Courses

All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise specified. See also listings under Molecular and Cellular Biology Program.

523 General Biochemistry
Structure and function of biological molecules, especially proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. Important concepts include bioenergetics, enzyme function, and metabolic pathways as interacting regulated systems. Prerequisites: 1 year of organic chemistry and BIOCHEM 275.

623 Advanced General Biochemistry (spring sem)
Advanced treatment of selected topics in biochemistry, with readings taken from the current literature. Topics include protein structure-function, protein folding and processing, enzyme kinetics, and the study of metabolic processes (pathways and their regulation) with a molecular genetic approach. Students must have taken at least a one-semester course in upper division biochemistry and MOLCLBIO 642. 4 credits.

642 Advanced Molecular Biology (fall sem)
Structure, biosynthesis, and function of nucleic acids and the translational apparatus. DNA replication; gene organization; chromatin structure; RNA transcription, regulation of gene expression; protein biosynthesis; mRNA, tRNA, and ribosomes. 4 credits. 

657 Drug Design (spring sem)
Survey of the drug design process in pharmaceutical research including target selection, how rational and combinatorial methods are harnessed, and how the industry is evolving in the post-genomic era. Prerequisites: a course in biochemistry and a year of organic chemistry.

691A Departmental Seminar
Required of all graduate students. 1 credit each semester.

696 Independent Study
Library or laboratory research under direction of faculty member. 1-6 credits.

697 Journal Clubs
1 credit.

699 Master’s Thesis
1-10 credits.

899 Doctoral Dissertation
1-9 credits.