Biochemistry Courses
Undergraduate Level / Lower-Division Courses
An introduction to the academic programs offered in the Department of Biochemistry. Topics include, but are not limited to undergraduate plans of study, courses, experiential programs, internships, student organizations, career opportunities, academic policies, scholarships, and student services. Course meets during weeks 1-8.
Semetser: Fall
Class: 1
Credits: 0.5
A survey of modern biochemistry using descriptions of contemporary experiments to illustrate the general theories and unifying concepts. This course is open to all students and does not require any college science courses as background or prerequisite.
This class is also offered as honors by contract.
Semesters: Fall, Spring
Class: 2
Credits: 2
BCHM 10100 is an entry-level laboratory course to help freshmen students become interested and excited about scientific research, and at the same time, gain the skills necessary to become better prepared for undergraduate research opportunities. In this laboratory, you will perform real-world experiments to identify single base-pair changes in a DNA sequence that can change a protein-protein interaction. During this process, you will learn common laboratory skills such as pipetting, centrifugation, and sterile technique. You will also learn how to display and interpret scientific results in written form.
Prerequisite: BCHM 10000 (may be taken concurrently).
Lab: 3
Credits: 1
Discussion of qualitative and quantitative analysis of biological compounds including pH measurement and control, spectrophotometry, measurement of radioactivity; theoretical basis of various separation techniques including chromatography and electrophoresis; application of these methods to separation and analysis of biological compounds. Laboratory sessions will provide practical experience in the use of these methods. This course is designed for biochemistry majors.
Prerequisite: CHM 116 or equivalent
Semesters: Fall, Spring
Class: 2
Lab: 3
Credits: 3
Introduction to fundamentals of scientific principles and practice in biochemistry. Students will learn how to develop hypotheses, design experiments, and critically analyze results to create new knowledge. Intended for sophomores.
Restricted to biochemistry majors.
Semester: Spring
Class: 2
Credits: 2
Supervised individual research. This course is intended to provide an introduction to independent undergraduate research. The primary goal of this experience is to learn the mechanics of laboratory science. Students will learn to work in a real laboratory situation where experiments are not preassembled for them. Students will record their data in laboratory notebooks, and gain experience in trouble-shooting and critically analyzing the results of their experiments.
Prerequisites: instructor permission.
Semesters: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 1-2
Semesters: Fall, Spring
Credits: 0.5-1
Undergraduate Level / Upper-Division Courses
Students will have an understanding of the following content areas: structure/function of amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids; protein structure, function and purification; basic enzymology; replication, transcription and translation; intermediary metabolism including glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, photosynthesis. Students will also develop an appreciation for some of the contributions that have been made by biochemistry to society, including improvements to medicine, agriculture, and the economy.
Prerequisite: CHM 25600 or CHM 26200 or CHM 25700 or CHM 26605 or MCMP 20500.
Semesters: Fall Spring Summer
Lecture: 3
Credits: 3
Experiments that introduce methods for analysis and separation of biological molecules and that illustrate the biochemical and metabolic concepts covered in BCHM 30700.
Prerequisite or corequisite: BCHM 30700
Semesters: Fall, Spring, Summer
Lab: 3
Credits: 1
Modern biochemical techniques for the purification and characterization of biological macromolecules, with a focus on proteins. This is a project-oriented course where students begin by purifying an enzyme by chromatography and then characterize various aspects of the enzyme throughout the semester. Emphasis will be placed on quantitative analysis of properties such as enzymatic activity as well as the principles of designing assays to measure biochemical phenomena. Use of bioinformatics and computer modeling tools will be integrated. The course will culminate with preparation of a manuscript-style report describing the enzyme characterization.
Prerequisite or corequisite: BCHM 22100.
Semesters: Fall, Spring
Class: 1
Lab: 3
Credits: 2
A lecture course that relates biochemistry to organic chemistry. Chemical principles relevant to the assembly and function of macromolecules, the logic of biological free energy conversion, and enzyme catalysis are emphasized, all of which provide a foundation for the study of metabolism.
Prerequisite: Grade of C- or better in CHM 25500 or CHM 26505, and BIOL 110 or 121, and concurrent enrollment in CHM 25600 or CHEM 26605. Restricted to Biochemistry majors.
Semesters: Spring
Class: 3
Credits: 3
The objective of this course is to help biochemistry students with professional development and career planning. Students will learn about career possibilities, interview skills, job search strategies, graduate and professional school applications, resume construction and industrial practices. Intended for juniors. Restricted to biochemistry majors.
Semesters: Fall
Class: 1
Credits: 1
Professional internship with biochemistry related employers in industry, government or small business. Permission of department required.
Semesters: Summer
Class: 1
Credits: 0
Students will learn R to acquire, clean, explore and analyze biological data sets. Lectures and example data sets will show how data are linked to biological phenomena through human observation or instrumentation with inherent limitations. Students will learn how to organize data sets to optimize clarity and analytic possibilities while minimizing errors with examples drawn from the literature or biological databases. R programming will be taught starting with small-scale data such as drug sensitivity assays, qPCR, and metabolomics, moving to genome-scale analyses such as gene expression and pathway analysis later in the course. These skills will be taught in the light of enabling reproducible research through clear documentation of data sets and analyses. Relevant concepts from statistics will be reviewed, but it assumed that students are familiar with basic statistical analyses.
This course introduces students to the basics of modern genomics and computational tools that will be used for screening. Students will review the notion of gene, genomic, transcriptome, and epigenome, and show how next generation sequencing technologies are utilized to measure these with cell.
This course will emphasize biochemistry in the context of human health and disease. A major portion of the course will cover energy metabolism in the context of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, with emphasis on the integration of metabolic pathways and the roles of different tissues and organ systems in health and disease. Other topics will include biochemistry of the red blood cell (e.g. defects in hemoglobin, causes of anemia), biochemistry of the liver (ethanol and drug metabolism) and hemostasis (blood clotting and fibrinolysis). The role of vitamins and their corresponding cofactors will be emphasized throughout the course. Students will be expected to interpret clinical findings in the context of biochemical principles and pathways. The instructor will draw upon his experience teaching medical biochemistry at the Indiana University School of Medicine, West Lafayette.
Prerequisites: a course in general biochemistry.
Class: 3
Credits: 3
A lecture course to provide students with a broad and thorough understanding of core metabolic pathways and how they are regulated. Anabolic and catabolic processes of metabolic pathways will be studied at the biochemical, structural, genetic and molecular levels. Students will learn to appreciate how the various metabolic pathways are integrated and how the fundamental metabolic pathways relate to medicine, agriculture and human disease.
Prerequisite: BCHM 36100 or BCHM 56100. Restricted to Biochemistry majors.
Semester: Fall
Class: 3
Credits: 3
Major questions in biochemistry and contemporary approaches to these problems. Material covered in class will primarily be derived from primary literature. Students will continue to develop the skills needed to critically read, evaluate, and assimilate the primary scientific literature.
Prerequisites: BCHM 463
Semester: Spring
Class: 2
Credits: 2
Discussion of individual student research projects performed in BCHM 49800 or BCHM 49900. Preparation of posters and public seminars based upon research results.
Prerequisite: BCHM 49800 or 49900.
Semesters: Spring
Class: 1
Credits: 1
Special work in biochemistry not included in other courses.
Supervised individual research. This course is intended to provide the opportunity for in-depth, independent undergraduate research. The students enrolled in this course will learn how to devise hypotheses, design experiments that test their hypotheses, record their data in laboratory notebooks, critically analyze the results of their analyses, and present their findings to others in written form.
Permission of instructor required.
Semesters: Fall, Spring, Summer
Credits: 0-6. May be repeated for credit.
Semesters: Fall, Spring
Credits: 0.5-2
Permission of instructor required. May not be repeated for credit.
Semesters: Fall, Spring, Summer
Individual Study: 1
Lab: 2
Credits: 3
Dual Level/Undergraduate-Graduate
This course provides a basic understanding of the forces that act on genome content and organization, and the ability to interpret genetic variation between genomes. Students will acquire skills to utilize public genome databases, visualize genomic regions/features of interest using a genome browser, and perform phylogenetic analysis.
This course will provide undergraduate and graduate students with basic understanding of biochemical and structural properties of amino acids, nucleic acids, lipids and carbohydrates. This course will allow students to connect the relationship between structure and function of biomolecules. In addition, students will learn to understand enzyme properties, enzyme mechanism of action and enzyme regulation.
Prerequisite: Grade of C- or better in CHM 25600 or CHM 25700 or CHM 26200 or CHM 26605 or MCMP 20500.
Semesters: Fall, Summer
Class: 3
Credits: 3
This course will provide undergraduate and graduate students with an understanding of core metabolic pathways. Anabolic and catabolic processes of metabolic pathways will be studied. Biochemical and structural knowledge will used to determine how enzymes and coenzymes are needed to regulated and control metabolic pathways.
Prerequisite: CHM 25600 or CHM 25700 or CHM 26200 or CHM 26605 or MCMP 20500.
Semester: Spring
Class: 3
Credits: 3
Graduate Level
The objective of this course is to teach graduate students a broad array of skills necessary for success in graduate school, focusing specifically on critical thinking in biochemistry, experimental design and interpretation, and writing and speaking clearly. This course is taught from current primary literature to enable comprehension of published scientific manuscripts. Students will learn how to read and interpret scientific literature through class presentations and discussions. Additionally, students will learn to improve both oral and written communication skills through classroom presentations and written summaries. Students will also engage in scientific debates, to learn how to research both sides of an argument and to defend a position with scientific facts. There will also be opportunities to participate in workshops on figure making for publications.
Permission of instructor required.
Semester: Fall
Credits: 2
Students will explore components of experimental design and research projects that help make studies interpretable, informative, innovative and interesting. Class will discuss aspects of critical thinking in relation to reading scientific papers, designing research studies and interpreting experiments. Class will emphasize components of grant applications, identification of and justification for research questions, strategies for designing grant (or prelim) applications, and tips for writing accurately, clearly and convincingly. Students will be evaluated on class participation and presentations as well as proposal writing and reviewing.
Prerequisite: BCHM 60100. Permission of instructor required.
Semester: Fall
Credits: 2
This course is intended to provide the opportunity for in-depth, mentored graduate research in two biochemistry laboratories. Students enrolled in this course will learn how to devise hypothesis, design experiments that test their hypotheses, accurately record their data in laboratory notebooks, critically analyze the results of their analyses and present their findings to others in written and oral presentations. They will fully participate in laboratory group meetings, the Biochemistry seminar series, and presentations by other students and postdoctoral fellow.
Co-requisites: BCHM 60100 and BCHM 60500 or consent of instructor
Semester: Fall
Credits: 6
Prerequisite: BCHM 60300. Co-requisite: BCHM 60200 or consent of instructor
Semester: Spring
Credits: 3
Review of the properties of amino acids and nuecleotides and basic principles that govern macromolecular secondary and tertiary structure and structure-function relationships of proteins and nucleic acids. Amino acid sequence analysis, chemical modifications of proteins and nucleic acids, protein folding, active sites, protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions will be discussed. Structures, chemical properties, enzymatic reactivities and macromolecular biological functions will be emphasized throughout the course.
Prerequisite: BCHM 56100 and 56200 or consent of instructor
Semester: Fall
Credits: 3
Provides students with a basic understanding of gene expression mechanisms with a specific focus on newly emerging topics.
Prerequisite: BCHM 56100 and 56200, or consent of instructor.
Semester: Spring
Credits: 3
Provides an introductory, hands-on experience for life science researchers in bioinformatics using R and Bioconductor. Emphasis will be placed on accessing, formatting and visualizing genomics data. Most analyses will deal with "little" data (no mapping or assembly of short reads), but some techniques to work with "big" data (e.g. BAM files) will be covered. Lecture and lab will both be held in a computer lab, so lecture will be "hands-on". Lab work will generally be performed in small groups with peer review.
Semester: Summer
Credits: 3
The purpose of this course is to give graduate students an overview of proteomics research with an emphasis on mass spectrometric technologies and biological applications. Topics will include mass spectrometric instrumentation, protein and peptide separation methods, methods for selective enrichment of modified proteins and peptides, identification of proteins and post-translational modifications, and quantification of proteins and modifications. We will also discuss examples of proteome-scale studies and the impact they are having on biological and biomedical research. A major focus will be training students to analyze and interpret data. This course is intended for graduate students interested in using mass spec approaches in their own research or simply learning about this technology.
Semester: Spring
Credits: 2
Include photosynthesis, respiration, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and nitrogen, sulfur, and secondary metabolism. This course is the third in a series of core courses in the Purdue Plant Biology Program graduate curriculum. Prerequisite: BCHM 56100, 56200; BTNY 55300 or HORT 55300, BIOL 55100 or HORT 55100.
Semester: Fall
Credits: 3