Biophysical methods to receptor pharmacology

COURSE DESCRIPTION 

This course will cover the modern biophysical techniques, including structural biology, live-cell imaging, and single-molecule methods, as applied to receptor pharmacology. After the course students will be able to:

• Explain the principles of biophysical methods and identify their appropriate applications.
• Understand and critically evaluate the application of biophysical methods in primary literature.
• Interpret data produced by biophysical techniques and extract conclusions.
• Derive experimental questions from presented research situations and propose appropriate biophysical experiments to reach an answer.

This course is designed for students interested in biophysical methods, the physics underlying these methods, and how to apply them to research questions. Each week a different biophysical method will be highlighted. The first class of the week will be a didactic lecture covering the specifics of the techniques, with a focus on the how these are applied, what is being measured, and when such methods should be implemented.

The second class will be a seminar focused on a recent publication utilizing the highlighted method. Students will present and discuss the figures from the paper with particular attention to how the method supports the conclusions presented in the publication.

TEACHING METHODS

Lecture, workgroup (reading primary scientific literature, presentations)

There will be 2 90-minute sessions each week, the first being a lecture and the second a workgroup (Journal Club).

TYPE OF ASSESSMENT

Assessment is through a mid-term exam covering the first half of the course and a final exam covering the whole course material.