The University of Michigan proposes to continue predoctoral training in Molecular Biophysics, supporting in each year 12 Ph.D. students who will be part of the selected cohort of approximately 30 students in the Biophysics Graduate Program. The major objective of the Molecular Biophysics Training Program (MBTP) is to train a diverse population of graduate students in the field of molecular biophysics and to prepare them for research and teaching careers in which physical methods are used to solve biological problems. The curriculum is both demanding and interdisciplinary since it is designed to train scientists who will conduct research at the interface of biology, chemistry, physics and physical biochemistry. Molecular Biophysics at the University of Michigan is a distinctive program with particular requirements for the didactic and research phases of training. The Program is anchored in the existing Biophysics Graduate Program, and has developed a broad interdisciplinary curriculum that offers Ph.D. degrees in four major disciplines: Biophysics, Biological Chemistry, Chemistry and Physics. The body of training faculty is comprised of physical and mechanistic biochemists, chemists, physicists and faculty from related disciplines whose research focuses on the structures, functions and interactions of bio-macromolecules. The faculty is drawn from the departments of Biological Chemistry, Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Microbiology, Pharmacy, Physics, and Pharmacology. All these faculty members share a basic commitment to problem-oriented research that relies on the application of quantitative physical techniques. It is expected that Program students exploit sophisticated instrumentation in their research (including existing state-of-the-art facilities for NMR spectroscopy, X-ray absorption and diffraction, ultrafast spectroscopy, single molecule spectroscopy and modern computation) and be trained in data collection, state-of-the-art analysis and interpretation as well as in effective presentation and publication of the results. The great advances made in medical sciences over the last fifty years have strongly benefited from the development of biophysics-derived tools (MRI and CAT scan are two examples). Training the future generation of molecular biophysicists will ensure continued contributions to public health.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
5T32GM008270-25
Application #
8290514
Study Section
National Institute of General Medical Sciences Initial Review Group (BRT)
Program Officer
Flicker, Paula F
Project Start
1988-09-30
Project End
2014-06-30
Budget Start
2012-07-01
Budget End
2014-06-30
Support Year
25
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$395,483
Indirect Cost
$19,103
Name
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
073133571
City
Ann Arbor
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48109
Skiba, Meredith A; Sikkema, Andrew P; Moss, Nathan A et al. (2018) Biosynthesis of t-Butyl in Apratoxin A: Functional Analysis and Architecture of a PKS Loading Module. ACS Chem Biol 13:1640-1650
Tripathi, Ashootosh; Park, Sung Ryeol; Sikkema, Andrew P et al. (2018) A Defined and Flexible Pocket Explains Aryl Substrate Promiscuity of the Cahuitamycin Starter Unit-Activating Enzyme CahJ. Chembiochem 19:1595-1600
Castle, Brian T; McCubbin, Seth; Prahl, Louis S et al. (2017) Mechanisms of kinetic stabilization by the drugs paclitaxel and vinblastine. Mol Biol Cell 28:1238-1257
Cai, Yingying; Liu, Yuting; Culhane, Kelly J et al. (2017) Purification of family B G protein-coupled receptors using nanodiscs: Application to human glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor. PLoS One 12:e0179568
Skiba, Meredith A; Sikkema, Andrew P; Moss, Nathan A et al. (2017) A Mononuclear Iron-Dependent Methyltransferase Catalyzes Initial Steps in Assembly of the Apratoxin A Polyketide Starter Unit. ACS Chem Biol 12:3039-3048
Horowitz, Scott; Koepnick, Brian; Martin, Raoul et al. (2016) Determining crystal structures through crowdsourcing and coursework. Nat Commun 7:12549
Kim, Laura Y; Thompson, Peter M; Lee, Hyunna T et al. (2016) The Structural Basis of Actin Organization by Vinculin and Metavinculin. J Mol Biol 428:10-25
DeVree, Brian T; Mahoney, Jacob P; VĂ©lez-Ruiz, Gisselle A et al. (2016) Allosteric coupling from G protein to the agonist-binding pocket in GPCRs. Nature 535:182-6
Taylor, Veronica G; Bommarito, Paige A; Tesmer, John J G (2016) Structure of the Regulator of G Protein Signaling 8 (RGS8)-G?q Complex: MOLECULAR BASIS FOR G? SELECTIVITY. J Biol Chem 291:5138-45
Howard, Michael J; Karasik, Agnes; Klemm, Bradley P et al. (2016) Differential substrate recognition by isozymes of plant protein-only Ribonuclease P. RNA 22:782-92

Showing the most recent 10 out of 59 publications