Courses

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

523 General Biochemistry (1st sem)
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 or 2nd semester concurrently, and BIOCHEM 275 (formerly 285).

524 General Biochemistry (2nd sem)
An integrated presentation of the biochemistry and molecular biology of cellular interactions. Topics include gene structures, replication, control of gene expression, post-translational processing, membrane associated reactions, behavior of transport systems, signal transduction, and cellular interactions. Prerequisite: BIOCHEM 523, and BIOLOGY 283, or comparable courses, strongly recommended.

526 Biochemistry Laboratory (both sem)
Modern techniques in experimental biochemistry and molecular biology. Methods include spectrophotometry, polymerase chain reaction, DNA cloning, electrophoresis, protein detection by immunoblot, RNA hybridization, and analysis of sequence data. Prerequisite: BIOCHEM 523. Spring semester enrollment restricted to Biochemistry majors. Credit, 4.

623 Advanced General Biochemistry (2nd 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. Credit, 4.

642 Advanced Molecular Biology (1st 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. Prerequisite: BIOCHEM 523/524 or equivalent. Credit, 4. 

657 Drug Design (2nd 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.

691 Departmental Seminar
Required of all graduate students. Credit, 1 each semester.

692 Seminar: Molecular Biology
Credit, 2.

693 Seminar: Secretory Pathway
Credit, 2.

694 Seminar: Plant Molecular Biology
Credit, 2.

695 Seminar: Macromolecular Crystallographic Methods
Credit, 2.

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

699 Master’s Thesis
Credit, 1-10.

797 Special Topics in Biochemistry
Topics of current interest may include hormones, lipids, carbohydrates, glycoproteins and proteoglycans, control mechanisms, protein synthesis, membranes, nucleic acids, biochemical data analysis, and protein-nucleic acid interactions. Prerequisite: BIOCHEM 623.

899 Doctoral Dissertation
Credit, 18.