Biochemistry: Biomolecules, Methods, and Mechanisms
Enhance your scientific thinking and data analysis skills with this in-depth adventure through biochemistry.
Biochemistry: Biomolecules, Methods, and Mechanisms
Enhance your scientific thinking and data analysis skills with this in-depth adventure through biochemistry.
Do you want to prepare for medical school, study a STEM field, become a research scientist, or transition to a career in the booming biotechnology industry? Or maybe you just want to understand the chemical reactions that govern life itself. Join Professor Yaffe, an MIT professor and practicing surgeon, as he guides you through the science that inspires countless doctors, researchers, and students alike.
What you'll learn
- How to apply the scientific method to pursue research questions.
- How to analyze protein purification schemes.
- How scientists determine the structure of a protein.
- How structure, allostery, and the Bohr effect influence hemoglobin function.
- How to interpret graphs, plot behaviors, and calculate constants related to enzyme function.
- How pumps, transporters, and channels differ to regulate molecule transfer across membranes.
- How G proteins play a key role in signaling.
Prerequisites
Undergraduate introductory biology (biochemistry and molecular biology);
Undergraduate introductory chemistry;
Undergraduate organic chemistry I (chemical structures and biological mechanisms)
Meet your instructors
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David H. Koch Professor of Science; Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering; Director, MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine; Director, KI Clinical Investigator Program -
Director of Blended and Online Initiatives; Lecturer, Department of Biology -
Instructor of Blended and Online Initiatives, Department of Biology -
Instructor, Department of Biology
Michael Yaffe
Michael Yaffe
David H. Koch Professor of Science; Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering; Director, MIT Center for Precision Cancer Medicine; Director, KI Clinical Investigator Program
Michael B. Yaffe studies the chain of reactions that controls a cell’s response to stress, cell injury, and DNA damage. He also is an attending surgeon at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School. He completed a residency in General Surgery, a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care, Burns and Trauma at Harvard Medical School, and post-doctoral training in Signal Transduction with Lew Cantley in Cell Biology at Harvard. He received his B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University, and his M.D. in 1989 and Ph.D. degree in 1987 from Case Western Reserve University in Biophysical Chemistry.
Mary Ellen Wiltrout
Mary Ellen Wiltrout
Director of Blended and Online Initiatives; Lecturer, Department of Biology
Mary Ellen earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Biology at MIT in 2009 and returned in 2013 to create 7.00x Introduction to Biology with Professor Eric Lander. Mary Ellen oversees the execution and evolution of MIT Department of Biology’s digital learning strategy. The group develops digital learning content for MIT students, advises evidence-based teaching practices, creates MITx courses, and studies the impact of design on learner engagement in their research. In 2016, Mary Ellen earned the MIT Infinite Mile Award. In 2019, their work received a silver award at the Reimagine Education science of learning category.
Darcy Gordon
Darcy Gordon
Instructor of Blended and Online Initiatives, Department of Biology
As a core member of the MITx Biology course development team, Darcy blends her pedagogical and scientific expertise to foster authentic learning experiences online, including the creation of visual resources and assessments. Previously, she completed her Ph.D. in the Traniello lab studying the evolutionary neurobiology of social insects, and additionally developed curricula for outreach programs while at Boston University.
Monika Avello
Monika Avello
Instructor, Department of Biology
As a former MITx Digital Learning Fellow, Monika (Moni) Avello focused on the development of assessments. She completed her Ph.D. in the Grossman lab at MIT and is currently an Introductory Biology Instructor.