North Carolina State University recognizes the importance of behavioral biology as an emerging science and the need for multidisciplinary approaches to address questions in this field. To gain insights into the mechanisms by which genetic and environmental factors shape behaviors, it is essential to be able to relate molecular and cellular observations back to the context of whole animal physiology and behavior.

The goal of the Center for Behavioral Biology is to establish a multidisciplinary environment for interdepartmental training and collaborative research in the fundamental principles that govern animal behavior. The objectives of the Center are:

1. Promote a strong, nationally prominent, multidisciplinary research endeavor that combines molecular, evolutionary and quantitative genetics with physiology and behavioral ecology using an integrated approach to study fundamental principles of animal behavior.

2. Develop simultaneously an interdisciplinary predoctoral and postdoctoral training program that will provide students with a broader perspective on behavioral biology than can be achieved within traditional departmental boundaries and that will provide a new generation of scientists with the tools to investigate complex issues of behavior.