The Structural Basis of Biomolecular Engineering

Undergraduate / Graduate

In this highly practical course, students will learn different approaches to interrogate the structure-function relationship of proteins. Essential skills in identifying related protein sequences, performing multiple sequence alignments, and visualizing and interpreting conservation in the context of available structures will be acquired. The most basic method of biomolecular engineering is based on rationale design which uses such knowledge of sequence and structure to predict or explore changes in function in a low throughput manner. Advanced methods that employ evolutionary platforms, such as phage-, ribosome-, and yeast display, will also be introduced for screening large libraries of biomolecules to find variants with a specific function of interest. Additional biomolecular engineering topics to be covered may include computational tools to model and design proteins, protein fusions, enzymatic or chemical modifications to change function, and pharmacokinetics. Students will be assessed through in-class discussion, take-home assignments, exams, and an end-of-term project chosen by the student with approval from the instructor(s).