Course Descriptions

Courses Offered by the
Program in Biomolecular Structure

The Program in Biomolecular Structure has organized intermediate courses with the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, that will meet the needs of graduate students in the Program. The courses described below were co-developed, have two coordinators (one from each Department) and are taught by faculty from the Program in Biomolecular Structure and the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Course Requirements
All graduate students in the program will be required to take Biomedical Sciences Core Course.

IDPT 7801/7802/7803 (Fall semester) Biomedical Sciences Core Course (10 credits)

This core course provides a unified knowledge of the fundamental principles of biochemistry, cell biology, genetics and molecular biology. It is designed for all first year basic sciences graduate students.

Faculty: Both training faculty and general members of The Program in Biomolecular Structure are well represented in the teaching of the core course.

BMST 7350 (Every other Spring semester) Proteins (PHSC 7350) (3 credit hours)
Coordinator: Robert Hodges

Proteins will provide the chemical and physical bases for protein structure, folding, function and stability. Students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the mechanisms of protein folding and structure and an ability to devise strategies for stabilizing protein molecules. Also, presents methods and principles of protein/peptide purification and enzyme catalysis, including electron transfer and mutagenesis, to investigate protein and enzyme structure/function, the role of molecular dynamics and the use of molecular simulations in investigations of protein-ligand and protein-protein interactions.

Course Outline:

Protein structure
Protein stability
Protein folding

Protein dynamics
Molecular simulations
Enzymology and enzyme kinetics
Mutational analysis of enzymes and catalysis
High performance liquid chromatographic purification of peptides and proteins

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BMST 7354 Structural Analysis of Biomolecules I
(PHSC 7354) (Every other Spring semester)(2 credit hours)
Coordinator: Robert Hodges

Structural Analysis of Biomolecules I describes the fundamentals of spectroscopic methods used to study protein structure and function. These techniques include optical methods (CD spectroscopy, fluorescence and absorbance), vibrational methods (IR and ESR), analytical ultracentrifugation, mass spectrometry, calorimetry, light scattering and Biacore analysis.

Course Outline:

Introduction
Optical methods (CD, fluorescence, absorbance)
Vibrational methods (IR, Raman, ESR)
Analytical ultracentrifugation
Mass spectrometry
Calorimetry
Biacore analysis
Light scattering

BMST 7454 Structural Analysis of Biomolecules II
(PHSC 7454) (Every other Spring semester; following Structural Analysis of Biomolecules I)(2 credit hours)

Coordinator

Robert Hodges: (303) 315-8837, room BRB 451D.

Structural Analysis of Biomolecules II covers the primary structural determination and three-dimensional structures of biomolecules including proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, nucleic acids and lipids. Fundamentals of high-resolution NMR and X-ray crystallography for determination of the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules will be included.

This is a new course being offered at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and via teleconferencing to students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The course will teach methods and strategies for determination of the primary and 3-dimensional structures of biologically important molecules.

The course will cover Crystallographic methods and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, primarily in the context of enabling 3-dimensional structure determination of proteins and nucleic acids and in characterizing their dynamics. Course material will also cover methods for the elucidation of complex carbohydrates, lipids, and structural modifications of polynucleotides.

Electron microscopy as applied to macromolecular structure determination will also be discussed. This course is intended for students at the graduate level having interests in biological structure determination. Students may enroll from any Department or Program. Contact either Drs. Brad Bendiak or Robert Hodges for additional information.

Other Courses

MOLB 7800 Advanced Topics in Molecular Biology
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor and IDPT 7801 (fall). This course is intended to teach graduate students how to critically evaluate the scientific literature. Three topics for discussion will be nucleic acid and chromatin structure, DNA replication and RNA transcription. Papers will be chosen by the instructors. Presentations by the students. This course is also offered as an elective for year 2 and beyond students in variable one-hour credits for each of the three topics.

Contact Jackie Newnam to apply to The Program In Biomolecular Structure.