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Biochemistry at Kutztown University

Department of Physical Sciences  Program in Chemistry

Program

Description

Course

Requirements

Facilities Internships, grad.

 school, & careers

Contact

information

What is Biochemistry?

Biochemistry seeks to understand life at the level of molecules and their chemistry.  Living processes are studied in terms of the chemical reactions that occur, the structure and conformational changes of molecules, and the binding interactions between molecules.     

Biochemistry asks questions such as: Hemoglobin

Glucose metabolic pathway

 

-how do cells convert sugar into energy and ATP?

-why is the protein hemoglobin good at carrying oxygen in the blood?

-how do some drugs work as enzyme inhibitors?

-how do DNA mutations result in altered proteins?

-how do plants convert light into chemical energy?

 

In addition to providing basic knowledge about life's chemistry, biochemistry is used in medicine (drug development), agriculture, and the food industry. 

What do biochemists do?

Biochemists follow careers in:

     Pharmaceutical industry (drug discovery)               Biotechnology             

     Basic Research (academic & government labs)         Medicine (medical school)

     Agriculture (plant and pesticide development)        Education (teaching)

     Food production and technology

 

 

Biochemistry Program at Kutztown University

The Biochemistry Program at Kutztown University is administered through the Chemistry Program in the Dept. of Physical Sciences.  A B.S. in Biochemistry and a minor in Biochemistry are both offered.  In addition to coursework, students are encouraged to participate in research projects.  This research can count as course credit (independent study) towards the Biochemistry major.

 

The core courses in Biochemistry include:

    General Chemistry I & II         Principles of Biology            Physics I & II

    Organic Chemistry I & II        Molecular Biology                 Calculus

    Biochemistry I & II                 Genetics

 

More specialized courses in Biochemistry can include:

    Protein structure      Physical Chemistry II      Medical Microbiology     Botany

 

    Course Requirements

The specific course requirements and a representative course plan are found in the links below:

B.S. Biochemistry Course Requirements (PDF file)     

B.S. Biochemistry example course plan

Minor in Biochemistry Course Requirements

 

Biochemistry Facilities at Kutztown University

Coursework and research in the Biochemistry utilizes facilities in both the Chemistry and Biology programs.  The Physical Sciences (Chemistry) and Biology Departments are housed together in the new Boehm Science Center building. 

The modern facilities include thermocycler for PCR (polymerase chain reaction), BioTek microplate reader (absorbance, fluorescence, & luminescence), micro and large capacity centrifuges, electrophoresis apparatus for proteins and DNA, Kodak digital gel imaging system, Cary UV-visible spectrophotometer, PTI spectrafluorimeter, Agilent HPLC, Bio-Rad Gene Pulser, and integrated chromatography systems for protein purification.

 

Contact Information

         Program Office                           Faculty Advisor

       Biochemistry Program                                Dr. Matthew Junker

       Department of Physical Sciences                Department of Physical Sciences

       Kutztown University                                  314 Boehm Science Center

       P.O. Box 730                                            

       Kutztown, PA  19530                                 Phone:  (610) 683-4199

                                                                                        Email:  junker@kutztown.edu

       Phone: (610) 683- 4447                             Faculty webpage       

 

Kutztown University         Department of Physical Sciences             Chemistry Program

Department of Biological Sciences

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

A member of the State System of Higher Education

Last Modified:  8/23/07 by M. Junker

junker@kutztown.edu

© 2007 Kutztown University of Pennsylvania