Aim: In the first third of the class, students will be introduced to protein structure, genomics, and to state of the art bioinformatics as it applies to protein sequence analysis and data base searching on the web. Current literature will then be used to discuss various topics of protein structure and protein function, paying special attention to the state of the important techniques in this field. The course will end with the discussion of protein folding diseases. At the end of this class, students will have an excellent overview of protein folding and function; should be able to critically evaluate literature in this field; and will have the ability to use the web to solve their research problems.
Course material consists of web resources and recent literature. There is no textbook.Course Requirements:
Grading will be based on take-home assignments and two quizzes (midterm and finals).
Intended Audience:
The course assumes a very basic level of computer competence. Students need to know how to log onto the Internet from a campus computer.
Class Format:
The class will be lecture as well as hands-on computer manipulation of sequences, modeling, and discussion. The class will also provide guidance in reading and interpreting original scientific literature.