From our home in Houston’s Texas Medical Center, the Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology connects biomedical strengths across Texas A&M with clinical, scientific, industry, innovation, and community partners to advance human health. Through collaborative research, transformative education and training, and a culture of innovation, IBT works across the continuum from discovery to clinical translation—developing new therapies and technologies, advancing clinical research and innovative approaches to trial design, and helping promising discoveries reach the patients who can benefit most. Together, these efforts translate Texas A&M science into healthier lives and stronger communities across Texas and beyond.
Kenneth S. Ramos, M.D., Ph.D.
Welcome to the Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston—simply known as the IBT.
Established by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents in 1986, IBT was created to expand biomedical research across Texas A&M and strengthen connections with Houston’s scientific and medical community. Today, from our home in the Texas Medical Center, we continue that mission by linking discovery, education, technology, clinical translation, and innovation to improve human health.
IBT fosters collaborative research across the biomedical continuum—from fundamental discovery and advanced technology development to drug discovery, clinical research, and innovative approaches to clinical trials. Our goal is to generate new knowledge while helping move promising discoveries toward better prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care.
The institute is organized into four Research Centers of Excellence focused on epigenetics and disease prevention, genomics and precision medicine, infectious diseases and inflammation, and translational cancer research. More than 30 faculty scholars are supported by state-of-the-art shared resources in imaging, epigenomics, bioinformatics, molecular modeling, drug discovery, high-throughput screening, and other advanced technologies, as well as translational, innovation, and commercialization resources that help move promising discoveries toward real-world application.
Education and professional development are also central to our mission. IBT provides trainees, faculty, and staff with opportunities in interdisciplinary science, translational research, biotechnology, innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization, while fostering continuous learning and adaptability as science, technology, and healthcare evolve. Across these efforts, we encourage a mindset of working with the end in mind—helping discoveries progress toward innovative therapies, technologies, and solutions that can ultimately benefit patients.
Our location in Houston creates exceptional opportunities to connect Texas A&M investigators with clinical, scientific, industry, innovation, and community partners across the Texas Medical Center and beyond.
IBT’s growth has also been made possible by generous philanthropic support, including the vision of Albert B. Alkek, whose generosity helped establish our home in the Texas Medical Center.
Thank you for visiting IBT. I invite you to explore our programs and learn more about how our faculty, staff, trainees, and partners are working together to advance better health.
Research that Advances Human Health
The institute is organized into four research centers of excellence:
Epigenetics & Disease Prevention
Promotes the translation of discoveries in biology and engineering into interventions of value in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Genomic and Precision Medicine
Promotes the translation of discoveries in biology and engineering into interventions of value in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Infectious & Inflammatory Diseases
Determines the molecular mechanisms of infectious and inflammatory diseases and designing strategies to interfere with these processes.
Translational Cancer Research
Promotes the translation of discoveries in cancer cell biology into interventions of value in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease.
From Discovery to Patient Impact
IBT connects investigators across Texas A&M and the Texas Medical Center with integrated drug discovery, commercialization, and clinical research resources that help move promising ideas from the laboratory toward real-world impact for patients.
Drug Discovery & Development Resource Center (3DRC)
An integrated academic drug discovery platform combining AI-enabled ligand design, medicinal chemistry, high-throughput screening, data science, and advanced preclinical capabilities to accelerate the development of promising therapeutics. Learn More
GCC REACH | Research Evaluation & Commercialization Hub
An NIH-funded, multi-institutional program that connects academic innovators and student interns with experienced life-science entrepreneurs, industry experts, and strategic advisors to evaluate commercial potential, define development milestones, and advance promising biomedical technologies toward the marketplace. Learn More
Preparing the Next Generation — and Ourselves
IBT prepares trainees, faculty, and staff to thrive in a rapidly changing biomedical environment through interdisciplinary education, professional development, and experiential opportunities in translational science, innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization. Across these efforts, we promote a culture of continuous learning, adaptability, and working with the end in mind — advancing science toward solutions that benefit patients.
Connecting Texas A&M, Houston and the Texas Medical Center
From its home in the Texas Medical Center, IBT connects strengths across Texas A&M with clinical, scientific, industry, innovation, and community partners in Houston and beyond. These relationships create new opportunities for collaboration, shared resources, translational research, education, and service — extending the reach and impact of Texas A&M biomedical science.
Advanced Technology Cores & Shared Research Resources
IBT’s advanced technology cores provide investigators across Texas A&M and the Texas Medical Center with access to specialized expertise, state-of-the-art instrumentation, and shared research capabilities that support discovery, rigor, collaboration, and translational progress.
Antibody & Biopharmaceuticals Core (ABC)
Service center that provides researchers with access to state-of-the-art technologies for the generation of customized monoclonal antibodies, antibody- drug conjugates, and engineered antibody fragments tailored to meet the specific needs of individual research programs.
Center for Advanced Imaging
Joint resource supported by the institute, the Alkek Foundation, and Baylor College of Medicine to promote multi-investigator, multi-institutional grants using advanced imaging technology.
High Throughput Flow Cytometry Analysis and Cell Sorting
Provides state-of-the-art instrumentation, exceptional specialized expertise and training in flow cytometry, including fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS).
High Throughput Research and Screening
Joint resource supported by the institute and the Gulf Coast Consortia to promote the discovery of new drugs and new treatments for some of the most devastating diseases of our time using high throughput screening.
Microphysiological Lead Optimization Screening (MLOTS)
Joint resources supported by the institute and Gulf Coast Consortium (GCC) to promote a multi-institutional drug discovery core designed to accelerate the development of new cancer therapies.
Pre-Clinical Imaging Core
Provides a platform to support investigators using state-of-the-art dynamic molecular and anatomical imaging technology to accelerate a broad spectrum of basic and preclinical studies via non-invasive, live and in vivo fluorescence, bioluminescence, and micro-ultrasound imaging system.
Protein Production, Characterization and Molecular Interaction (PPCMI) discontinued
Provides a range of services such as molecular cloning, recombinant protein expression, purification characterization, and biochemical binding studies for experimental development, bioengineering, and biopharmaceutics.
Rigor and Reproducibility Core
Service center that assists researchers with integration of Rigor and Reproducibility into their research by performing rigorous statistical and bioinformatics analysis.
Texas A&M Clinicogenomics
Texas A&M’s Clinicogenomics programs are designed to examine systems issues impacting healthcare outcomes in chronic disease populations, including genetic, psychosocial, socioeconomic, environmental, occupational, operational, delivery, access and coverage.