Our training program has evolved based on trainee and advisory committee feedback and our own evaluation. The result is a program that offers a wide range of biophysics- and career-development related courses that trainees can select based to suit their individual needs and educational backgrounds.

Required Courses

A Biophysics Core Class. One of the 3 core courses listed below are to be taken in the first Fall semester of fellowship. Those with more quantitative backgrounds and/or who are using spectroscopy could take PHYS 570. Those with a strong chemistry could take CHEM 696, and those with cell biology backgrounds could take BIOL 512.

PHYS 570 – Introduction to Biophysics I. 16 wks, 3 credits (Pushkar). Applications of the concepts and methods of physical sciences to the solution of biological problems. Students are introduced to a physical description of a wide range of phenomena, from molecular and cell mechanisms to the function of the human brain, and introduced to photobiophysics, neurophysics, bioinformatics, and synchrotron-based spectroscopy.

CHEM 696 – Cellular Biophysical Chemistry. 16 wks, 3 credits, (Low-Nam). A new course focused on biophysical processes that occur in cells and how they impact behavioral outcomes. It considers chemical, physical, and biological concepts, and theories that relate to how cells organize molecules, reactions, structures, and complexes in activities necessary for function, and how such mechanisms and principles are altered in disease states or upon mutation. A main goal is to provide the framework to pose questions that may be applicable to cellular biophysical questions across many scales, cell types, and contexts.

BIOL 512 – Methods & Measurements in Physical Biochemistry. 16 wks, 3 credits, (Stauffacher). The class covers biological applications of physical methods including absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis, FTIR and Raman and CD spectroscopy), fluorescence spectroscopy, high- and super-resolution imaging, spin resonance methods (NMR and ESR spectroscopy), mass- and thermodynamics-based methods (thermophoresis, analytical ultracentrifugation, ITC, and surface plasmon resonance), and diffraction/structural methods including NMR, cryo-EM, and XRC.

BIOL 695 –Biophysics Grant Writing, 1 credit, (Tesmer)In Fall of 2^nd year, trainees will be led through all components of an NIH F31 proposal, with classes devoted to the implementation of rigor and reproducibility, authentication of key biological and chemical resources, and data and material sharing plans. A desired outcome of the class is to produce the framework for a fundable proposal that would be submitted in the final semester of T32 support.

BIOL 696 – Frontiers in Biophysics Seminar Series (FBSS). 1 credit, (Various). Based on trainee feedback, this activity is by far the most popular. T32 trainees identify, invite, and host at least 8 seminar speakers throughout each academic year. MBTP trainees are given priority to meet one-on-one with each invited speaker, with the goal of giving them an opportunity to learn about the use of molecular biophysics in different research areas and to develop contacts that may be important professionally. In the journal club portion of this class, trainees will meet before an invited speaker seminar and discuss the underlying scientific premise, experimental design, use of adequate biological variables, authentication, transparency, and RCR issues of a research paper suggested by the speaker under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Trainees take this class each semester for the remainder of graduate training.Notably, Dr. Cramer (Emeritus Trainer) and his wife Hanni have generously endowed The William A. and Hanni Aebersold Cramer Lecture in Biophysics speakership, which will allow MBTP trainees to host an additional external biophysics/bioenergetics speaker each year until at least 2034. An honorarium is provided.

BIOL 662 – Discussions on Research Integrity and Ethics in Academic Research 1 credit (Mattoo). This course is a combination of lectures and discussions, and covers topics mandated by the NIH that pertain to ethical conundrums basic and clinical scientists face during everyday affairs in the laboratory. The lectures are designed to be interactive and thought provoking, pairing information sessions with case studies.

As part of their reproducibility training, fellows must also take either STAT511 – Statistical Methods or STAT503 – Statistical Methods for Biology by the end of first year of their admission to MBTP, or equivalent.

Electives

At least two additional biophysics classes are required of all T32 trainees during their funded period (generally first 2 years). Examples of qualified courses are given below and include the biophysics core classes listed above.

BIOL 511 – Introduction to X-ray Crystallography. 16 wks, 3 credits, (Noinaj). Introduction to crystallographic structure determination which balances theory and practice, with 60% of the course lecture-based and 40% lab-based.

BIOL 595W – Cryo-Electron Microscopy; 3D Reconstruction of Macromolecules. 16 wks, 3 credits (various). The course will introduce cryo-EM principles, including instrumentation, sample preparation, data collection, and data analysis.

BIOL 563 – Protein Bioinformatics. 16 wks, 3 credits, (Kihara). In this course trainees are introduced to bioinformatics databases, tools, algorithms, techniques, and literature focusing on computational approaches for studying protein sequences, structures, and function.

MCMP 570 – Molecular Interactions and Drug Targets. 16 wks, 3 credits, (Post). This class covers the identification, qualification, and validation of therapeutic targets and also covers membrane receptor theory, enzymes as drug targets, biophysics of protein-ligand interactions, measurement of molecular interactions with an emphasis on in-house instrumentation, and computational approaches to drug design, including artificial intelligence.

MCMP 690 – Computer-Aided Drug Design. 16 wks, 3 credits, (Li).
Introduces the theory and practice of computer-aided drug design. During this course, classical approaches to designing small molecules and biologics will be discussed, along with an introduction to machine learning in drug design. Students will gain skills in using computational tools for their own research.