Cell Biology Biochemistry

[Jacinda Saleeby]

Developedjointly by the biology and chemistry departments, the major in cell biology/biochemistry at Bucknell is interdisciplinary in nature. The bachelor of science major is designed for students who are interested in understanding living organisms at the cellular and molecular level. This course of study provides strong foundations in both biology and chemistry, and will offer the student both the intellectual and the laboratory skills to grapple with questions at the interface of these two disciplines. In addition to a rigorous scientific education, this program enables students to gain a strong background in the liberal arts and to think critically about the impact of biotechnology on social and ethical issues.

The major in cell biology/biochemistry focuses on subdisciplines within biology and chemistry, such as immunology, genetic engineering, nucleic acids, biomembrane function, cell biology of cancer, and enzymology. This program strongly emphasizes independent student research, including both seminar programs and hands-on research. A major in cell biology/biochemistry offers students an excellent preparation for careers in biotechnology, biomedical technology, medicine, pharmacology and bioengineering. It also is an excellent foundation for students preparing for entrance into Ph.D. programs in cell and molecular biology or biochemistry, or Ph.D./M.D. programs in medically-related fields.

Bucknell's biology and chemistry departments are located in adjacent wings of the Robert L. Rooke Science Center, with the cell and molecular biology laboratories on the same floor as the biochemistry laboratories.

Our program builds a strong foundation in modern biochemistry and cell biology, while developing critical thought and independence to ensure competitive preparation for a future research career. Formal course work is developed through consultation between the student and an advisory committee of faculty members.Faculty have research expertise in diverse areas including biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology, cancer biology, cell and developmental biology, computational biology, genetics, microbiology, neurobiology, plant biology, signal transduction, and synthetic and systems biology. Entering students conduct three research rotations before selecting a thesis advisor in the second semester.

The Rice Biochemistry & Cell Biology graduate program is designed for students who wish to pursue the Ph.D. degree. The program admits students for fall matriculation only. The most current version of the BCB Graduate Student Handbook (pdf version is available from this website's menu) provides a detailed description of the graduate program, including all degree requirements and program expectations. For general university requirements, view the Rice University General Announcements.

Biochemistry is the study of molecules and chemical processes in living organisms, while Cell Biology is concerned with the structure and physiology of cells, their components, and interactions with the environment. The two fields are combined in one comprehensive degree program, which will give you a broad understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that form the basis of life, including the principles of inheritance and gene expression. This allows BCCB graduates to address in their careers important problems in today's society, be it by basic or by applied research, for example in the areas of biomedicine, biotechnology, or molecular biology. For this, the BCCB program at Constructor University provides not only the theoretical background, but also substantial practical training. Students are, furthermore, involved in hands-on research during their studies.

The curriculum allows students to tailor their education to their goals and to explore different fields of study, with the flexibility to change their major within the first year. Moreover, the programs include a mandatory internship and a study-abroad opportunity in the fifth semester to provide students with hands-on experience and a global perspective.

The modules of the BCCB major are planned out to consist of integrated lecture and laboratory course module components. The General Biochemistry Module will explain how to apply and analyze basic concepts of biochemistry, while the General Cell Biology Module introduces students to cells that are the minimal functional units of life. Both BCCB-specific modules find their essential foundations and complementation in the General and Inorganic Chemistry and General Organic Chemistry Modules, in which the underlying principles of chemical reactions and organic molecules are conveyed. Thus, the macromolecular composition of cells, general principles of cellular and biochemical processes ,as well as molecular biological codes provided by the genome, the transcriptome and the proteome will be in the focus of the complementary components of the BCCB modules at large. Physiology and pathological alterations bringing about diseases will be introduced alongside. In-lab experiences will encompass documentation, description and discussion of experimental data, while awareness and following of safety rules and regulations are explained and trained.

The mandatory CORE Modules of the BCCB program build on the BCCB CHOICE modules and are thought to deepen the knowledge in each of the two core fields of this major: biochemistry and cell biology. For either field, the CORE modules encompass two lectures and a laboratory course. To account for the wealth of information and the fast development in knowledge acquisition, as well as methodological advances in these rapidly enhancing scientific fields, the modules are staggered from the third to the fourth semester. The "Advanced Biochemistry I/II" modules cover energy production by living organisms, synthesis and degradation of biomolecules and principles of metabolism. Moreover, they address how genetic information is regulated, controlled and expressed in pro- and eukaryotic cells, and how DNA repair is realized at an advanced level. The "Advanced Cell Biology I/II" modules provide an in-depth view on the complexity of cellular systems, the regulation of key cellular processes and their integration in tissue formation and organismal organization, including regulatory mechanisms that allow for coordinated early development in selected model organisms. These modules will also address principles of genetics and evolution and discuss consequences of alterations upon loss of homeostasis or stress, thereby approaching biomedical implications leading to disease.

In the laboratory modules, students will perform experiments to elucidate the relationship between structure, biochemical properties, and activity of biomolecules, both in vitro and in a cellular context. For example, proteins tagged by the green fluorescent protein (GFP) will be expressed and biochemically characterized in the Advanced Biochemistry Laboratory module while protein trafficking and functioning in different cellular compartments will be analyzed using GFP-tagged proteins in combination with different targeting signals in the Advanced Cell Biology Laboratory module. Methods range from standard techniques like chromatography, gel electrophoresis, spectrophotometry to genetic engineering of plasmid vectors, the genetic manipulation of cells and advanced laser scanning microscopy. Result documentation, analysis and discussion will be accomplished through publication-style laboratory reports.

In the "Microbiology Lab", students will identify environmental bacteria through biochemical and sequence analyses. The lecture module "Infection and Immunity" explores microbial biology and pathogenicity as well as host-pathogen interactions in light of the human immune system as an efficient defense mechanism.

During their third year, students prepare and make decisions for their career after graduation. To explore available choices fitting individual interests, and to gain professional experience, students take a mandatory summer internship.

The 5th semester opens also a mobility window for study abroad options. Finally, the 6th semester is dedicated to fostering the research experience of students by involving them in an extended Bachelor thesis and seminar module, which aims at data generation of publication quality.

In the third year of their studies, students take 15 CP from major-specific or major-related, advanced Specialization Modules to consolidate their knowledge and to be exposed to state-of-the-art research in the areas of their interest.

Hypothesis-driven research is the central element in "Experimental Strategy Design," where students will expand their methodological knowledge through literature analysis, assessing the benefits and limitations of state-of-the art-techniques, which will enable them to eventually design their own research strategy to answer a given scientific question. The "Biomedicine" module will analyze how biological processes can go wrong in disease, which molecular regulators are targeted in designing therapeutic approaches and new treatment options, and how diagnostic tools can be developed. In "Current Topics," students will analyze recent scientific articles in a seminar-style format where students present the authors' rationale and experimental design and debate the experimental outcomes through in-class discussions.

New Skills Modules

This part of the curriculum constitutes an intellectual and conceptual tool kit that cultivates the capacity for a particular set of intellectual dispositions including curiosity, imagination, critical thought, and transferability. It nurtures a range of individual and societal capacities, such as self-reflection, argumentation and communication. Finally, it introduces students to the normative aspects of inquiry and research, including the norms governing sourcing, sharing, withholding materials and research results as well as others governing the responsibilities of expertise as well as the professional point of view. Students in this study program are required to take the following modules in their second and third year:

3a8082e126