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Dec 22, 2024
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2015-2016 Graduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]
Biochemistry (Ph.D.)
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Program Faculty and Contact Information
Program Information
The Department’s biochemistry faculty research programs focus on the chemistry and biochemistry of cell membranes, multi-scale modeling of signal transduction in macromolecular assemblies, development of FRET imaging technologies to measure the location and dynamics of direct protein interactions, biophysical chemistry underlying cell-surface control of leukocyte function, structural biology, proteomics, protein function, the cellular biochemistry of disease and cancer, and photo-biochemistry.
This program is unique in that a student can chose their dissertation research over a broad range of research projects available in the Department or in the laboratories of participating program faculty at Sanford Research and the Avera Research Institute in Sioux Falls, SD. The partnerships with the biomedical research programs at Sanford Research and the Avera Research Institute also provide a unique opportunity for research that translation basic science into clinical treatments that directly impact patient treatment. For additional information about these options student should review the descriptions of current faculty research interests at chembiochem.sdatete.edu.
Research Instrumentation
The Department is equipped with modern instrumentation core facilities to support its research program. These facilities are readily available to graduate students for “hands-on” experience after successfully completing a short training course.
- NMR core facility includes 600, 400, and 200 MHz solution FT-NMR spectrometers and 400, 300, 100 MHz wide-bore solid-state NMR spectrometers
- Core campus mass spectrometry facility consists of a 7T ESI FTMS; a high-resolution magnetic sector mass spectrometer with EI and CI sources and GC, HPLC, pyrolysis and fast-atom bombardment capabilities, a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer; a Eksigent/Thermo LTQ ESI LC-MS/SM dedicated to “bottom-up” proteomics studies and an Applied Biosystems SCIEX QTRAP ESI LC-MS/MS dedicated to small molecule and metablomics characterizations; and a Varian GCMS.
- Core campus proteomics facility has all the necessary equipment to prepare samples for mass-spectrometry-based proteomics characterizations.
- Optical Spectroscopy lab containing 2 FT-IR spectrometer with far-IR capabilities; time-resolved spectrofluorometer; atomic absorption and diode-array UV-Vis spectrophotometers.
- Powder x-ray diffractometer
- The Department is home to multiple state of the art fluorescence microscopes for the analysis of biochemical reactions involving purified molecules and within living cells. These instruments including spinning disk confocal microscope, total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, targeted photo-bleaching, instrumentation of for ensemble and single molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) experiments and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, and optogenetics capabilities. The department also houses cell/tissue culture facilities, large- and small-scale protein purification equipment and biophysical characterization capabilities including an Isothermal Titration Calorimetry. Campus computer facilities (including a Beowulf supercomputer cluster) are readily available. Individual groups maintain their own system for molecular modeling, word processing or data manipulation. Direct, on-line computer access to chemical and biochemical literature databases such as Chemical Abstracts and Web of Science are provided by the Department.
- In addition to these departmental resources, individual research groups also maintained instrumentation including supercritical fluid chromatography and extraction, for FRET microscopy, laser light scattering, and computational chemistry. Campus super-computer facilities and on-line computer access to Web of Science, Chemical Abstracts Services and other on-line information sources are readily available.
Facilities
The Department is housed in the newly constructed Avera Health Science Center South and newly renovated Avera Health and Science Center North. Combined, these connected facilities provide 100,000 sq. ft. of research and instructional space.
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Available Options for Graduate Degrees
Doctor of Philosophy |
60 Credit Plan |
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90 Credit Plan |
Core Requirements
The core coursework (16 credits of coursework and 2 credits of laboratory rotations) covering basic concepts in biochemistry and research ethics provides disciplinary breadth and a foundation for a student’s plan of study. To support the interdisciplinary nature of the planned dissertation research project and provide depth in a subspecialty within the field 9 credits of elective coursework are chosen by the student and their graduate advisory. The remaining credits in the 60-90 credit plan of study are dissertation research. Students must develop their program of study in consultation with their graduate research advisor and graduate advisory committee during the first semester in residence.
Required:
Electives: 9
Courses may be selected from STEM disciplines (e.g. BIOL, BIOS, CHEM, MATH, or STAT prefixes)
For students entering with a master’s degree, the curriculum will consist of 60 credits total. The student’s graduate advisory committee will assess the academic transcripts and approve a combination of coursework and dissertation credit that ensures that the all degree requirements are met.
Candidacy Examinations
The Department uses a cumulative examination process as its written candidacy (comprehensive) examination for the doctorate in Chemistry or Biochemistry. A student must pass a total of 5 cumulative examinations in at least 3 subdisciplines over a period of two calendar years (24 possible tests). The oral candidacy (comprehensive) exam takes place within 6 months of completion of the cumulative exams. For this examination students are required to develop an original research proposal, written and defend it orally. In order to successfully defend such a proposal the student must be able to integrate their course work into a research environment, and its defense reflects that expectation.
Additional Admission Requirements
International students wishing to be considered for an assistantship should submit a complete application no later than March 15 for Fall admission and October 1 for Spring admission.
GRE: General and subject score are recommended but not required
TOEFL: Score of 580 paper-based, 92-93 Internet-based
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