Courses Required for Biological Chemistry

This course will provide an advanced look at multiple aspects of biochemistry including protein analysis, mass spectrometry, equilibria, specificity, cooperativity and regulation of macromolecular interactions, sedimentation velocity and equilibrium analysis, and related topics.  These principles will be illustrated by the study of well-characterized examples from the iterature.  The course emphasizes quantitative analysis and reading and discussion of the primary literature.

Meg Phillips
Fall - 2^nd 8 weeks

This course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of enzyme mechanism and enzyme kinetic analysis.  Topics to be covered include basic Michaelis-Menten kinetics, multisubstrate reactions and inhibitor studies ranging from the methods to analyze simple competitive inhibitors to suicide or tight binding inhibitors.  These principles will be illustrated for a series of classic well-characterized enzyme reactions.  The course emphasizes quantitative analysis through a series of problem sets and through reading and discussion of the primary literature.

This course offers an in-depth study of the interactions of neurotransmitter, polypeptide and steroid hormones with receptors and their subsequent regulation of cellular events.  The first part of the course considers basic physio-chemical concepts of ligand interactions with biological systems and mechanisms of common signaling pathways with an emphasis on pathways deriving from the cell surface.  The second part integrates these themes into various endocrine pathways and examines regulation at the nuclear level.  Quantitative approaches and current controversies are stressed where appropriate.  Lectures are supported by discussion of classic and current research articles.

This course is a continuation of Signal Transduction I.                                               

Gene Expression will expand the fundamental concepts studied in the first year course, emphasizing experimental strategies, reading of primary literature, critical evaluation of data, and student discussion. The topics will change to keep current with advances in the field (such as transcription factors composed of RNA). Topics for the next year will include: the nucleoprotein complex of the core transcriptional promoter, regulation of the core promoter by upstream elements, transcription factors, transcriptional modulation, cell-specific transcription, and the transcriptional regulation of development.

The complexity of animals, their tissues, and even individual cells require multi-level systems for regulation of metabolism.  In this course we will discuss important cellular functions such as the transport of molecules into cells, the use of fuels for energy generation and energy storage, and integration of metabolic pathways.  This discussion will include new information about the impact of gene expression and isozyme diversity on control of metabolic flux, hormonal control of metabolism, as well as consideration of more acute control mechanisms operating at the level of allosteric and covalent modification of enzymes.  The application of sophisticated technologies such as NMR to metabolic studies will be presented. There will also be a strong emphasis on presentation of these concepts in the context of genetically programmed metabolic diseases.  We will also discuss metabolic flux and control as a means for cellular signaling, with specific examples gleaned from regulatory strategies for hormone secretion from the pancreas.  Finally, we will consider the prospects for gene therapy in metabolic disease, including a discussion of new methods for identification of disease susceptibility genes and mechanisms of gene transfer.

This course is organized around weekly lectures (1 hour) and discussions (2 hours).  During the first part of the course, the general principles of pharmacology are examined.  Topics include the entry, distribution and elimination of drugs, the time course of the drug action, the molecular basis of pharmacological selectivity and efficacy, the adaptation, tolerance and addiction to drugs, and pharmacogenetics.  These sessions are followed by discussions of the molecular bases of antibiotic chemotherapy and autonomic pharmacology.  During the final weeks of the course, a range of topics is explored using examples from the contemporary literature.  Topics include peptide and proteins as drugs, rational drug design, the use of RNA and DNA as drugs, gene therapy, prodrugs, immunotoxins, anticancer chemotherapy, and strategies or selective drug delivery.