• Computational Biology: Quantitative and computational methods are used in some HSCRB research, including genomics, single-cell profiling, quantitative imaging, bioengineering, and machine-learning-guided experimental design.
• Hands-On Coursework: Laboratory-based learning is explicitly embedded in HDRB, with students applying biological principles in laboratory settings while developing an understanding of human development, regeneration, and disease.
• Field Trips/Internships: No specific undergraduate field-trip or mandatory internship requirement is identified on the official HDRB undergraduate program page; the program instead places a strong emphasis on laboratory research and independent projects. 

The Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology (HDRB) undergraduate program at Harvard provides a strong foundation in human development, stem cell biology, regeneration, disease, and modern life sciences. Harvard emphasizes hands-on research throughout the four undergraduate years, with independent research required as part of the concentration, preparing students for research careers as well as medical, graduate, and other biomedical pathways. Harvard officially lists this undergraduate program as a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.), rather than a BS.

Typical career roles: Research Assistant, Laboratory Research Technician, Biotechnology Research Associate, Biomedical Research Associate

: Students can build professional experience through Harvard’s career services, research laboratories, biomedical networks, and life-sciences employer activities:

• Career Services: The Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) provides Harvard College students with individual career advising, internship and job guidance, employer events, career fairs, workshops, and access to Crimson Careers for job and internship postings.
• Life Sciences Career Support: MCS specifically provides career resources for life sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and healthcare pathways, including internship guidance and information on wet- and dry-lab opportunities.
• Biotech & Healthcare Employer Access: Harvard’s Biotech, Pharma & Healthcare Expo connects Harvard students with organizations in life sciences, healthcare, biotechnology, medical devices, and health technology for career and internship opportunities. The 2026 event was hosted by MCS in partnership with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
• Independent Research: HDRB students are required to complete at least one semester of independent research, and many students work in HSCRB laboratories toward an undergraduate thesis.
• Research Laboratory Network: Harvard reports approximately 300 laboratories working in human developmental and regenerative biology, giving HDRB students a substantial range of research environments from which to explore potential laboratory placements.
• Biomedical Research Environment: HDRB courses are taught by scientists from both Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Medical School, while the department itself operates across both schools.
• Industry Connection: Harvard researchers have established translational connections with industry. For example, HSCRB research supported by the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator and a strategic alliance between Harvard and National Resilience has focused on advancing regenerative research toward commercialization opportunities.
• Boston Biomedical Collaboration: HSCRB faculty collaborate across the Boston biomedical ecosystem, including Harvard Medical School and other research institutions; one recent regenerative-therapy project involved Harvard researchers and Boston Children’s Hospital.
• Research-to-Industry Exposure: HSCRB faculty have direct industry experience. For example, Professor Lee Rubin previously served as Chief Scientific Officer of Curis, a Cambridge biotechnology company, and his research has contributed to drug-discovery and regenerative-medicine applications.
• Graduation Outcomes: Harvard describes HDRB as preparing students interested in medicine and biomedical research, as well as other life-science disciplines and graduate-level research and training.
• Alumni Research Progression: Harvard highlights HDRB alumni progressing into advanced research careers, including PhD study and scientific positions. One HDRB alumnus, Sam Wattrus ’16, subsequently completed a PhD and became the first HDRB alumnus to establish an independent research laboratory.
• Employment Statistics: Harvard’s official materials report that 96% of Harvard graduates had secured their post-graduation plans within six months in the university’s 2025 “Life After Harvard” materials. This is a Harvard College-wide figure, not an HDRB-specific employment rate.
• Salary Figures: Harvard’s official HDRB and Harvard College sources reviewed do not publish a current HDRB-specific graduate median salary or salary range. Therefore, no salary figure is substituted from third-party sources.
• Accreditation: Harvard’s official HDRB information does not identify a separate professional accreditation for the undergraduate concentration. Its value for further study is instead tied to Harvard College’s A.B. degree, required independent research, and preparation for biomedical, medical, and graduate education.

Further Academic Progression: HDRB graduates can continue into PhD and other graduate-level biomedical or life-science programs, particularly in developmental biology, regenerative biology, stem cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, and related fields. The concentration also specifically prepares students interested in medicine and other health professions, while the required independent research can provide a strong foundation for research-intensive postgraduate study.