Master of Science in Biomedical Science - Biochemistry and Structural Biology

The Biochemistry and Structural Biology Graduate Program stresses biochemical, structural, and computational approaches to solving complex biological problems. Training is offered in a broad range of research areas leading to the Ph.D. degree. Research in biochemistry and structural biology includes structure-function studies of proteins and nucleic acids, the molecular basis of gene expression, the chemical basis of enzyme action, as well as membrane and carbohydrate biochemistry. The aim of structural biology is to obtain high-resolution structures of biological macromolecules and molecular complexes through experimental techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron cryo-microscopy in order to provide a view of biology at the molecular and atomic levels. High-resolution structures combined with biochemical studies represent the blueprints for understanding enzyme catalysis, cell signaling and transport, gene expression and regulation, and numerous other cellular processes. Advances in instrumentation and computational analysis have laid the groundwork for structure determination of proteins discovered through genome sequencing efforts and have opened up structural studies on membrane proteins and large complexes of proteins and nucleic acids.