First semester of a two-semester course in bioinformatics and computational biology. Topics include basic concepts of bioinformatics and molecular modeling, bioinformatics databases, computational tools and modeling methods, protein sequence and structure alignment, conformational analysis, secondary structure determination, tertiary structure modeling (homology, threading, ab initio, protein folding and dynamics), networks, data mining and machine learning, as well as student presentations of material from current papers in the field of study and their own on-going research for discussion and critique. Students will also learn responsible scholarship, including allocation of credit, treatment of data, scientific misconduct, collaborative research, and mentor/trainee responsibilities. Prerequisite: College introductory biochemistry (no requirement for specific courses), math, and computer courses or concurrent enrollment in such courses and consent of instructor.

Second semester of a two-semester course in bioinformatics and computational biology. Topics include protein quaternary structure modeling (protein-protein/DNA/small ligand docking, binding, computer-aided drug design), protein structure-function relationships, modeling of genome-wide protein interaction networks based on structure, systems biology, mathematical and computational modeling of complex systems, synthetic biology and dynamics of chemical reaction networks as well as student presentations of material from current papers in the field of study and their own on-going research for discussion and critique. Students will also learn responsible scholarship, including allocation of credit, treatment of data, scientific misconduct, collaborative research, and mentor/trainee responsibilities. Prerequisite: BINF 701.

This is an intensive course in Computational Biology, aimed at second-year graduate students. Topics include graph theory, systems biology, mathematical and computational modeling of complex systems, synthetic biology and protein design. Students will gain a mastery of cutting-edge topics in Computational Biology through lectures, careful reading of current literature, and advanced individual research projects.

Advanced courses on special topics in Bioinformatics, given as need arises, including lectures, discussions, readings, or laboratory. Students may select sections according to their special interests.

Original research that is to be incorporated into a PhD dissertation.