PROGRAM IN MOLECULAR BIOPHYSICS

分子生物物理学项目

• 批准号: 8494629
• 负责人: JULIETTE T LECOMTE
• 金额: $ 71.45万
• 依托单位: JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-09-30 至 2015-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8494629
• 关键词: Biophysics; Molecular; programs

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Program in Molecular Biophysics (PMB) seeks to renew its training grant. Its goal is to train students thoroughly versed in the fundamental physical principles governing the structures, interactions, and functions of biological macromolecules and their complexes, and who are also cognizant of the current frontiers in biology and able to develop their research in biologically relevant terms. The Department of Biophysics (Arts & Sciences, Homewood campus) and the Department of Biophysics & Biophysical Chemistry (School of Medicine, East Baltimore campus) form the program core with respect to administration and curriculum; 42 faculty from 14 departments participate in training activities. The participating laboratories form a coherent group with a strong sense of community engendered by activities such as an annual retreat and a monthly evening Biophysical Discussion. Faculty and students also have access to shared instrumentation facilities for X-ray, ultracentrifuge, high field NMR, and mass spectrometry. Students freely move between campuses and laboratories for course work, rotations, and thesis research. Students with strong backgrounds in quantitative and physical sciences are recruited; most are familiar with biochemistry and molecular biology. In the first year, students take four core courses specifically designed for PMB; they cover thermodynamic and structural principles of molecular biophysics as well as relevant computational and experimental methods. Readings from the literature and computer programming exercises are extensively incorporated into class assignments, and the courses emphasize quantitative analysis and fundamental physical principles. First year students also complete three 10 week lab rotations and a lecture series on Responsible Conduct of Research. Students choose a lab for thesis research at the end of the second semester, and also must demonstrate proficiency in biochemistry and molecular and cellular biology in an oral exam. Second year students take Organic Mechanisms in Biology and two electives; present a formal seminar on a current topic in biophysics and take an oral qualifying exam. 16 trainees are currently supported by this grant, out of a total of 50 program students. RELEVANCE: Living cells and organisms ultimately depend on the complex interactions taking place between thousands of proteins, nucleic acids, and smaller molecules. In this training program, students learn to use the methods of physical sciences and computation to investigate this network of interactions, and how the molecular details of these interactions illuminate the underlying causes of specific diseases.

描述（由申请人提供）：分子生物物理学项目（PMB）寻求更新其培训资助。其目标是培养学生完全精通控制生物大分子及其复合物的结构，相互作用和功能的基本物理原理，并认识到当前生物学的前沿，能够在生物学相关术语中发展他们的研究。生物物理系（霍姆伍德校区的艺术与科学）和生物物理与生物物理化学系（东巴尔的摩校区的医学院）在管理和课程方面构成了项目的核心；来自14个系的42名教师参加了培训活动。参与的实验室形成了一个连贯的团体，通过诸如年度静修和每月晚上的生物物理讨论等活动产生了强烈的社区意识。教师和学生还可以使用x射线、超离心机、高场核磁共振和质谱的共享仪器设施。学生可以自由地在校园和实验室之间进行课程学习、轮岗和论文研究。招收在定量科学和物理科学方面有较强背景的学生；大多数人熟悉生物化学和分子生物学。第一年，学生要修四门专门为PMB设计的核心课程；它们涵盖了分子生物物理学的热力学和结构原理以及相关的计算和实验方法。从文献阅读和计算机编程练习广泛纳入课堂作业，课程强调定量分析和基本物理原理。一年级学生还要完成三次为期10周的实验室轮岗和一系列关于负责任的研究行为的讲座。学生在第二学期结束时选择一个实验室进行论文研究，并且还必须在口试中证明对生物化学和分子与细胞生物学的熟练程度。二年级学生选修生物有机机制和两门选修课；就当前生物物理学的主题进行正式的研讨会，并参加口头资格考试。目前，在50名项目学生中，有16名学员得到了这笔资金的支持。相关性：活细胞和生物体最终依赖于数千种蛋白质、核酸和更小分子之间发生的复杂相互作用。在这个培训项目中，学生学习使用物理科学和计算的方法来研究这种相互作用的网络，以及这些相互作用的分子细节如何阐明特定疾病的潜在原因。