This project is developing a new biochemistry laboratory course and is introducing a set of structural biology laboratories into an existing physical chemistry course. The University lacks a Biochemistry Department with an undergraduate degree program, and the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department at the Medical School is devoted to graduate and medical education. There is a clear need for increasing the opportunities for undergraduates to study biochemistry at the University. In addition, the implementation of the new laboratories enables the Chemistry Department to complete the final curriculum step required for introducing a B.S. in Biochemistry. Experiments from the research literature and from advanced biochemistry texts have been carefully selected and are being adapted to create the new laboratory courses which focus on the interdisciplinary nature of biochemistry and its roots in analytical, organic, and physical chemistry. The biochemistry laboratory course utilizes modern techniques involving proteins, lipids, and recombinant DNA. The structural biology unit in the revised physical chemistry laboratory course applies x-ray diffraction and nuclear magnetic resonance methods. For both courses, emphasis is on a discovery-based approach that provides practical experience in a variety of important techniques used in industrial and academic biochemical laboratories. Enriching the undergraduate chemistry curriculum with contemporary methods in biochemistry and structural biology is having an important and broad impact on the education of the students. Complete protocols for selected experiments and their impact on the student's academic development will be submitted for publication and described at appropriate education meetings.
