Course variations

Course summary

This programme is designed to provide students a solid foundation in structural biology, the study of the three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules, and computational biology, which combines elements of computer science with biology for dealing with vast amount of biological data. They are taught the governing principles of physics behind the analyses of biomolecular structures, as well as the necessary mathematics and basic computational skills. The main research areas of Structural and Computational Biology (SCB) are in the investigation of the structures of biological macromolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids, and to incorporate and exploit computational tools and techniques to advance biological analysis. Knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of a protein is crucial to designing new experiments that aim at a better understanding of the precise function of these molecular devices. To this end, a number of imaging techniques like X-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, electron microscopy and mass spectrometry, are utilized. In addition, computer-modelling methods are used to complement and obtain additional structural information not accessible by experimental methods. Bioinformatics, required for mining and processing the surge of data resulting from genome sequences and functional genomics, is another area of research. In this field, problems related to the storage, retrieval and analysis of information about biological structures, sequences and functions are addressed. A wide range of computational techniques, including sequence and structural alignment, database design and data mining, macromolecular geometry, phylogenetic tree construction, prediction of protein structure and function, gene finding, and expression data clustering are involved.

Program modules

The courses include: BS7002: Foundation Course in Structural, Chemical, and Computational Biology; BS7003: School Seminar Series; BS7109 (BS409): Special Topics in Structural Biology; BS7307 (BS407): Current Topics in Genetics and Genomics; BS7405 (BS405): Current Topics in muscle biology and neuromuscular diseases; BS7406 (BS406): Current Topics in Cell Biology; BS7408 (BS408): Current Topics in Immunology; BS7411(BS411): Current Topics in Virology and Microbiology; BS7415 (BS414) From Systems Biology to Synthetic Biology; BS 7001: Foundation Course in Molecular and Cell Biology; BS7107/BS307 Computational Biology and Modeling; BS7210/BS314 Pharmacology; BS7212/BS412 Drug Discovery and Development/Biotechnology; BS7213/BS313 Functional Genomics and Proteomics; BS7414 Advanced Microscopy.

Entry requirement for international students

Applicant should have completed a good B.Sc degree (first class honours or second class honours upper division or equivalent) in Science/Life Sciences or related field. A master's degree is not an absolute requirement. Good GRE/GATE and TOEFL scores (for international applicants whose native language is not English) will be advantageous and students with relevant research experience and publication record are favoured.

Qualification

Doctoral

Awarding body

Nanyang Technological University