Techniques in Structural Molecular Biology (Distance Learning) (Postgraduate Certificate) - 2012/2013 entry

This programme provides you with a theoretical background for the techniques commonly used in structural biology. It has been designed for scientists wishing to update their knowledge, or as part of the background studies of research students, particularly those whose undergraduate studies were in a different area.

• Study by distance learning, wherever you are in the world, with our internet-based teaching.
• May be taken as a stand-alone award or as part of our innovative distance learning MSc Structural Molecular Biology.
• Part of the Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, a joint initiative with University College London.

You will learn:

• techniques for DNA manipulation
• protein expression and purification
• structure determination by X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and NMR
• protein spectroscopy
• bioinformatics as applied to this area.

You will interact with your tutors and fellow students through email lists, submit written assignments by email, and attend online tutorials in real time using a chat-room-based interface. You also have access to the electronic journals in the Birkbeck e-library.

This programme may be taken as a stand-alone Postgraduate Certificate or as part of our MSc Structural Molecular Biology. The programme has a modular structure, and you gain 60 credits on completion of the Postgraduate Certificate. To gain the MSc Structural Molecular Biology, you must earn 180 credits, part of which will involve an independent project.

If you are interested in further research, we offer a PhD/MPhil in Biological Sciences.

Graduates may go on to careers in research or academia.

On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

• demonstrate detailed knowledge of the theoretical basis of the key experimental techniques in modern structural biology, and appreciation of how they have been used to advance the field
• select the correct methods to use when carrying out structural biology research.

Structural biology in drug design

Structural biology allows you to understand how macromolecules work at the atomic level of detail. This is important particularly in designing drugs which act at the molecular level to affect macromolecules. Increasingly, research uses a range of complementary biophysical and structural techniques to study protein–protein interactions. This requires that researchers have some understanding of what all these techniques can achieve. This programme is designed to give the theoretical background required to use this range of methods.

There are some basic technical requirements for this programme. All correspondence will be electronically based. You will need:

• regular access to a computer (PC, UNIX or Mac operating systems) capable of running forms and graphics browsers such as Firefox, Netscape and Chrome
• reliable access to the internet
• some familiarity with installation of simple software packages and with transferring/downloading data
• familiarity with email.

We recommend you apply as early as possible. Later applications may also be considered, subject to availability of places.