Course Descriptions

  • STB 531 Principals of Protein Production and Analysis, 3 credits

    This course is designed to provide the student with an understanding of the principles and practice of the large-scale expression, purification, and characterization of proteins for biochemical, biophysical, and structural analyses. Topics covered include: cloning; expression in bacteria, yeast, and insect cell systems; theoretical and practical applications of protein purification; detergents and membrane proteins; maintenance of sample activity using buffers, additives, and inhibitors; SDS-PAGE and western-blot analysis; small-angle X-ray scattering; and crystallization.

  • STB 533 Crystallographic Methods of Structural Biology, 3 credits

    This course provides instruction in the theory and practice of X-ray crystallographic diffraction methods for determining the three dimensional atomic structure of biological macromolecules.

  • STB 534 Dissertation Proposal Preparation, 1 credit

    A course for candidate doctoral students to be taken in the second semester of their second year of graduate studies in order to prepare, present, and defend the student’s proposal for dissertation research.

  • STB 535 Structural Pharmacology, 3 credits

    The field of structural biology investigates the structure-function relationships of important biological macromolecules at the molecular level. Understanding the interplay between structure and function provides valuable insight into fundamental biological processes that underlie healthy and diseased states. This course is designed to provide students with a structural biology-based view of pharmacology.

  • STB 612 Structural Biology Seminar, 1 credit

    Course aimed to educate students on the finer points of analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data from structure-function based papers, as well as preparing students on the practical aspects of the presentation of scientific results.