Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Division of Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences II, Room 3117; Telephone (805) 893-2290
Program Chair: Louise Clarke
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Faculty
Roymarie Ballester, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Assistant Professor (eukaryotic cell microbiology)
Thomas C. Bruice, Ph.D., University of Southern California, Research Professor
John A. Carbon, Ph.D., Northwestern University, American Cancer Society Professor (biochemistry)
Rolf E. Christoffersen, Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, Associate Professor (plant molecular biology)
Louise Clarke, Ph.D., UC Santa Barbara, Professor (biochemistry, genetics)
Dennis O. Clegg, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Associate Professor (neurobiology)
James B. Cooper, Ph.D., Washington University, Associate Professor (plant biology)
Ellis Englesberg, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Professor Emeritus
J. Thomas C. Gerig, Ph.D., Brown University, Professor (bio-organic chemistry)
Lori Kohlstaedt, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Assistant Professor (physical biochemistry)
Nancy L. Lee, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, Professor Emeritus (microbiology)
Michael J. Mahan, Ph.D., University of Utah, Assistant Professor (microbiology)
Daniel Morse, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Professor (molecular genetics, biochemistry, marine biology, developmental biology)
Stanley M. Parsons, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, Professor (biological chemistry)
John J. Perona, Ph.D., Yale University, Assistant Professor (physical biochemistry)
Norbert O. Reich, Ph.D., UC San Francisco, Associate Professor (biological chemistry)
Joel H. Rothman, Ph.D., University of Oregon, Eugene, Assistant Professor (developmental biology and genetics)
Cyrus R. Safinya, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor (biomolecular materials)
Charles E. Samuel, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Professor (virology, molecular biology, biochemistry)
Duane Sears, Ph.D., Columbia University, Professor (biochemistry)
Robert L. Sinsheimer, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor Emeritus (biochemistry)
George Taborsky, Ph.D., Yale University, Professor Emeritus
Edward L. Triplett, Ph.D., Stanford University, Professor Emeritus
Carol A. Vandenberg, Ph.D., UC San Diego, Associate Professor (neurobiology)
Leslie Wilson, Ph.D., Tufts University, Professor (biochemical pharmacology)
The interdepartmental graduate program in biochemistry and molecular biology offers studies leading to the Ph.D. degree. The program is administered jointly by the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and the Department of Chemistry, and emphasizes the understanding of biological phenomena at the molecular level. Research areas currently under active investigation on campus include kinetics and regulation of enzyme catalysis, nuclear-cytoplasmic relationships, cell cycle regulation, the cytoskeleton, signal transduction and the mechanisms of cellular differentiation, synthetic recombinants and gene transfer protein structure and structure-function relationships, protein-nucleic acid interactions, neurobiology, molecular pathogenesis, plant molecular biology, and molecular virology and immunology. A complete listing of research interests of the participating faculty can be obtained by writing to the above address.
The program accommodates students with a diversity of backgrounds and career goals, and accepts students with undergraduate degrees in either chemistry or biology. In addition to program requirements, candidates for graduate degrees must meet university degree requirements found in the chapter "Graduate Education at UCSB." Doctoral candidates in the program must be registered as full-time students in classes in either the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology or the Department of Chemistry. Highly individualized programs of instruction can be undertaken by a student enrolled in the program after consultation with and approval by the graduate committee. Approximately 20 faculty members from the sponsoring departments are available to direct approved research projects under the auspices of the program.
Other graduate programs in various aspects of molecular biology and bio-organic and biophysical chemistry are offered by the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and the Department of Chemistry. Consult the catalog descriptions of these two departments for details.
In addition to fulfilling the general requirements for admission to graduate status, the applicant will normally hold a bachelor's degree in chemistry, biochemistry, or another biological science. Undergraduate preparation should include one year each of introductory chemistry, biology and physics, one year of calculus (differential equations recommended), one year of organic chemistry, one year of biochemistry, one course in physical chemistry (one year recommended), one course in molecular genetics or molecular biology and additional specialized electives.
Applicants with strong undergraduate records who lack some of the preparation indicated above may be admitted with the condition that they complete necessary coursework early in their graduate careers.
Transcripts and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores are required of all applicants. The GRE general test and one of the following three subject tests-biology; or chemistry; or biochemistry, cell, and molecular biology-are required. In addition, applicants whose native language is not English must receive a score of at least 550 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), taken within two years of their application to UCSB. Students who have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a U.S. college or university are exempt from this requirement.
Common core of courses: Students must satisfactorily complete a total of four graduate-level lecture courses in the 200 series. These course requirements are as follows: BMB 218A (Nucleic Acids and Proteins) and BMB 256A (Physical Biochemistry), and the choice of any two additional graduate-level lecture courses.
Seminar courses: Each quarter of the student's graduate study, enrollment is also required in BMB 260 (Research Seminar), and BMB 262 (Literature in Molecular Biology). In addition, enrollment in two graduate literature seminars per year in the 260 or 595 series is required until formal advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D.
Examinations: In order to qualify for advancement to candidacy for the Ph.D. degree, students must form a doctoral committee and successfully complete, in addition to the four lecture courses, two qualifying examinations, each consisting of a written research proposition followed by an oral defense of the proposition. The examinations are normally to be taken at the beginning of the second and third year of graduate study. The topic of the first examination is to be chosen from an area different from the student's anticipated area of research; the second examination is based on the student's dissertation research. The final requirement for the Ph.D. degree is a written dissertation and its oral defense, which usually is in the form of a scheduled interdepartmental program seminar.
Students will be expected to begin research for the doctoral dissertation early in their graduate careers; research directors may be selected from appropriate faculty in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology or the Department of Chemistry with the approval of the graduate committee.
1FS. Special Topics in Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology
Freshman seminar. Exploration of the biochemical basis of selected characteristics of living systems. Biological order, specificity and continuity will be considered in terms of molecular descriptions of cells and cellular processes, including metabolism, growth and development.
Upper Division
186. Colloquia in Biomedical Research
Lectures by UCSB faculty from various departments focused on their current research in a variety of biomedical disciplines.
192AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Special topics of current importance in biochemistry and molecular biology. Course content will vary. Information may be obtained in program office.
198. Readings in Biochemistry
Individual courses one hour every two weeks. Special readings designed to broaden the outlook of students and to knit into a cohesive whole the basic principles underlying the major/disciplines of biochemistry and molecular biology.
199. Independent Studies in Biochemistry.
Hours and credit by arrangement with any member of the staff. Laboratory.
Graduate Courses
218A. Nucleic Acids and Proteins
Properties, structure, and structure-function analysis of nucleic acid research (synthetic and recombinant DNA, in vitro mutagenesis); protein dynamics (folding, transport, covalent, and non-covalent structural adaptations to function). (F)
218B. Molecular and Cellular Biology
The cytoskeleton; chromatin and chromosome organization, structure, and function; mechanisms of gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes and their viruses; membrane structure, organization, and protein trafficking; cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. (W)
218C. Gene Regulation and Development
Specialized features of plant cells. Regulation of gene expression during development. Models include prokaryotes (bacteria) and eukaryotes (plants, yeast, ciliates, C. elegans, Drosophila, sea urchins, mouse), with emphasis on systems that undergo cellular differentiation and cellular rearrangement. (S)
218X. Selected Topics in Gene Regulation and Development
Selected topics in gene regulation and development as appropriate to fulfill the course requirement of graduate students in biochemistry and molecular biology.
218Y. Selected Topics in Molecular and Cellular Biology
Selected topics in molecular and cellular biology as appropriate to fulfill the course requirement of graduate students in biochemistry and molecular biology, and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.
218Z. Selected Topics in Biochemistry of Nucleic Acids and Proteins
Selected topics in the biochemistry of nucleic acids and proteins as appropriate to fulfill the course requirement of graduate students in biochemistry and molecular biology.
242. Cellular Growth Control and Oncogenesis
This course focuses on the molecular mechanism of growth control in eukaryotes. Topics include: growth factors and their receptors, intracellular signaling, cell cycle control, oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and cancer. Model system studied will include: mammalian cells, Xenopus oocytes, C. elegans, Drosophila, and yeast.
245. Computational Biochemistry
Introduction to molecular modeling and molecular dynamics. Discussion of practical considerations of energy minimization, solvent modeling, structure-based drug design. Practical computer graphics experience.
246. Membrane Biochemistry
Introduction to the structures and roles of lipids and there behavior, liposomes, membrane proteins and kinetics, protein sorting, and signal transduction.
254. Drug Design
Rational drug design. Active site directed and mechanism based inhibitors. The use of computers and energy calculations in the design of drugs. Structure based drug design.
256A. Physical Biochemistry
Isolation and structural analysis of biomolecules. Hydrodynamics and spectroscopies.
256B. Enzyme Kinetics and Mechanisms
Enzyme kinetic and chemical mechanisms. Theory, experimental design, and data analysis. Enzyme models and nonclassical enzymes.
259. Selected Topics in Biological Chemistry
Selected topics from bio-organic, biophysical, or biological chemistry. The content of this course will vary. Course may be repeated with a different topic (18 units maximum).
260. Research Seminar in Biochemistry-Molecular Biology
Seminars on research in progress presented by faculty of the Department of Chemistry and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.
262. Research Progress in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Research presentations by postdoctoral fellows and advanced Ph.D. students of research progress in the department.
263. Progress in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research seminars presented by invited speakers on current research topics.
264. Literature in Signal Transduction
Critical reading and presentation of the literature on signal transduction mechanisms that control cell growth and differentiation.
281. Protein Crystallography
Introduction to diffraction techniques. Protein crystal growth and morphology. Data collection and reduction strategies. Approaches for solving the phase problem. Crystallographic refinement, including molecular dynamics. Interpretation of crystal structures.
290AA-ZZ. Group Studies
Presentation and discussion of current research, to be selected from the following list.
C. Studies in Regulation of Cell Proliferation: Ballester
CC. Centromeres and Chromosomes-Models and Analysis: Carbon
CS. Advanced Topics in Chromosome Segregation: Clarke
PM. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions: J. Cooper
595. Group Studies
A critical review of research in selected areas of biochemistry-molecular biology.
596BI. Directed Reading and Research
Hours and credit by arrangement with faculty.
596CH. Directed Reading and Research.
Individual tutorial. Instructor usually is the student's
major professor. A written proposal for each tutorial must be approved
by the department chair. Each faculty member has a unique number designation.