Chemistry Major: Biochemistry

As a chemistry major in the biochemistry track, you’ll study the structure and constitution of the microscopic world of atoms and molecules, the chemical and physical transformations that occur in it, and the principles that govern these changes. Within the biochemistry track, special attention is given to the chemical processes that occur within living organisms.

sample courses:

Bioorganic Chemistry

The focus of this course in an overview of Modern Medicinal Chemistry from the selection of a therapeutic target through the FDA-approval process. Each aspect will be exemplified by examples of drugs currently in clinical use, or in late-stage development. One aspect of particular interest to synthetic chemists is the underlying development chemistry that often determines the competitive success of a product. Topics to be covered include peptidomimetic HIV protease inhibitors, topoisomerase inhibitors, HMGCoA-reductase inhibitors (Lipitor, etc.), receptor tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (Gleevac, etc.), a synthetic mimetic of superoxide dismutase, and several others. Students will be responsible for presenting to the class the synthetic routes developed for the discovery and commercialization of these drugs focusing on development chemistry.

Simulation in Chemistry and Biochemistry

This course explores a wide range molecular modeling techniques and applications of computational chemistry to problems in chemistry and biochemistry. Topics include ab initio quantum mechanics, semi-empirical MO theory, molecular mechanics, molecular dynamics simulation, coarse-grained models, electrostatic methods and biomolecular structure prediction. A major component of the course is weekly laboratory sessions using common software programs in the field, including Spartan, Q-Chem, Gaussian, VMD, TINKER, APBS, AutoDock, SDA7 and others.

our students have gone on to become:

Chemists

Chemical Sales Representatives

Food Technologists

Patent Examiners

Physician/Surgeon/Dentist/Veterinarian

Quality Control Managers

Teacher/Professors

Toxicologists

Environmental Health Analysts