BMP Advanced Topics Courses
BBS715 Chemical Biology
This course focuses on the use of chemical approaches to answer fundamental questions in biology. Topics include post-translational modifications, chemical synthesis and modification of biopolymers, combinatorial chemistry, chemical genetics, rational drug design, ligand-receptor interactions, and the fundamentals of fluorescence (Fall [odd years], 3 credits).
Course Director: Stephen Miller
BBS716 Molecular Biophysics
The goal of this course is to give students a strong foundation in physical principles that underlie the thermodynamic and mechanistic properties of biological macromolecules and macromolecular complexes. In addition to providing theoretical background, lectures and discussion groups will focus on the application of physical chemical principles in contemporary biomedical research. Topics will include spectroscopic and computational approaches to studying protein and nucleic acid structures, thermodynamics and kinetics of protein folding, the solution behavior of macromolecules and principles that govern molecular recognition (Fall [even years], 3 credits).
Course Director: Francesca Massi
BBS717 Structural Biology
The goal of this course is to provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of techniques used to determine the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules. The primary methods explored will be X-ray crystallography and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, but alternative approaches will also be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on both structural determination and analysis of dynamics, which can be crucial for macromolecular function (Spring [odd years], 2 credits).
Course Director: William Royer
BBS718 RNA Biology
This course covers current research in the general area of RNA biology. Topics may include RNA synthesis, modification and processing pathways, RNA structure, RNA transport and subcellular localization, translational regulation, RNAi and microRNAs, RNA decay, RNA aptamers, RNA catalysts, RNA and early evolution, and RNA as a drug and/or drug target. The format of this course will center on group discussion of papers from the primary literature (Spring [even years], 2 credits).
Course Director: Sean Ryder
BBS719 Cellular Biochemistry
Cellular Biochemistry takes an inside-out approach to teaching the molecular biological underpinnings of DNA replication, gene transcription, translation, protein folding, glycosylation, , metabolism, secretion, autophagy, membrane structure and transport, and cell signaling (Spring, 3 credits).
Course Director: Paul Thompson