Curriculum

This half-semester course welcomes students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to the University of Utah’s Biological Chemistry Graduate Program. Our goal is to ensure that all students will have a solid foundation in nucleic acid biochemistry, protein structure and function, and bioorganic and biophysical chemistry as you start your first year of graduate school. Basic content will be provided as pre-work and in-class time will be spent discussing and applying these concepts to data interpretation, problem-solving, and the primary literature.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 14135

Instructor: Amy Barrios

M, W, F / 9:00 AM– 11:00 AM / EHSEB 3420

Credit Hours: 3.0

Semester: First Half Semester

This half-semester course welcomes students with diverse backgrounds and experiences to the University of Utah’s graduate Molecular Biology Program. We strive to ensure that all students will have a strong foundation in nucleic acid metabolism, gene expression, protein structure and function, genetics and cell biology as you start your first year of graduate school. Basic content will be provided as pre-work and in-class time will be spent applying these concepts to data interpretation, problemsolving and model-building. Content experts will join the course directors to ensure both a consistent course structure as well as cutting-edge expertise and an opportunity to meet several faculty. We will work to create a supportive learning environment where all students can actively participate.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 13880

Instructor: Scott Hale & Julia Brasch

M, W, F / 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM / EHSEB 1730

Credit Hours: 3.0

Semester: First Half Semester

Laboratory rotations for students in the Graduate Programs Biological Chemistry.

A signed Rotation Verification Form and a copy of the Rotation Report must be submitted to the Program Office in order to receive credit.

Rotation Schedule for 2024-25

(Please note: these dates do not correlate with the academic quarters.)

Fall 2024 Semester

1st Rotation: Monday, August 26, 2024 – Friday, October 18, 2024

2nd Rotation: Monday, October 21, 2024 – Friday, December 6, 2024

Spring 2025 Semester

3rd Rotation: Monday, January 6, 2025 – Friday, February 28, 2025

Verbal Lab Commitments Begin: Monday, March 3, 2025

Laboratory rotations for students in Molecular Biology.

A signed Rotation Verification Form and a copy of the Rotation Report must be submitted to the Program Office in order to receive credit.

Rotation Schedule for 2024-25

(Please note: these dates do not correlate with the academic quarters.)

Fall 2024 Semester

1st Rotation: Monday, August 26, 2024 – Friday, October 18, 2024

2nd Rotation: Monday, October 21, 2024 – Friday, December 6, 2024

Spring 2025 Semester

3rd Rotation: Monday, January 6, 2025 – Friday, February 28, 2025

Verbal Lab Commitments Begin: Monday, March 3, 2025

An examination of research integrity and other ethical issues involved in scientific research. Topics may include scientific fraud, conflicts of interest, plagiarism and authorship designation, and the role of science in formulating social policy. This course is designed for graduate students, post-docs and regular faculty in the sciences.

Cross-listed with PHIL 7570

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 12556

Instructor: Joyce Havstad

W / 4:00 PM – 5:20 PM / EHSEB 1750

Credit Hours: 1.0

Semester: Second Half Semester

The nervous system is the most complex organ in the body; behavior requires unique cell biology and biochemistry. The goal of this course will be to introduce core cellular and molecular processes in the main brain cell types; neurons and glia. In addition, we will highlight how these processes can go awry in neurological disorders. Topics covered include: Cellular and molecular composition of the nervous system The molecular basis for synaptic transmission – the conversion of electrical activity by chemical synapses. How synapses form circuits during development and learning How synapses signal to the nucleus to regulate gene expression The role of glia (microglia and astrocytes) in brain function. Molecular basis of common neurological disorders New advanced methods to study the brain – optogenetics, human pluripotent stem cells, organoids.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 14094

Lead Instructor: Jason Shepherd

M, W / 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM / BPRB 501

Credit Hours: 1.5

Semester: Second Half Semester

This course will focus on biochemical and biophysical approaches to studying proteins and their functional interactions. Topics covered will include: protein-ligand interactions, cooperativity and allostery, protein folding and design, spectroscopic techniques, analytical ultracentrifugation, calorimetry, biosensors, proteomics approaches, and protein structure prediction.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Lead Instructor: Michael Kay & Wes Sundquist

T, TH / 2:30 PM - 3:50 PM / EHSEB 2958

Credit Hours: 1.5

Semester: Second Half Semester

This course provides an integrated approach to the applications of X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy in structural biology. Topics covered include basic theory and the application of methods of structure determination.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 14245

Lead Instructor: Julia Brasch, Erhu Cao, Chris Hill, & Peter Shen

M, W, F / 2:00 PM - 2:50 PM / BPRB 501

Credit Hours: 1.5

Semester: Second Half Semester

This half-semester course will begin with a review of carbohydrate and lipid metabolic pathways, with an emphasis on an integrated understanding the pathways and what is known about their regulation. The course will progress to an in-depth analysis of current research in specific areas of nutritional sensing and metabolic regulation.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 13996

Lead Instructor: Greg Ducker & Keren Hilgendorf

T, TH / 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM / EHSEB 2600

Credit Hours: 1.5

Semester: Second Half Semester

Advanced Genetics covers the fundamentals of classical genetics and genetic analysis in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Classical genetics encompasses the mechanisms of inheritance and the behavior of genes and chromosomes in somatic cells and germ cells. Genetic analysis is a branch of biological investigation that uses mutations and mutant phenotypes to study the function and behavior of cells and groups of cells, in isolation and in a developmental context. Prokaryotes and eukaryotes have different modes of inheritance and significant differences in gene regulation and in their cellular biology. Prokaryotes provided the foundational discoveries of molecular biology and continue to be a source of new genetic tools and biological understanding with health and ecological relevance. Modern eukaryotic genetics blends the tools of molecular biology, cell biology and classical genetics to investigate gene and cell function in complex organisms.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 14099

Lead Instructor: Kent Golic, Kelly Hughes, & Matt Rich

M, W, F / 10:45 AM - 11:35 AM / CSC 25

Credit Hours: 1.5

Semester: Second Half Semester

This course is intended to provide an overview of the methods of chemical analysis used to characterize biological samples. Topics will include a discussion of separations techniques, the spectroscopy of biological molecules, immunological and enzymatic assays, and surface analytical methods.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 15927

Lead Instructor: Jennifer Shumaker-Parry

T, TH / 10:45 M-12:05 PM / CSC 25

Credit Hours: 2.0

Semester: Second Half Semester

This is a one half semester course that focuses on the application of organic chemistry to the study and manipulation of proteins. Topics include chemical synthesis of peptides, proteins, and peptide mimics and chemical biology methods to study the role of proteins in cell biology and signaling. Prerequisite: 2 semesters undergraduate organic chemistry.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 11048

Lead Instructor: Ming Hammond

T, TH / 9:10 AM - 10:30 AM / HEB 2010

Credit Hours: 2.0

Semester: Second Half Semester

Upon completion of this course, students will: • Understand the scope of omics research and methods in genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. • Understand omics in terms of investigation for biological questions. • Learn about the importance of experimental design in omics research. • Understand the challenges and limitations of big data analysis, including integration of data, batching, computational resources, and working with collaborators across all fields.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 17664

Lead Instructor: Charlie Murtaugh & Robert Weiss

T, TH / 11:10 AM - 12:30 PM / HSEB 5100B

Credit Hours: 2.0

Semester: Second Half Semester

Offered as a Fall Selective, this course is focused on the current understanding of the genetics, molecular, and cellular biology of cancer along with how this knowledge relates to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The course alternates didactic lectures with studentdriven presentations on notable publications that were important to a topic covered in a prior lecture. The complementary sister-course is focused on clinical cancer biology. It is designed for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in basic science departments with an interest in modern principles and practice of oncology. It will cover general principles and new developments in cancer etiology, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. The course is organized around specific diseases, using advances in each area to highlight modern principles and practice of oncology.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 14042

Lead Instructor: Sean Tavtigian

M, W, F / 1:00 PM - 2:50 PM / Huntsman Cancer Institute - South Auditorium

Credit Hours: 1.5

Semester: Second Half Semester

Cell biology was redesigned in 2019 with a decreased emphasis on didactic lectures and a stronger focus on teaching students how to read and evaluate primary literature. The course consists of primary research articles within the field, and each class will discuss one paper. Students will be expected to read/watch background material posted on Canvas prior to each class. Objectives are as follows: 1. To effectively assess data in published literature. To be able to answer: a. What are the questions the authors seek to answer? b. What approaches did the authors use to answer the questions? Why did they use those approaches? c. Did the presented data answer the questions? How convinced are you? d. If you had access to unlimited resources, how would you follow up on this work? What questions would you ask, and how would you answer them? 2. To be able to articulate scientific knowledge both verbally and in written format 3. To gain a basic understanding of selected topics in cell biology.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Cross listed - either ONCSC 6701 or BIO C 6701

Class Number: 17084 or 17082

Lead Instructor: Matthew Miller & Ben Myers

T, TH / 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM / EHSEB 4100B

Credit Hours: 2.0

Semester: Second Half Semester

The immune system is an integral part of virtually every organ system of the body including the neuronal, digestive, cardiovascular and endocrine, to name just a few. Moreover, while the immune system is fundamental to our ability to fend off infectious pathogens, it is intimately involved in a variety of diseases that plague the modern world including all cancers, behavioral diseases, and autoimmunity. Studies in immunology have led revolutionary discoveries that have fundamentally transformed human health, such as protection from deadly pathogens through vaccination and reversal of cancers through immune-based therapies. Thus, an understanding of basic immunological concepts is broadly applicable in multiple disease settings. Furthermore, the immune system provides an effective platform for understanding fundamental concepts of cellular and molecular biology, including events controlling cellular development, differentiation and function, DNA recombination and repair, and cell signaling. This course was designed to introduce basic immunology while integrating and helping to solidify cell biology, genetic and molecular biology concepts. This course will allow you to address questions such as: How does the immune system detect and respond to microbes? How does immunity elicit protection from microbes? Why doesn’t the immune system react to self tissue? How do cells of the immune system differentiate and make fate decisions in response to external stimuli? What are the mechanisms used by the immune system to recognize such a diversity of microbes? How is the immune system used to fight cancer? Why don’t we generally get sick twice with the same pathogen? Undergraduate exposure to basic principles of cell biology, genetics, and molecular biology will improve understanding of this course.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 14196

Lead Instructor: Aaron Petrey, Melissa Reeves, & Arabella Young

TBA / TBA / TBA

Cr Hrs: 1.0

Semester: Second Half Semester

This half-semester course, which is open to graduate students from departments in the College of Pharmacy and those participating in the Biological Chemistry/Molecular Biology PhD programs, will explore the process of developing therapeutics. Subject matters include steps spanning the entire drug development process from discovering active species, developing them into compounds that are suitable for clinical evaluation, assessing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and determining the efficacy of candidates in clinical studies and after FDA approval.

Fall 2024 Schedule

Class Number: 14279

Lead Instructor: Raphael Franzini & Mei Koh

M, W, F / 11:10 AM - 12:00 PM / EHSEB 4100C

Credit Hours: 2.0

Semester: Second Half Semester

In order to teach the skills required to be a successful independent scientist this course will teach students critical thinking strategies for successful research. This will include how to digest and analyze papers and problem solve, both of which will review and apply material from core coursers. The instructors will develop specific course content. Topics may include: How to read a paper (read at home, discuss in class); Survey of the core services; Problem solving with open-ended problems posed on real-life or made-up situations. A focused effort will be made to help students identify topics that they can develop into grants in the Spring term. Grading will be based on participation and individual work.

Cross-listed with MBIOL 6200

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

T & TH, 3:00PM-5:00PM, EHSEB 1750

Instructors: Darrell Davis, Charlie Murtaugh, & Helena Safavi-Hemami

BC Students should register for Section 001, Class 8227

In order to teach the skills required to be a successful independent scientist this course will teach students critical thinking strategies for successful research. This will include how to digest and analyze papers and problem solve, both of which will review and apply material from core coursers. The instructors will develop specific course content. Topics may include: How to read a paper (read at home, discuss in class); Survey of the core services; Problem solving with open-ended problems posed on real-life or made-up situations. A focused effort will be made to help students identify topics that they can develop into grants in the Spring term. Grading will be based on participation and individual work.

Cross-listed with BLCHM 6200

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

T & TH, 3:00PM-5:00PM, EHSEB 1750

Instructors: Darrell Davis, Charlie Murtaugh, & Helena Safavi-Hemami

MB Students should register for Section 001, Class 8225

Statistics is the underpinning of scientific research. This course offers a broad introduction to methods for statistical analysis of biological and biomedical data with emphasis on the fundamental concepts of probability analysis and statistical inference and the practical application of these concepts to experimental design and data analysis. The focus will be on real-world examples that students are likely to encounter in their own research. By the end of the course, students will gain a solid foundation for understanding how to apply statistical analysis to their own data,rigorously interpreting the biomedical literature, and seeking out additional knowledge when needed. An additional component of this class will be an introduction to the statistical software R, which is one of the most used statistical packages in many disciplines.

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

M & W, 1:00PM-2:50PM,  EHSEB 1750

Instructors: Gillian Stanfield & Mark Metzstein

BC & MB Students should register for Section 002, Class 16568

Neuroscience and first-year students are given priority. Advanced students should email course instructors to be added to a waiting list for available permission codes.

To prepare students for their thesis research, prelims, and qualifying exams, we will offer a guided proposal preparation course in the second half of the Spring semester that builds on their experience earlier in the semester (critical thinking in research, reading of primary literature and problem solving). The guided proposal writing course will provide an opportunity for students to create an original research proposal by critical review of other grants, training in hypothesis generation, scientific writing, and experimental design. The written original grant proposal will be used as a basis for an oral qualifying examination by a faculty committee.

Cross-listed with MBIOL 6300

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, Second Half Semester

T & TH, 3:00PM-5:00PM, Various Rooms

Instructors: Jessica Osterhout (NP), Clement Chow (MB), Demian Cazalla (BC)

BC Students should register for Section 001, Class 8228

To prepare students for their thesis research, prelims, and qualifying exams, we will offer a guided proposal preparation course in the second half of the Spring semester that builds on their experience earlier in the semester (critical thinking in research, reading of primary literature and problem solving). The guided proposal writing course will provide an opportunity for students to create an original research proposal by critical review of other grants, training in hypothesis generation, scientific writing, and experimental design. The written original grant proposal will be used as a basis for an oral qualifying examination by a faculty committee.

Cross-listed with BLCHM 6300

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, Second Half Semester

T & TH, 3:00PM-5:00PM, Various Rooms

Instructors: Jessica Osterhout (NP), Clement Chow (MB), Demian Cazalla (BC)

MB Students should register for Section 001, Class 8226

The written original grant proposal prepared in the Guided Grant Preparation course will be used as a basis for an oral capstone examination by a faculty committee. This exam will ensure that students meet our standards for thesis work and review material from the core courses before they join a department and lab. Students will prepare an R21-style grant proposal (~6 single-spaced pages, covering 2 years of work) to be submitted 5 days before the exam. They will present and defend the proposal in front of a 3-member capstone exam committee.

Capstone exams will be held during Final Exam Week:

Spring 2025
Thursday, April 24, 2025 – Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Laboratory rotations for students in the Graduate Programs Biological Chemistry.

A signed Rotation Verification Form and a copy of the Rotation Report must be submitted to the Program Office in order to receive credit.

Rotation Schedule for 2024-25

(Please note: these dates do not correlate with the academic quarters.)

Fall 2024 Semester

1st Rotation: Monday, August 26, 2024 – Friday, October 18, 2024

2nd Rotation: Monday, October 21, 2024 – Friday, December 6, 2024

Spring 2025 Semester

3rd Rotation: Monday, January 6, 2025 – Friday, February 28, 2025

Verbal Lab Commitments Begin: Monday, March 3, 2025

Laboratory rotations for students in Molecular Biology.

A signed Rotation Verification Form and a copy of the Rotation Report must be submitted to the Program Office in order to receive credit.

Rotation Schedule for 2024-25

(Please note: these dates do not correlate with the academic quarters.)

Fall 2024 Semester

1st Rotation: Monday, August 26, 2024 – Friday, October 18, 2024

2nd Rotation: Monday, October 21, 2024 – Friday, December 6, 2024

Spring 2025 Semester

3rd Rotation: Monday, January 6, 2025 – Friday, February 28, 2025

Verbal Lab Commitments Begin: Monday, March 3, 2025

Frequent BC & MB Elective

This is a one half semester course that focuses on the application of organic chemistry to the study and manipulation of nucleic acids. Topics include chemical synthesis of DNA and RNA, nucleoside and oligomer analogs, chemistry of DNA damage and repair, nucleic acid-targeted drugs and binding agents. Prerequisite: 2 semesters undergraduate organic chemistry.

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, Second Half Semester

Instructor: Ming Hammond

T & TH, 9:10AM - 10:30AM, HEB 2010, Class 10853

Frequent MB Elective

This course will explore the molecular, developmental, and genetic mechanisms underlying evolutionary change, with an emphasis on current research in animal biology. Topics include regulatory networks and signaling pathways, modularity, developmental constraints, origin of animals, molecular/developmental origin of diverse body plans and appendages, and genetics of speciation. The class will consist of both lectures and discussions of current literature. Suitable for graduate students at all levels.

Spring 2025 Schedule

1.5 Credit Hours, Second Half Semester

Instructor: Gabrielle Kardon & Michael Shapiro

T & TH, 1:15PM -2:45PM, EHSEB 2962, Class 10005

Frequent MB Elective

Course work addresses issues relevant to the identification of genes underlying susceptibility to complex disorders. Subjects covered include advantages and disadvantages of isolates versus large population, utilization of affected sibling pairs, discordant sibling pairs and extended families. Methods taught include traditional case-control association methods and family based methods. Other subjects include locus and allelicheterogeneity, phenotypic heterogeneity, gene-gene and gene-environment interactions and density of polymorphic markers.

Spring 2025 Schedule

1.5 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Lynn Jorde

T & TH,  2:00PM-3:00PM, EHSEB 2600, Class 6460

Frequent BC & MB Elective

This course will examine the mechanisms of a variety of eukaryotic signal transduction pathways, and explore how these pathways affect the behavior of cells within developing and adult tissues. The material will include readings and discussion of the primary literature, and emphasize experimental techniques and analyses.

Spring 2025 Schedule

1.5 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Charles Murtaugh

M, W, F, 10:45AM-11:35AM, EHSEB 4100C, Class 4619

Frequent MB Elective

Med-2-Grad Core Course Requirement

It is now possible to precisely modify any DNA sequence within the genome of the mouse. This course emphasizes using mouse models to dissect the genetic basis of human disease. Deletion of genes using homologous recombination will be covered extensively as will other methods of gene inactivation (anti-sense constructs, inhibitory RNA, etc.). New experimental systems for modeling human disease in zebra fish and C. elegans will also be covered.

 Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, Full Semester

Instructor: Anthea Letsou

T, 10:00AM - 11:30AM, EHSEB 4100C, Class 9605

Frequent MB Elective

Basic knowledge of molecular biology is required. The molecular biology of virus lifestyle strategies, including cell entry, nucleic acid replication, gene expression, assembly of progeny virions, interaction with the host cell, and molecular epidemiology. The course will provide both a general introduction to the diversity of virus lifestyles and a detailed analysis of several of these strategies.

Spring 2025 Schedule

1.5 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Jarrod Johnson

M, W, 3:00PM - 4:30PM, EHSEB 3420

Frequent MB Elective

This class is specifically geared toward 1st year MB students. Other students should contact Dr. Bettini prior to registering. This course will address core topics in immunology including cellular and molecular mechanisms of innate and adaptive immune responses to infection, vaccines, autoimmunity and cancer immunology and immunotherapies.

Spring 2025 Schedule

1.5 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Matthew Bettini

T & TH, 1:00PM - 2:30PM, EEJMRB Conference RM 1420, Class 18575

Frequent BC Elective

(Counts as 2 electives)

Prerequisite: PHCEU 7010, or Special Permission from Instructor

This course will review fundamental aspects of pharmacokinetics with an emphasis on understanding concepts for compartmental and noncompartmental modeling, physiologic modeling, and modeling of targeted drug delivery systems. The goal of the course is to understand how these techniques can be used to optimize drug delivery.

Spring 2025 Schedule

3.0 Credit Hours, Full Semester

Instructor: James Herron, Daniel Malone, & Shawn Owen

W, F, 10:30AM - 12:00PM, EHSEB 4100B, Class 8583

Frequent BC Elective

Meets with CHEM 5150. This course provides a broad overview of metal sites in biology and is intended for students at the interface of Chemistry, Biology, Biophysics, and related disciplines. It focuses on our current understanding of the role of metals in the structure and function of proteins and nucleic acids, metalloproteins as elaborated inorganic complexes, physical methods used to study metal sites with emphasis on the synergism between model complexes and biochemical studies, and applications in medicine. Three lectures, one discussion per week for 7.5 weeks.

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, Second Half Semester

Instructor: Valerie Pierre

T & TH, 10:45AM-12:05PM, HEB 2002, Class 18943

Frequent BC Elective

Students should gain an understanding of NMR theory, experimental set-up and spectral interpretation/identification of organic molecules from 1D and 2D solution NMR spectra. Specifically:

• Fundamentals of organic structural determination
• Components of the NMR spectrometer, data acquisition and sample considerations
• Chemical shift theory and estimation of 1H and 13C chemical shift through empirical formulas
• J-coupling theory, magnetic equivalence and higher order spectra, and use of spin decoupling for signal enhancement
• NMR relaxation – theory of longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) relaxation, experimental measurements of T1 and T2 (inversion-recovery, spin-echo, CPMG), quadrapolar relaxation effects, use of relaxation properties in spectral assignment
• Nuclear Overhauser Effect (NOE) – theory and application
• Multinuclear NMR – spectral interpretation for direct detection of 15N, 19F, and 31P nuclei
• Advanced 1D NMR techniques – theory and spectral interpretation of INEPT, DEPT, TOCSY, NOESY/ROESY data
• 2D NMR techniques – theory and spectral interpretation of homonuclear: COSY, TOCSY, NOESY/ROESY, INADEQUATE; and heteronuclear: 13C/1H HMQC, HSQC, HMBC data

Not Offered Spring 2025

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Peter Flynn

M, W, F, 11:00AM - 12:05PM

Frequent BC & MB  Elective

(Counts as 2 electives)

This course will provide a comprehensive introduction to fundamental concepts and experimental approaches in the analysis and interpretation of experimental genomics data. It will be structured as a series of lectures covering key concepts and analytical strategies. A diverse range of biological question enabled by modern DNA sequencing technologies will be explored including sequence alignment, the identification of genetic variation, structural variation, and ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analysis. Students will learn and apply the fundamental data formats and analysis strategies that underlie computational genomics research. The primary goal of the course is for students to be grounded in theory and have the ability to conduct independent genomic analyses.

Not Offered Spring 2025

2.0 Credit Hours, Full Semester

Instructor: Aaron Quinlan

T & TH, 10:30AM - 11:50AM

Frequent BC Elective

In this half-semester course, we will introduce key concepts in Chemical Biology with an emphasis on examples from the primary literature. Topics will include chemical and biological compound library development, chemical genetics and target identification, and strategies for the development of chemical probes and therapeutic compounds. Students will leave the class with a working knowledge of the field of Chemical Biology and its relationship to medicinal chemistry and drug development, the ability to analyze the primary literature and to design experiments to test key questions at the interface between chemistry and biology.

Not Offered Spring 2025

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Eric Schmidt

M, W, F, 1:00PM - 2:00PM

Med-2-Grad Core Course Requirement

Frequent MB Elective

The goal of this course is to provide graduate students in the basic sciences with a richer understanding of human physiology and pathophysiology. This information is critical for understanding the importance of any molecular mechanism at the level of cells, organs and whole animals, and applying this information to humans.

This course is aimed for students interested in:

1. Gaining an understanding on the broad implications of their research and basic science.
2. Learning how their focus in molecular mechanisms translates to medical interventions.
3. Obtaining a foundation in anatomy and physiology necessary that is critical for understanding how to characterize genetic engineered animal models
4. Preparing themselves scientifically for careers in biotech or pharma industry.

We will teach the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology relevant to a given organ system (heart, lung, kidney etc.). The relationship between molecular mechanism, pathophysiology and medicine will be emphasized. Each sections will be organized into three-1 hour lectures. Lectures will include up to date molecular details of interest and relevance to this audience. Though the course will utilize a textbook, McCance and Huether Pathophysiology, class participation is key as we will synthesize information to develop therapeutic strategies of today and tomorrow.

Not Offered Spring 2025

Frequent MB Elective

Seminar for graduate students. Faculty and topics will change yearly. Consult instructor before registration.

Not Offered Spring 2025

1.0 Credit Hours, Full Semester

Instructors: Mark Metzstein & David Grunwald

W, 2:00PM-4:00PM

Recommended MB Elective

This course will cover the fundamentals of population and evolutionary genetics with an emphasis on molecular and sequence-level approaches, including practical exercises in computational analysis aimed at students at all levels of experience. Lectures will cover both theory and experimental studies of the forces that shape genetic variation within and between species.

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Ellen Leffler

M, W, F, 9:30AM - 10:20AM, EHSEB 5100C, Class 11500

Recommended BC Elective

This course will introduce graduate students to the basic principles of pharmacology and drug development. The course will focus on the role of small molecule drug structures, ligand binding kinetics, and receptor physiology, including ion channels, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), and protein kinases, and others, in relation to biological (side)effects of drugs. Furthermore, the course will introduce the basic principles of pharmacokinetics including physiochemical factors and individual variations that affect the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs, current computational tools to calculate pharmacokinetic parameters, and pharmacogenomics. Finally, the course will discuss cutting edge aspects of pharmacology research and pharmaceutical industry applications in precision medicine, the omics sciences and novel, up-and-coming small molecule drug classes like molecular glues and proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs)and target classes like transcription factors and epigenetic regulators. This course is designed to complement PHARM 6500.

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester (Course catalog will be updated from 3.0 credit hours)

Instructor: Farzana Alam & Martin Golkowski

T & TH, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM, TBA, Class 19182

Recommended BC Elective

This course will explore Chemistry of the Origins of Life, including prebiotically feasible catalysis to generate amino acids, RNA, other chiral metabolites and simple vesicles. Undergraduate organic chemistry (CHEM 2310 and CHEM 2320) and biochemistry (CHEM 3510) are pre-requisites.

Spring 2025 Schedule

2.0 Credit Hours, First Half Semester

Instructor: Cynthia Burrows

T & TH, 9:10AM-10:30AM, TBBC 4630, Class 14978