Regulation of signal transduction pathways in health and in disease, with special emphasis on mammalian sensory systems such as vision, olfaction, and gustation. Biochemical basis of cancer chemotherapy. Critical reviews of research papers and an advanced research paper required. Membrane Biochemistry Structure and biogenesis of membranes and membrane proteins, transport across the membrane and bioenergetic membranes, mechanisms of protein targeting, processing, and trafficking. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Plants Molecular mechanisms and regulation of plant metabolic functions.
Emphasis is on developments in current literature.
Molecular Genetics Structure, organization, replication, dynamics, and expression of genetic information in eukaryotes. The molecular genetic basis of metazoan development. Course focuses on how genes direct the process of development and how this problem is analyzed in model organisms using molecular genetic approaches. Protein Structure and Function Analysis of how the three-dimensional architecture of proteins and enzymes contributes to their biochemical function. Topics include methods for determining the structure of proteins, protein folding, intermolecular interactions of proteins, mechanisms of enzyme catalysis, enzyme kinetics, protein evolution and biosynthesis.