The program was designed to be completed in two years assuming a full time dedication by the student.
The first stage involves courses to be taken from September to April. The goal of these courses is to provide a general education in Biochemistry. The second stage involves lab courses that will be taken from May to June and the goal of this stage is to learn the different experimental approaches used in the department in order for students to be able to make an informed decision on selecting the lab to carry out the thesis work. The third stage goes from July to August's next year and involves carrying out the thesis work in the lab selected by the student. Once the thesis work is approved by thesis advisor and the advisory committee, the student will proceed to write his thesis to defend it once it has been approved.
Courses are divided in four different modules, which involve subjects that are either related or serial. These four modules are: I Introduction to Biochemistry, II Introduction to Biophysics, III Molecular Biochemistry and IV Cell Transduction.
Each module has the following courses and time table:
I. Introduction to Biochemistry
i. Biochemistry
(7 weeks, ago-sep)
ii. Structure and function of nucleic acids and proteins
(5 weeks, sep-oct)
iii. Cell Biochemistry
(3 weeks, nov)
II. Introduction to Biophysics
i. Applied Mathematics in Biochemistry
(6 weeks, aug-sep)
ii. Physical chemistry
(6 weeks, sep-oct)
iii. Principles of mass transport and enzyme kinetics
(3 weeks, nov-dec)
III. Molecular Biochemistry
i. Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics
(4 weeks, mar)
IV. Cell Transduction
i. Energy Transduction
(4 weeks, jan)
ii. Signal Transduction
(4 weeks, feb)
iii. Dynamics of cell membrane components
(4 weeks, mar)
Professors coordinating the courses are:
Biochemistry
Coordinator: Dr. J. V. Calderón Salinas
Structure and function of nucleic acids and proteins
Coordinator: Dra. A. Rueda y Sánchez de la Vega
Mathematics applied to Biochemistry
Coordinator: Dr. A. Guerrero Hernández
Physical chemistry
Coordinator: Dra. M. S. Fernández Pacheco
Bases of solute transport and enzyme kinetics
Coordinator: Dr. G. Ávila Flores
Cell Biochemistry
Coordinator: Dr. R. Mondragón Flores
Dynamic of cell membrane components
Coordinator: Dr. J. Cerbón Solórzano
Signal Transduction
Coordinator: Dr. J. A. Olivares Reyes
Energy Transduction
Coordinator: Dr. C. Gómez Lojero
Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics
Coordinator: Dr. J. Valdés Flores
Hand-on lab courses provide initial training for students to carry out experiments, they also provide a view of different experimental approaches, and also allow students to get familiar with the different areas of research cultivated in the Department. All these information should give students enough grounds to make their decision on which laboratory to carry out their thesis work. Finally, they allow to strengthen specific concepts and knowledge of selected topics in biochemistry
These hands-on lab courses are proposed by principal investigators in two-week blocks. Investigators must indicate at least one date and may choose to offer the same course in several blocks. Students must choose four courses, one per block, and they cannot repeat a course with the same investigator (these courses will be offered for 8 weeks, from May to June).
Biochemistry department's lab courses are:
Molecular selfassociation and enzyme activity at membrane interfaces
Dra. Marta S. Fernández Pacheco.
Biochemical Bases of Synaptic Transmission
Dr. José Antonio G. Arias Montaño.
Cell Biology of intracellular parasites
Dr. Ricardo Mondragón Flores.
Biochemistry and Biophysics of Multiprotein Complexes
Dr. Edgar Morales Ríos.
Cardiovascular Biochemistry and Physiology
Dra. Angélica Rueda y Sánchez de la Vega.
Intracellular calcium and cell function
Dr. Agustín Guerrero Hernández.
Dynamics of cell membrane lipids
Dr. Jorge Cerbón Solórzano.
Photosynthesis in Arthrospira (Spirulina)
Dr. Carlos Gómez Lojero.
Biochemical defenses against toxic substances
Dr. J. Víctor Calderón Salinas.
Excitation-contraction coupling mechanisms
Dr. Guillermo Ávila Flores.
Hormone Signal Transduction Mechanisms
Dr. J. Alberto Olivares Reyes.
Regulation of DNA Transcription and Processing of Pre-mRNA
Dr. Jesús Valdés Flores.
In july, students should have alredy chosen a lab to carry out their thesis lab work, once the principal investigator accept the student they should proceed to inform academic coordinator of the thesis title and also of the advisory committee. Faculty should approve the advisory committee, and once this is done, the student should present the thesis project in october. The next semester, the student should present a second seminar with all the data obtained to that time point. Seminars will take one hour for presentation and comments from the advisory committee and attendance. The advisory committee should whether the work is enough to earn the M.Sc degree or the final experiments to reach this point.