School of Crystallography,
Birkbeck, University of London
Background
The School of Crystallography at Birkbeck
College is a centre of research excellence and
graduate teaching in structural biology,
bioinformatics and allied disciplines.
The School was a pioneer in Internet-based
distance education, offering Masters level
structural biology courses this way since 1995 and
a full MSc programme since 2001.
Distance Learning Courses Offered
The School offers the following courses as part of
the modular MSc programme in Structural
Molecular Biology:
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Principles of Protein Structure
Techniques in Structural Molecular
Biology
Protein Crystallography
Students may register for a Postgraduate
Certificate (a single course), a Diploma (two
courses) or a full MSc (two courses plus project
work). Students on the Diploma or MSc courses
take Principles of Protein Structure followed by
one of the other two courses. Most students take
two years to complete the MSc.
Locations of Six Commonwealth Scholars at
Birkbeck (awarded for 2007-8)
DL4D in Structural Biology at Birkbeck
Studying the structures of proteins from human and
animal pathogens is an important step towards
understanding infection and developing vaccines and
drugs. Training scientists based in the developing
world in structural molecular biology techniques is an
important aspect of capacity building.
We have been awarded six Commonwealth
Scholarships for the academic year 2007-8, and eight
for 2008-9, providing full fees for the MSc for
students from Commonwealth countries in the Global
South. We have introduced examples of protein
structures that are targets for current and potential
drugs against infectious diseases endemic in tropical
countries.
We have research links with Southern laboratories,
particularly in Kenya and South Africa. Professor
David Moss from the School of Crystallography has
co-supervised a PhD student with our collaborators at
the International Livestock Research Institute in
Nairobi, Kenya.
Structure of HIV protease, one of the main
targets of anti-retroviral drugs
Website:
http://www.cryst.bbk.ac.uk/mscstructuralbiology.
html
Contact: c.sansom@mail.cryst.bbk.ac.uk