The CSB program is designed to fit a broad range of interests in both chemical and structural biology for graduate students. Graduate students can enter the CSB training program in one of three ways; the Department of Chemistry Graduate Program, the Cellular and Molecular Biosciences Gateway Program, and the Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology Gateway Program. Given the wide range of backgrounds and interests that graduate students in the Chemical and Structural Biology Training Program may have, the typical curriculum for a prospective fellow can be different depending on how they came to UC Irvine. Below are example curriculums for each of the three ways to enter the program to act as a guide for incoming and new graduate students:
Trainees entering via Chemistry
Trainees participating in the CSB program from chemistry will have identified Chemical Biology as their emphasis, and the first year curriculum for Chemical Biology is as follows:
Year 1 – Fall Quarter
Chem 201: Organic Reaction Mechanism. Advanced treatment of basic mechanistic principles of modern organic chemistry. Topics include molecular orbital theory, orbital symmetry, control of organic reactions, aromaticity, carbonium ion chemistry, free radical chemistry, the chemistry of carbenes and carbanions, photochemistry, electrophilic substitutions, aromatic chemistry.
Chem. 223: Biomolecules. This is similar to the 204 Proteins course in MCP but is geared toward students who have not had biochemistry. The course centers on protein and nucleic acid structure and function.
Elective: Although the elective is listed in Fall, it could be taken any quarter. The specific elective chosen is based on the student’s interests and in consultation with the mentor. For example, trainees in the Goulding, Poulos, Ribbe, or Borovik labs will likely be working on inorganic biochemistry problems and thus would be advised to take Bioinorganic Chemistry (Chem 218). Another example is that students with a focus on computational research and bioinformatics could increase their computational skills by taking the Computational Methods course (Chem 229B; offered in Winter quarter) that covers programming in C and scripting languages (e.g., Python). Students with more biophysical interests could take the course on Molecular Biophysics (Chem 221A; offered in Spring quarter).
Chem 290: Research Rotation.
Year 1 – Winter Quarter
Pharm 277: Medicinal Chemistry. Fundamentals of medicinal chemistry covering diverse aspects of drug design, discovery, synthesis, and development. Molecular basis of drug action with an emphasis on the structure-to-function continuum.
Chem 290: Research Rotation.
Year 1 – Spring Quarter
Chem 204: Organic Synthesis. Fundamentals of modern synthetic organic chemistry will be developed. Major emphasis is on carbon-carbon bond forming methodology. Topics include carbonyl annelations, cycloadditions, sigmatropic rearrangements, and organometallic methods.
Chem 219 Chemical Biology. A survey of the organic chemistry underlying biological function. Introduction to chemical genetics, receptor-ligand interactions, small molecule agonists and antagonists, combinatorial synthesis, high throughput assays, molecular evolution, protein and small molecule design.
Trainees entering via the Cellular and Molecular Biosciences (CMB) Gateway Program:
For students that enter the CSB program via the CMB gateway program, a typical curriculum would be:
Year 1 – Fall Quarter
MB&B 204: Protein Structure and Function. The structure and properties of proteins, enzymes, and their kinetic properties.
DCB 231B: Cell Biology. A biochemical, biophysical, and molecular view of cell biology. Biochemistry and biophysical properties of membranes, membrane proteins, and associated molecules, the extracellular matrix, signal transduction, and intracellular second messenger generation.
200: Research Rotation. The student keeps a laboratory notebook, and at the end of each rotation, the student prepares a written summary of research performed.
Year 1 – Winter Quarter
MB&B 203: Structure and Biosynthesis of Nucleic Acids. The structure and properties of nucleic acids. The fundamentals of nucleic acid hybridization and recombinant DNA methodology. Replication and rearrangement of DNA.
200: Research Rotation.
Year 1 – Spring Quarter
MMG 250 Responsible Conduct of Research. Lectures and discussion of topics in ethical conduct of research, including research methods, record-keeping, authorship, animal and human subjects, and plagiarism.
200: Research Rotation.
M&MG 206: Regulation of Gene Expression. Organization of the eukaryotic nucleus (i.e., chromatin and chromosome structure); comparisons between prokaryotic and
eukaryotic gene expression, the enzymology and regulation of RNA transcription in E. Coli and other prokaryotes. Enzymology of transcription in eukaryotes.
Or
MB&B/BC 207: Advanced Molecular Genetics. Introduction to genetic analysis using model organisms such as yeast. Meiosis, DNA repair, cell cycle, cytoskeleton, intracellular sorting, signaling, prions, and genome-wide gene expression analysis.
Trainees entering via the Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology (MCP) Gateway Program:
Year 1 – Fall Quarter
Pharm 250A: Topics in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The structure and properties of proteins, enzymes, and their kinetic properties.
Pharm 223: Biomolecules. This is similar to the 204 Proteins course in MCP but is geared toward students who have not had biochemistry. The course centers on protein and nucleic acid structure and function.
Pharm 280: Research rotation. Evaluations are similar to the CMB program.
Year 1 – Winter Quarter
Pharm 277: Medicinal Chemistry. Fundamentals of medicinal chemistry covering diverse aspects of drug design, discovery, synthesis, and development. Molecular basis of drug action with an emphasis on the structure-to-function continuum.
Pharm 280: Research Rotation.
Year 1 – Spring Quarter
Pharm 250C: Topics in Pharm Sci. Intended to expose students to the primary literature and current research in the field of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Students analyze and present information for discussion. Guest speakers from academia and industry may participate throughout the quarter.
Pharm 280: Research Rotation.
Courses in Years 2 – 5
Each of the participating departments has different requirements for years 2-5. As part of the CSB program, students will be required to take three additional courses sometime within years 2-5. Selection of courses will be made in consultation with their thesis advisor with the understanding that the student will take at least one
course outside their major area of interest. For example, a student in a structural biology lab will be required to take a course in chemical biology or medicinal chemistry. Students may choose from among the following courses (MB&B = Molec. Biol. & Biochem.; PB = Physiology & Biophysics; CS = Computer Science; Chem =
Chemistry – see appendix for course syllabi).
MB&B 211: Magnetic Resonance in Biology. Basic principles of magnetic resonance. Survey of applications in biology including: protein and nucleic acid structure determination and dynamics, electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging.
MB&B 223: Introduction to Computational Biology. The use of theories and methods based on computer science, mathematics, and physics in molecular biology and biochemistry. Basics in biomolecular modeling. Analysis of sequence and structural data of biomolecules. Analysis of biomolecular functions.
PB 252: Introduction to Proteomics. Introduces students to concepts and methods of proteomics including protein identification, expression proteomics, and protein-protein interactions.
CS 284A: Representations and Algorithms for Molecular Biology. Introduction to computational methods in molecular biology, aimed at those interested in learning about this interdisciplinary area. Covers computational approaches to understanding and predicting the structure, function, interactions, and evolution of DNA, RNA, proteins, and related molecules and processes.
Chem 277/PharmSci 177: Medicinal Chemistry. Fundamentals of medicinal chemistry covering diverse aspects of drug design, discovery, synthesis, and development. Molecular basis of drug action with an emphasis on the structure-to-function continuum.
Chem 219: Chemical Biology. A survey of the organic chemistry underlying biological function. Introduction to chemical genetics, receptor-ligand interactions, small molecule agonists and antagonists, combinatorial synthesis, high throughput assays, molecular evolution, protein and small molecule design.