The Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Psychology, and Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences invite applications for admission to their departmental graduate programs which provide opportunities for interdisciplinary studies through the Center for Biochemical and Biophysical Studies. The Center includes a broad selection of faculty to supervise research leading to advanced degrees that include the designation of A Concentration in Biochemistry and Biophysics. All graduate degrees are obtained through the departments, whose special requirements must be met. Master's and/or doctoral degrees may be earned in Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Psychology, and Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences. Programs are tailored to the individual needs and interests of the student to satisfy both the requirements of the center and degree requirements of the student's program.

At the M.S. level, the student must successfully complete five graduate courses (excluding thesis credit) dealing with biochemistry and/or biophysics, to be selected from the center's listing of courses. The student must also complete an approved research program dealing with a biochemical or biophysical topic and incorporate the results into a thesis, with the thesis committee to include one member of the graduate faculty of the center who is outside the student's department.

At the Ph.D. level, the student must complete eight graduate courses (excluding dissertation credit) dealing with biochemistry and/or biophysics, to be selected from the center's listing of courses. The student must also complete an approved research program dealing with a biochemical or biophysical topic and incorporate the results into a dissertation, with the dissertation committee to include two members of the graduate faculty of the center who are outside the student's department

The specific courses dealing with biochemistry and/or biophysics which the student uses to satisfy the concentration requirements depend upon the student's goals. Courses may be chosen from the list below with the approval of the student's departmental adviser and the director of the center, except that all students are required to earn credit for CHEM 470, General Biological Chemistry, or CHEM 472, Biological Chemistry I. Students may take cross listed courses in the department of their choice.

Courses (updated list effective April 2002!)

Biological Sciences

Plant Physiology.  Physical and chemical aspects of the functions of higher plants.

Microbial Physiology. Physical and chemical aspects of the functions of bacteria and other microorganisms.

Immunobiology, The biochemistry and interactions of antigens, antibodies, and lymphocytes; development of the immune system; and medical applications and current immunological techniques.

Comparative Physiology. General physiological principles and functions in vertebrates and invertebrates.

Endocrinology. Examination of classic mammalian endocrine systems with an emphasis on cellular and molecular mechanisms of action, including endocrine cell signaling, molecular mechanisms of hormone action, discussion of endocrine pathology, lecture materials, and readings from the current professional literature.

Cell Signalling.  Principles of chemical communication between cells.  Detailed examination of chemical messengers, receptors, and intracellular signal transduction mechanisms involved in regulation of cell function, growth, and development.

Cellular Physiology. Principles underlying cellular activity, including the biochemistry of cells, cell organelles, cell environment, membranes, and energy conversions.

Molecular Biology of Eukaryotes. Mechanisms of gene expression and regulation of gene activity in eukaryotic organisms

Plant Metabolism. Biochemical and physiological aspects of metabolism in plants, including interpretation of current scientific literature.

Radiation Biology. The effects of radiation upon cells and organisms.

Molecular Genetics of Prokaryotes. Mechanisms of molecular, bacterial, and viral genetics, including genetic recombination, mutagenesis, and gene regulation and expression in bacteria and their viruses. Emphasis on topics from recent literature.

Experiments in Molecular Genetics of Prokaryotes. Experiments with current techniques of molecular genetics of prokaryotes.

Advanced Immunology. The genetics of the immune response, inheritance, and structure of membrane antigens, function of B and T lymphocytes, mechanism of cell mediated immunity, and genetics of immunoglobulin molecules.

Bioinformatics. Theory, stategies, and practice of data mangement and analysis in molecular biology.

Neurophysiology.  Processing of information in the nervous system with emphasis on propagation of information along a single cell and between cells in the peripheral nervous system and in the spinal cord.

Molecular and Cellular Control Mechanisms. Mechanisms of regulation of biological systems at the cellular and molecular levels, considering current scientific literature.

Recombinant DNA Techniques Laboratory.  Advanced experiments using recombinant DNA techniques.

Special Topics in Biology (molecular biology or bioinstrumentation).  Lectures, discussions and reports on topics of special interest in molecular biology or bioinstrumentation (BIOS 600 K or M).
 

Chemistry

Theoretical Chemistry.  Atomic structure, chemical bonding , and introduction to elementary quantum mechanics.

General Biological Chemistry. Overall view of biochemistry including structure, properties, function, and metabolism of biologically important compounds.

Biological Chemistry 1. Detailed study of the structure and properties of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids. Properties of enzymes. Bioenergetics including oxidative phosphorylation and photosynthesis.

Biological Chemistry 11, Detailed study of the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and nitrogenous compounds, including proteins and nucleic acids. Metabolic regulation. Genetic information.

Biological Chemistry Laboratory. Experiments in the isolation, purification, and characterization of biomolecules by chromatographic, electrophoretic, and centrifugation techniques; enzyme kinetics; electron transport in mitochondria and microsomes.

Advanced Biochemical Techniques. Theory and practice in the use of the techniques for the isolation and characterization of macromolecules such as ultrafiltration, amino acid analysis, ultracentrifugation, optical rotary dispersion, circular dichroism, absorption spectroscopy, calorimetry, and rapid reaction kinetics

Chemical Thermodynamics.  Fundamental laws of thermodynamics and applications to chemical problems.  Calculation of thermodynamic quantities.

Kinetics.  Theories and applications of rates of chemical reactions including reactions in the gas phase and in solution.  Thermodynamic foundations of chemical reaction rates.

Enzymes. Basic principles of the concepts of enzyme kinetics, theory and design of experimental methods, and interpretation of enzyme mechanisms.

Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules. Comprehensive introduction to the use of physical chemistry in the study of macromolecules.

Selected Topics in Chemistry (CHEM 500 E).  Lecture and discussions of special topics in biological chemistry for beginning graduate students.

Family, Consumer and Nutrition Sciences

Macronutrients. Study of the current knowledge of the metabolic basis of nutritional needs of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, calcium. phosphorous, magnesium, and electrolytes) including clinical implications

Micronutrients. The basis of nutritional need for vitamins and trace minerals including nutrient interactions.

Nutrition in Growth and Human Development.

A, Maternal and Child Nutrition

B Nutrition and Physical Activity

C. Geriatric Nutrition

The interaction of the psychological and sociophysiological aspects of nutrition throughout the life cycle Emphasis on integration of current literature.

Psychology

Biopsychology. A selected review of current research concerned with the biological and chemical bases of behavior

Neurophysiological Bases of Behavior. Excitation, conduction. and transmission in the nervous system; neural coding and the transformation and representation of information in the nervous system; Iimbic and hypothalamic regulation of drives and reinforcement

Neurochemical Bases of Behavior. Biochemistry of the nervous system; chemical composition, metabolism, and chemistry of neurons and glia; chemical bases of learning, motivation, and other categories of behavior.

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