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Courses: Biology:

Introduction to Proteomics

BIOL E-119 Introduction to Proteomics (12066)
(Syllabus or Website)
Alain Viel, PhD, Senior Lecturer on Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University.
4 units. Noncredit $300, undergraduate credit $575, graduate credit $1,425.
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 7:35-9:35 pm, Science Center, Hall E. Required sections for credit students only to be arranged. Fall term

The completion of several genome projects, including the Human Genome Project, has further fostered a systems-based approach to biology. The goal is to determine how all the genes in a genome act and how their products interact to produce a functional organism. Proteomics seeks to identify and to characterize all the proteins synthesized in a cell or a tissue. Based on this information, one can then try to understand how individual proteins or protein collectives function within an organism. The first half of the course will focus on current methodology used to analyze and identify proteins. This will include protein electrophoresis, chromatography, mass spectrometry, and protein database analysis. The second half of the course will focus on case studies derived from the current scientific literature. This will include comparisons between healthy and diseased tissues, new approaches to analyze metabolic pathways, and the comprehensive analysis of protein-protein interactions in different cell types. Prerequisites: BIOL E-1a or equivalent, BIOL E-109 recommended.