Program Overview

Advanced SCBB Training Areas

How to Apply

Training Activities

Participating Graduate Programs

 

Program Overview

Welcome to the website of the Structural & Computational Biology and Biophysics (SCBB) Program at the University of Virginia!


We are a group of 44 outstanding faculty encompassing numerous departmental and school divisions across campus. Members of the SCBB Program conduct research in a wide range of areas; however, we are unified in the principle that we all apply quantitative methods to understand important biological and human health questions. The members of the SCBB program are strongly committed to providing world-class graduate training for our students. This is accomplished by coursework, exposure to excellent science through our seminar series, journal club, student travel stipends to conferences, and, most importantly, by conducting outstanding research in a highly collaborative collegial environment where students can develop to their fullest potential. Come join us!!!

 

Advanced SCBB Training Areas

The SCBB Program has a number of areas of particular strength for training of graduate students including  Structural Biology,    Membrane Biophysics,  Cellular Biophysics and    Computational Biology.

         How to Apply to the SCBB Program
follow this link above to the BIMS Home page

 

Contact a Current Student

Alumni and Where They Are Now

 Training Activities

There are 4 components to the training provided by the SCBB program, coursework, journal club,  seminars, and research rotations.

Coursework for the SCBB program is designed in a flexible and individualized manner to accommodate both the different research interests and the different educational backgrounds of students.   Your course of study is designed in consultation with the Associate Director for Graduate Studies in order to maximize your intellectual and scientific development. There are 3 required courses for all students:

 

  • BIMS 503   Macromolecular Structure and Function
  • BIOP 506   Molecular Physiology: From Molecular Machines to Biological Information Processing

In addition, one of the following two courses is also required:

  • BIMS 512     Cell Structure and Function
  • BIMS 811      Gene Structure, Expression & Regulation
In addition, there are a number of advanced courses, a subset of which will be recommended for each student depending on his/her chosen research focus:
  • BIMS 503    Experimental Approaches in Molecular Biophysics
  • CHEM 522   Thermodynamics and Kinetics
  • BIOP 812     Proteins: X-ray Diffraction and Crystal Chemistry
  • BIOP 800      Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Macromolecules
  • PHY 813       Structure and Function of Biological Membranes
  • BIOC 508    Computer Analysis of DNA Protein Sequences
  • BIMS 832    General Physiology

It is critical for the students’ development to be exposed to high-quality science outside their own research area and to develop skills for critically assessing their own work and that of others. In order to facilitate this, the SCBB Program runs a weekly journal club in which older students present their research and younger students present work from the literature. In addition, the SCBB Program runs a weekly seminar series  to provide an opportunity for students to hear about exciting new research and to interact with the speaker.

SCBB students are required to complete three research rotations during their first year. These rotations provide an opportunity for students to develop their technical skills and be exposed to three different areas of research during the first year. These experiences are meant to assist in selection of a Ph.D. mentor. Selection of rotation advisors is carried out in consultation with the Associate Director for Graduate Studies. After completion of the first year, students will select a mentor in whose lab they will conduct their Ph.D. studies.  

Participating Graduate Programs

Students are members of, and are advised by, the SCBB Program for the first year.    After completion of the first year, students select a mentor and a specific training program (Biophysics, Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics ,  Chemistry,  Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics , Pharmacology, Biology, Microbiology, Biomedical Engineering , or  Cell Biology ) where they complete their graduate training and thesis research.   This administrative structure serves to highlight that Structural & Computational Biology and Biophysics informs and illuminates many areas of the modern biological sciences.