Structural Biology and Biophysics, University Program in (SBB)
Associate Professor Oas, Director (biochemistry); Professor D. Richardson, Director of Graduate Studies (biochemistry); 25 participating faculty members in six departments
The program in structural biology and biophysics at Duke centers on those research endeavors that use physical measurements to study biological macromolecules and their interactions, where the details of molecular structure are critical to understanding the biological problem in question. The focus is on understanding molecular structure/function at atomic resolution; the breadth extends to detecting molecular events and describing structural relationships in a chemically meaningful way, and relating atomic-level with higher-order structures. There is a commonality in the intellectual approaches and experimental techniques. Research problems addressed within the University Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics include: 3-D structure determination by crystallography and NMR; molecular assemblies studied by various diffraction, spectroscopy, and microscopy techniques; protein folding; molecular modeling and design studies and their direct experimental testing; and functional studies in biochemistry, genetic mechanisms, drug interactions, membrane systems, and so on, for which the details of molecular geometry are central to interpreting the experiments.
Participating students may receive a certificate from the Structural Biology and Biophysics Program in addition to the doctoral degree from their home department. Requirements for the certificate ordinarily will include the core courses (Proteins and Enzymes, Physical Biochemistry I, Physical Biochemistry II, Structure of Biological Macromolecules, Membrane Biophysics and Molecular Biophysics Seminar), lab rotations with Structural Biology and Biophysics faculty, presenting and attending seminars, and an appropriate thesis topic and committee. However, the curriculum can be tailored for students with special interests and backgrounds. For further information about the University Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics, contact the program office at sbb@biochem.duke.edu or at Duke University, Box 103855 DUMC, Durham, North Carolina 27710.
222. Structure of Biological Macromolecules. 3 units. C-L: see Biochemistry 222; also C-L: Computational Biology and Bioinformatics 252
251. Algorithms in Structural Molecular Biology. Instructor: Staff. 3 units.
258. Structural Biochemistry I. 2 units. C-L: see Biochemistry 258; also C-L: Cell and Molecular Biology 258, Cell Biology 258, University Program in Genetics 258, Immunology 258, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics 258
259. Structural Biochemistry II. 2 units. C-L: see Biochemistry 259; also C-L: Cell Biology 259, Immunology 259, Computational Biology and Bioinformatics 259, University Program in Genetics 259
263. Algorithms in Structural Biology and Biophysics. 3 units. C-L: see Computer Science 263; also C-L: Computational Biology and Bioinformatics 263
291. Physical Biochemistry. 3 units. C-L: see Biochemistry 291
292. Advanced Physical Biochemistry. Topics include X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and molecular simulations; techniques (for example, Laue techniques for following enzyme reaction intermediates, NMR methods for measuring protein dynamics); applications (for example, NMR and protein folding, analysis of structure/function relationships in a particular protein or group of proteins). Prerequisite: Biochemistry 291 or Molecular Biophysics 291. Instructor: Oas. 3 units.
345. Molecular Biophysics Seminar. Required of all MBP students. Instructor: Oas. 1 unit.
346. Structural Bio & Biophysics Seminar. Required of all SSB students. Instructor: Oas. 1 unit.
