Molecular and Cellular Biophysics Certificate
We provide our trainees with a rigorous grounding in the basic principles of molecular and thermodynamic descriptions of macromolecules through the 650 series of three intense, 1-credit modules taken by all trainees. Beyond that, trainees choose from modules that teach the fundamentals of different methods for investigating the structure and function of macromolecules. These allow trainees to establish a solid theoretical and practical (some have both lab and lecture components) background in the particular areas of biophysics relevant to their individual training goals.
Research rotations performed during the first year of training provides trainees opportunities both to obtain additional practical experience and to identify potential laboratories for their thesis research.
Trainees have the opportunity to present a poster at the Carolina Biophysics Symposium. A central goal of the symposium is to bring together North Carolina Biophysicists and the meeting is organized and sponsored by North Carolina colleges.
Finally, our training program prepares trainees to be successful in the highly collaborative atmosphere of modern bioscience. All our courses are organized into work groups in which trainees do assignments in a collaborative fashion. This encourages trainees from diverse basic disciplines (cell biology to physics) to work together and learn from each other as well as attack problems in an interdisciplinary fashion. Our seminar course not only introduces trainees to research that spans the broad range of modern biophysics, but also helps them develop the oral communication skills critical to their professional success.
Course Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| BIOC 650 | Macromolecular Thermodynamics and Binding | 1 |
| BIOC 651 | Macromolecular Interactions and Forces | 1 |
| BIOC 652 | Macromolecular Dynamics | 1 |
| BIOC 662 | Macromolecular Interactions 1 | 1 |
| or BIOC 670 | Structural Bioinformatics | |
| BIOC 704 | Seminars in Biophysics | 2 |
| Scientific Communication Requirement | 2 | |
| Scientific Communication 2 | ||
| BIOC 716 | Biophysics Colloquium 3 | 2 |
| BBSP 705 | Best Practices for Rigor and Reproducibility in Research | 1 |
| BCB 888 | Responsible Conduct of Research 4 | 1 |
| or BIOC 888 | Responsible Conduct of Research | |
| Three Additional Biophysics Method Modules | ||
| Macromolecular Interactions | ||
| Macromolecular NMR | ||
| Macromolecular NMR Practice | ||
| Macromolecular Spectroscopy | ||
| Advanced NMR Spectroscopy Course | ||
| X Ray Crystallography of Macromolecules | ||
| Macromolecular Crystallographic Methods | ||
| Macromolecular Crystallographic Methods II | ||
| Structural Bioinformatics | ||
| Proteomics, Protein Identification and Characterization by Mass Spectrometry | ||
| Fundamentals of Cryo-Electron Microscopy | ||
| Mathematical and Computational Approaches to Modeling Signaling and Regulatory Pathways | ||
| MOLECULAR DYNAMICS | ||
| Proteomics Methods and Applications | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Minimum Hours | 15 | |
- 1
Not required for students matriculating before Fall 2023.
- 2
Or similar grant writing class from another department.
- 3
BIOC 716 is a 0.5 credit course, which can be repeated four times for a total of 2 credits. Not required for students matriculating before Fall 2023. Students must enroll during their 2nd and 3rd year—for a total of 4 semesters.
- 4
Responsible conduct of research (1 credit): This is for senior graduate students, generally 4th year in the Spring.
