Donald
M. Small MD, Chairman
C.
James McKnight PhD, Chairman
of the Student Affairs and Admissions Committee
Introduction
The
Department of Biophysics at the School of Medicine offers an MA/ PhD
program in biophysics, with an emphasis on structural biology. The
program seeks students with backgrounds in the life and basic sciences.
Particular emphasis is placed on students with undergraduate training
in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, with the aim of
training them in modern biophysical approaches and methodologies that
emphasize structural biology.
The
research interests of the faculty of the Department of Biophysics
range from cell and structural biology to traditional physical chemical
studies of small and macro-molecules. Of particular interest is the
study of the three-dimensional structure of proteins, lipids, and
complex carbohydrates and their function in cellular membranes, cellular
organelles, serum lipoproteins, adipose tissue, nerve and brain tissue.
The 3-dimensional structure of Macromolecular assemblies including
the nuclear pore, the spindle pole body, nucleosomes, bacterial adhesion
pili, the translocou, apopfosomes, and a number of membrane receptor-ligand
complexes are currently being studied. Pathological deposits such
as atherosclerotic plaques, gallstones, Alzheimer's disease, and amyloid
plaques and abnormal lipoproteins are also under study. The techniques
of modern cell biology and biochemistry and techniques used in structural
biology, particularly high resolution cryo-electron microscopy and
image reconstruction; protein and lipid X-ray diffraction; multidimensional,
heteronuclear, and classical NMR spectroscopy coupled with classical
physical chemical techniques such as microcalorimetry, circular dichroic
and fluorescence spectroscopy, ultra-centrifugation, and immunochemistry
make it possible to study thermodynamic and kinetic processes as structure
changes during function. Supporting these systems is a modern computer
laboratory for image analysis and reconstruction and molecular modeling.
Classic and cryoelectron microscopy allow the determination of the
structures of macromolecular complexes down to 10 to 20 A˚ resolution,
whereas X-ray crystallography and multidimensional NMR allow structures
of the components to be determined at atomic resolution. Applying
biophysical and structural biological rationale and techniques has
helped the medical profession understand more fully the structure
of the nuclear pore complex, receptor-ligand complexes, membrane structure,
lipoprotein structure, actin-binding proteins, protein folding, and,
in pathology, the structure of the lipid lesions of atherosclerosis,
gallstones, and abnormal lipoproteins.
Admission
Students
who have completed an undergraduate degree usually with a major in
the biological, chemical, or physical sciences can enter either the
MA program or the PhD program, depending on their achievements. Students
with a master's degree can enter the PhD program. Students in the
MD/ PhD program also qualify for admission. Post- MD students are
eligible for the PhD degree program only.
