Protein Crystallography (Distance Learning) (Postgraduate Certificate) - 2012/2013 entry

This programme is an excellent introduction to protein crystallography. It is designed for those who are interested in pursuing a career in this exciting and rapidly expanding field, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, or for those who would like to expand and update their existing scientific knowledge.

Up-to-date descriptions of the background, methods and techniques of protein crystallography are explained, and the programme gives the biologically-orientated scientist a mainly non-mathematical insight into how protein crystal structures are determined and how results should be judged.

• 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.

• the fundamentals of protein structure
• x-ray diffraction and symmetry
• how to determine structures using protein crystallography
• how to judge the quality of co-ordinates.

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.

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 comprehensive knowledge of the key concepts involved in protein structure determination along with practical examples and applications
• analyse the underlying theories frequently not found in the literature
• engage with the principals underpinning protein crystallography and assess when they might be appropriately applied.

About protein crystallography

Protein crystallography is no longer solely the domain of the mathematician and physicist, but that of the biologically-orientated scientist. It is a multidisciplinary technique which overlaps with biochemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, biophysics and organic chemistry.

For a proper understanding of biological function, a detailed knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules and their interactions with ligands and the aqueous environment is required.

Protein crystallography (or structural molecular biology), is powerful in that it can identify the residues determining substrate specificity and interactions with other macromolecules at the atomic level, allowing the targeting of site-directed mutagenesis experiments and the design of selective inhibitors, so important in industry.

Technical requirements

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, MacWeb XEmacs and Mosaic 
• 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.