Chemical Biology (Taught)

A joint programme between the Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology (IMCSB) and the School of Chemistry (SoC). It will provide advanced training in the areas of synthetic chemistry, biologically active molecules, and detailed knowledge of the biophysical characterisation techniques that can be used to examine these systems. Aimed at students with either a good Chemistry or a Biological Sciences undergraduate degree and will train its graduates with state-of-the-art knowledge of the core areas of the chemical biology field.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

• Top 20 in the UK for Biological Sciences (Complete University Guide 2021).

• 6th in the UK (Complete University Guide 2021) for Chemistry and Glasgow continues to meet student expectations combining both teaching excellence and a supportive learning environment.

• Capitalise on existing expertise in chemical biology and existing research collaborations between IMCSB and SoC in in biological chemistry (Bullied, Tokatlidis, Hartley, Jamieson), biophysics (Stark, Magennis, Smith, Thomson) and structural biology (Spagnolo, Walden, Smith).

• Expertise in the area of chemical biology is of great interest to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, which are increasingly working across traditional discipline boundaries.

• The School of Chemistry is a member of ScotCHEM that brings together seven Universities in Scotland. ScotCHEM is committed to excellence and to providing the highest quality postgraduate education and researcher experience.

• The school has an Athena Swan Bronze Award, demonstrating the school’s commitment to supporting women in scientific studies and careers, and to improving the working environment for all.

• Benefit from our links with industrial scientists, often from pharmaceutical companies, who regularly visit the School of Chemistry to give presentations.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Courses will be split between the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences and the School of Chemistry.

The courses at all stages will emphasise the practical aspects of chemical biology research, describing and where possible giving hands-on experience of cutting edge techniques. The students will therefore gain an appreciation of the realities of experiment design and execution at the interface between chemistry and biology.

Semester 1
MOLECULAR RESEARCH SKILLS
CHEMICAL RESEARCH SKILLS
RECOMBINANT PROTEIN EXPRESSION
BIOMOLECULAR INTERACTIONS

Semester 2
BIOPOLYMER CHEMISTRY AND SYNTHESIS
BIOPHYSICS - MOLECULAR RULERS
BIOCONJUGATION CHEMISTRY
BIOPHYSICS - MOLECULAR PROBES
THE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY TOOLKIT
REDOX BIOLOGY

Summer
CHEMICAL BIOLOGY RESEARCH PROJECT