- "Strictly speaking, molecular biology is not a new
discipline, but rather a new way of looking at organisms
as reservoirs and transmitters of information. This new
vision opened up possibilities of action and intervention
that were revealed during the growth of genetic
engineering."
- - Michel Morange,
"A History of Molecular Biology," Harvard University Press.
-
Some of the most challenging and influential opportunities for
Physical Geometric Algorithms (PGA) arise in developing and applying
information technology to understand the molecular machinery of the
cell. Recent work shows that PGA techniques may be fruitfully applied
to the challenges of structural molecular biology and rational drug
design. Concomitantly, a wealth of interesting computational problems
arise in proposed methods for discovering new pharmaceuticals.
This seminar course focuses on topics in computational biology. We will emphasize themes that unite algorithms, modelling, and experimental results. Topics will include algorithms, modeling, and experimental validation for several areas, including protein design, protein:protein interactions, structural biology, structural immunology, and structure-based drug design.
Graduate students and undergraduate students are welcome in this class. In this class I welcome students from diverse backgrounds: computer science, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, engineering, physics... is recommended that students be interested in the connections between computational science and the life sciences as applied to macromolecules of biological and pharmacological importance.
In this seminar course students will present both recent and classic papers from the literature, and also compile notes on these papers.
Class will end in plenty of time for students to attend the SBB Seminar.
The primary reading for this course will be supplied as papers to the students. While some of the background for these papers may be unfamiliar, the class is structured so that students can acquire this background while preparing to present and discuss the papers. Specifically, students will read a textbook, that is designed for this course, in order to prepare for and understand the background to present the papers. One textbook covers basic algorithms in this area of computational biology, and their applications. The second covers recent results in the field of protein design. When the weekly papers are assigned, relevant chapters of the textbooks will be assigned as area/background reading. However, student presentations will concentrate on the papers, not on presenting from the textbooks.
Textbooks:
Algorithms in Structural Molecular Biology, MIT Press (Cambridge: 2011), 464 pp. ISBN: 0262015595.
Methods in Protein Design. In: Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 523. (2013). ISBN: 9780123942920. http://store.elsevier.com/Methods-in-Protein-Design/isbn-9780123942920/
