Education
Students in Structural Biology study a wide range of problems from a structural and mechanistic perspective. Research in the department includes the mechanism of transcription and translation, chromatin structure, mechanism of antibiotic resistance, protein-RNA interactions, catalytic RNA, molecular chaperones, cell membrane recognition, cellular adhesion, evolution and mechanism of the immune response and theoretical studies of protein structure and dynamics. A broad spectrum of biophysical techniques, including x-ray crystallography, NMR, electron microscopy and computational methods is represented in the department. The graduate program strongly emphasizes research training. Students design their course program, typically a combination of specialized courses and core advanced courses in structural biology, biochemistry, genetics and cell biology to meet their educational goals. Students participate in an annual retreat which features research presentations by all the groups in the department. In addition, students attend seminar programs sponsored by the various biosciences programs.
