Biochemistry & Structural Biology

Grad Additional Info

Theme Director	Thomas Ryan, PhD
Email	tryan@uab.edu
Theme Co-Director	Chad Petit, PhD
Email	cpetit@uab.edu

Theme Information

Biochemistry & Structural Biology (BSB) is one of eight interdisciplinary PhD themes within Graduate Biomedical Sciences (GBS). Students select a theme upon application but have access to faculty and courses from across GBS, allowing for flexibility in both research and academics.

BSB provides training opportunities in a multitude of contemporary areas of basic and translational research. Our goal is to prepare our students for independent research careers in academic research institutions and industry. Our students have access to a large pool of mentors from across UAB with expertise in varied research areas, specializing in:

• Understanding the chemistry of life (biochemistry),
• A mechanistic understanding of life at the molecular level (structural biology), and
• The study of self-renewal, differentiation, and regeneration of cells (stem cell biology).

---

Admissions 

Prospective students should visit the GBS Admissions page for information on admissions requirements, application deadlines, and how to apply.

---

Financial Support

All students accepted into GBS programs receive a competitive annual stipend and fully paid tuition and fees. Single coverage health insurance is also provided at no cost to the student. Please reference the GBS Financial Support page for further information.

---

Curriculum

Requirements		Hours
Lab Rotations		3
GBS 795	Lab Rotation 1
GBS 796	Lab Rotation 2
GBS 797	Lab Rotation 3
Core Courses		7
GBS 701	Core Concepts in Research: Critical Thinking & Error Analysis
GBS 707	Basic Biochemistry and Metabolism
GBS 708	Basic Genetics and Molecular Biology
GBS 709	Basic Biological Organization
Module Courses 1		8
Theme Required Courses		8
GBSC 742	GBS Student Theme Meeting Course 2
GBS Required Courses		49
GRD 717	Principles of Scientific Integrity
Grant-Writing/Scientific Communication 3
Biostatistics 4
Journal Clubs 5
Three Advanced Courses 6
Research 7
Total Hours		75

1	Four modular courses selected from the following: GBS 710, GBS 712, GBS 714, GBS 720, GBS 723, GBS 724, GBS 740A, GBS 740B, GBS 741, GBS 744, GBS 750, GBS 751, GBS 752, GBS 753, GBS 760, GBS 762, GBS 763, GBS 764, GBS 769, GBS 770, GBS 774, GBS 781, GBS 782, GBS 784, GBSC 718, GBSC 727, GBSC 729, GBSC 744, GBSC 747?
2	Required each fall and spring semester, 2nd year until graduation
3	Course selected from the following: GBS 716, GBS 725 , GBSC 726, GRD 709
4	Course selected from the following: GRD 770, BST 611, BST 612, BY 755, PY 716
5	Required each fall and spring semester, 2nd year until graduation. Courses selected from the following: GBS 736, GBS 746J, GBS 747J, GBS 756, GBS 766, GBS 776, GBS 786J, GBS 793, GBSC 700, GBSC 713, GBSC 720, INFO 673, INFO 793
6	Three advanced courses selected from the following: GBS 700, GBS 702, GBS 715, GBS 718, GBS 726, GBS 727, GBS 729, GBS 739, GBS 742, GBS 749, GBS 754, GBS 757, GBS 758, GBS 765, GBS 775, GBS 778, GBS 779, GBS 783, GBSC 705, GBSC 706, GBSC 707, GBSC 709, GBSC 710, GBSC 712, GBSC 714 GBSC 715, GBSC 717, GBSC 721, GBSC 724, GBSC 725, GBSC 728, GBSC 730, GBSC 732 GBSC 734, GBSC 735, GBSC 736, GBSC 740, GBSC 741, GBSC 743, GBSC 745, GBSC 746, GBSC 748, BME 723, BME 770, BME 772, BME 780, INFO 701, INFO 702, INFO 703, INFO 704, INFO 751, INFO 762, INFO 796, INFO 797 or other approved course.
7	Student must complete 24 hours total of dissertation research, GBS 799.

---

Theme Faculty

The faculty listing for the Biochemistry and Structural Biology theme is located here. 

---

For further information, please reference the GBS website.