PROGRAM IN MOLECULAR AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOPHYSICS

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Program in Molecular and Computational Biophysics is seeking to renew its training grant. The Jenkins Department of Biophysics (Arts & Sciences, Homewood campus) and the Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry (School of Medicine, East Baltimore campus) form the core of the program with respect to administration and curriculum; 44 faculty, drawn from 15 departments and about evenly divided between the two campuses, participate in training activities. Students freely move between campuses and laboratories for course work, rotations, and thesis research. The training faculty roster has grown to include more faculty working in areas of NMR, X-ray crystallography, membrane proteins, computational biophysics, and biochemical transformations. The 44 participating laboratories have a strong sense of community engendered by activities such as an annual retreat, a monthly evening Biophysical Discussion, and the biennial Johns Hopkins Folding Meeting. Faculty also have access to shared instrumentation facilities for X-ray crystallography, ultracentrifugation, and high field NMR. In the first year, students take four core courses specifically designed for the program: Physical Chemistry of Biological Macromolecules; Proteins and Nucleic Acids; Methods in Molecular Biophysics; and Computer Modeling of Biological Macromolecules; the courses have recently been revamped to increase literature readings, classroom time devoted to discussion, and computer programming exercises in the curriculum. The course work has a heavier emphasis on quantitative analysis and fundamental physical principles than most biologically-oriented training programs. First year students also complete three 10 week lab rotations and attend a lecture series on Responsible Conduct of Research; a lab safety presentation is compulsory. At the end of the year, they must demonstrate proficiency in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology in an oral exam. Second year students take Organic Mechanisms in Biology and three electives; students in a computational track substitute Statistical Mechanics for an elective. Second year students also present a formal seminar on a current topic in biophysics and take an oral qualifying exam. Currently 16 first and second year students are supported by the program, out of a total of 43 program students. Four program students are supported by a one-time grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation designed to encourage students with math- and computer-intensive backgrounds to move into biological research; this program has in essence been continued with a supplement awarded in 2003 for recruitment of students into a computational track.