Electives for SMCB Students in the CBI Program

CBI Training Program General Coursework


CBI trainees take at least one course outside of their home departments. This is in addition to the CBI Core Courses (Chem 590A – Chemical Biology Tutorial and CBI Laboratory Methodologies) and MCB 580 Research Ethics and Responsibilities taken during students’ first year and the ongoing CBI Seminar Series.

Courses from which SMCB students may choose:


CHEM438 – Advanced Organic Chemistry. Topics in structure, synthesis and reactions of organic chemistry

CHEM 440 - Pysical Chemistry Principles. One-term course in physical chemistry emphasizing topics most important to students in the biological and agricultural sciences. Not open to students in the specialized curricula in chemistry and chemical engineering. Laboratory experience in this area provided by CHEM 315 to be taken preferably after CHEM 440. Same as BIOC 440. Prerequisite: CHEM 222 and CHEM 232, or equivalent; PHYS 102; and MATH 241 (formerly MATH 243) or equivalent calculus including partial derivatives. 4 credit hours.

CHEM 470 – Computational Chemical Biology. Hands-on introduction to the simulation of biological molecules and bioinformatics. Topics included the principles of molecular modeling, molecular dynamics and monte carlo simulations, structure prediction in the context of structural and functional genomics, and the assembly of integrated biological systems.

CHBE 471 - Biochemical Engineering. Applications of chemical engineering principles to biological processes. Topics include enzyme mechanisms and kinetics, bioreactor design, cellular growth and metabolism, fermentation, and bioseparations.

CHBE 472 – Techniques in Biomolecular Engineering. Study of the engineering principles that underlie many of the powerful tools in biotechnology, and addresses how scientific discoveries and engineering approaches are being used in current industrial applications. Topics addressed include: physical principles that govern self-organization and repair in biological systems; the tools that have been developed to characterize, manipulate, and quantify biomolecules; and the use of analytical tools and genetic manipulation in modern bioengineering and biotechnology applications.

CHBE 473 – Biomolecular Engineering. Fundamental principles of biomolecular engineering and its applications in pharmaceutical, agriculture, chemical and food industries. Topics include gene discovery, rational design, directed evolution, pathway engineering, and functional genomics and proteomics.

CHBE 474 – Metabolic Engineering. Introduction to the principles and methodology of metabolic engineering. Topics include experimental and mathematical techniques for the quantitative description, modeling, control, and design of metabolic pathways.

CHEM 512 – Advanced Organic Chemistry. Descriptive chemistry of the main group and transition elements, reactions and reaction mechanisms of inorganic systems, and electronic structure of inorganic molecules and solids.

CHEM 516 – Physical Inorganic Chemistry. Includes group theory and use of physical methods to provide information about the geometry, electronic structures, and reactivity of inorganic compounds in solution; emphasizes NMR and ESR.

CHEM 517 – Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Lab. Specialized laboratory techniques; more difficult inorganic syntheses.

CHEM 520 – Advanced Analytical Chemistry. Treatment of the basic issues of importance in modern analytical chemistry. Topics include basic chemical and measurement concepts, measurement instrumentation and techniques, and principles, tools, and applications in spectroscopy, electrochemistry, separations, sensors, mass spectroscopy and surface characterization.

CHEM 521 – Advanced Analytical Chemistry Lab. Graduate-level laboratory course in chemical analysis meant to be taken concurrently with CHEM 520. Experiments in atomic and molecular spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and molecular separations cover areas relevant to modern chemical analysis with similar emphasis on sample manipulation, instrumentation and data analysis.

CHEM 522 – Experimental Spectroscopy. Principles and applications of spectroscopic measurements and instrumentation. Atomic and molecular absorption, emission, fluorescence, and scattering, emphasizing physical interpretation of experimental data.

CHEM 530 – Structure and Spectroscopy. Advanced survey of organic chemistry with emphasis on structure and spectroscopy.

CHEM 532 – Physical Organic Chemistry. Advanced survey of organic chemistry with emphasis on reaction mechanisms and concepts of physical organic chemistry.

CHEM 534 – Advanced Organic Synthesis. Advanced survey of organic chemistry with emphasis on synthesis.

CHEM 572 - Enzyme Reaction Mechanisms. Introduction to the catalytic strategies used by enzymes for accelerating chemical reactions using a combination of kinetics, enzymology, and structural information. Application of gene databases to infer evolutionary relationships among catalytic mechanisms.

CHBE 572 – Metabolic Systems Engineering. Prerequisite: MATH 225; MATH 241 (formerly MATH 243) or MATH 242, or MATH 243; MATH 385; or consent of instructor. 4 hours credit.

CHEM 573 – Isotopically Labeled Compounds. Variable credit course consisting of 2 parts: First half is a practical study of the most commonly used radioisotopes, including procedures for their safe handling; Last half of course covers the synthesis and analysis of isotopically labeled compounds using both radioisotopes and stable isotopes.

CHEM 574 – Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics. Survey of contemporary methods, applications, and implications of postgenomic biology, including genome sequencing, global RNA analysis, and proteomics.

CHEM 578 - Combinatorial Chemistry. All aspects of combinatorial chemistry, the synthesis of multiple compounds in a rapid fashion, will be covered. Examples of combinatorial biology will also be discussed.