Biomolecular Structure

Catalog description

This course presents graduate students in the life sciences with foundational concepts in structural biology in the form of broad graduate-level lectures by research-active faculty. The course is designed for students studying biochemistry and other life-science disciplines. The aim is to increase the students' knowledge and appreciation of (i) macromolecular structure determination at high resolution using two different techniques x-ray crystallography and cryo electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) and (ii) how the structure of the molecules relate to their function as molecular machines in the natural world. The course will help familiarize students with the faculty engaged in this field of research as well as the instrumentation available at Penn State; to think critically about structural biology research methods, design their own experiments, and develop comprehension to critically assess the published works of others.