Last updated: July 19, 2010 @ 10:16AM

Biochemistry

This program is offered through the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry

Co-ordinators
Douglas Bruce, Department of Biological Sciences
Heather Gordon, Department of Chemistry

General Information

Administrative Assistant
Caroline Barrow

905-688-5550, extension 3388
Mackenzie Chown F234
brocku.ca/biochemistry

Biochemistry describes the structure, organization and function of living systems in molecular terms. The goals of biochemistry are to identify the chemical components and molecules (such as DNA, RNA and protein) of living cells and to determine the function of each component, how components interact, how they are integrated into biological systems, and how these components affect the overall functions of cells and living systems. The Biochemistry Program is a broadly based program designed to provide the student with a thorough understanding of living systems from a molecular perspective. The program is run jointly by the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry.

The Biochemistry Co-op program combines academic and work terms over a five-year period. Students spend two years in an academic setting studying the fundamentals of Biochemistry prior to their first work placement. Successful completion of courses in the core areas of Biochemistry provides the necessary academic background for the work experience. In addition to the current fees for courses in academic study terms, Biochemistry Co-op students are assessed an administrative fee for each work term (see the Schedule of Fees).

Eligibility to continue in the Biochemistry Co-op program is based on the student's major and non-major averages. A student with a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent non-major average may continue. A student with a major average lower than 70 percent will not be permitted to continue in the Biochemistry Co-op program, but may continue in the non co-op Biochemistry stream. If a student subsequently raises his/her major average to 70 percent, the student may be re-admitted only if approved by the Co-op Admissions Committee. For further information, see the Co-op Programs section of the Calendar, and contact the Departments of Biological Sciences or Chemistry.

The Biochemistry Co-op program designation will be awarded to those students who have honours standing and who have successfully completed a minimum of twelve months of Co-op work experience.

Program Notes
  1. Students preparing for professional studies in health sciences should note that many such programs require completion of a laboratory physics course i.e., one credit from PHYS 1P91, 1P92, 1P93.
  2. CHEM 3P40 is strongly recommended for most projects in CHEM 4F90, 4F91 and should be taken in year 3 by students intending to proceed to a year 4 thesis in CHEM.
  3. CHEM 4P27 is strongly recommended when offered.
  4. In 20 credit degree programs a maximum of eight credits may be numbered 1(alpha)00 to 1(alpha)99; at least three credits must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above; at least three credits must be numbered 3(alpha)90 or above; and the remaining credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above.
    In 15 credit degree programs a maximum of eight credits may be numbered 1(alpha)00 to 1(alpha)99; at least three credits must be numbered 2(alpha)90; and the remaining credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above.

Honours Program

Year 1
·   BIOL 1F90
·   CHEM 1F92
·   MATH 1P05 and 1P06 (recommended), or MATH 1P97 and 1P98
·   PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended; see program note 1)
·   one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92, 1P93 (recommended)
·   one Humanities context credit or one Social Sciences context credit

Year 2
·   BIOL 2F01
·   one credit from BIOL 2P92, 2P94, 2P96, 2P98
·   CHEM 2P12 or 2P63
·   CHEM 2P20, 2P21 and 2P42
·   the Humanities context credit or Social Sciences context credit not taken in year 1

Year 3
·   BCHM 3P01 and 3P02
·   BIOL 3P50
·   one of BCHM 3P25, BIOL 3P51, 3P91
·   CHEM 2P12 or 2P63 (not taken in year 2)
·   CHEM 2P32, 3P20 and 3P21
·   one-half CHEM credit numbered 2(alpha)90 to 3(alpha)99 (see program note 2)
·   one-half elective credit

Year 4
·   BIOL 4F90 and 4F91 or CHEM 4F90 and 4F91
·   one BCHM credit numbered 3(alpha)90 to 4(alpha)99
·   one CHEM credit numbered 3(alpha)90 or above (see program note 3)
·   one elective credit

Biochemistry Co-op (Honours only)

Students admitted to the Co-op program must follow an approved program pattern. The most common pattern is listed below. For other approved patterns, consult the Co-op Office.

Year 1
·   BIOL 1F90
·   CHEM 1F92
·   MATH 1P05 and 1P06, or MATH 1P97 and 1P98
·   PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended; see program note 1)
·   one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92, 1P93 (recommended)
·   one Humanities context credit or Social Sciences context credit

Year 2
·   BIOL 2F01
·   one credit from BIOL 2P92, 2P96 and 2P98
·   CHEM 2P12, 2P20, 2P21 and 2P63
·   SCIE 0N90
·   the Humanities context credit or Social Sciences context credit not taken in year 1

Spring/Summer Sessions:
·   BCHM 0N01 and 2C01

Year 3
Fall Term:
·   BCHM 3P01
·   one of BCHM 3P25, BIOL 3P51, 3P91
·   CHEM 2P42 and 3P20
·   one-half CHEM credit numbered 2(alpha)90 to 3(alpha)99 (see program note 2)

Winter Term:
·   BCHM 0N02 and 2C02

Year 4
Fall Term:
·   BCHM 0N03 and 2C03

Winter Term:
·   BIOL 3P50
·   BCHM 3P02
·   CHEM 2P32 and 3P21
·   one-half elective credit

Year 5
·   BIOL 4F90 and 4F91 or CHEM 4F90 and 4F91
·   one BCHM credit numbered 3(alpha)90 to 4(alpha)99
·   one CHEM credit numbered 3(alpha)90 or above (see program note 3)
·   one elective credit

Pass Program

Satisfactory completion of the first three years of the Honours program entitles a student to apply for a Pass degree.

Course Descriptions

Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable term timetable for details.

# Indicates a cross-listed course
* Indicates a primary offering of a cross-listed course

Prerequisites and Restrictions

Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.

BIOCHEMISTRY COURSES

BCHM 3P01
Metabolic Biochemistry
Biochemical energetics, kinetic regulation of metabolic pathways. Carbon metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins; nitrogen metabolism.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week; labs, 3 hours per week for six weeks.
Restriction: students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 2F01 and CHEM 2P20 or permission of the instructor.

BCHM 3P02
Protein Structure and Function
Relationships between protein structure and function. Topics include enzyme kinetics, protein engineering, genomics, and proteomics.
Lectures, seminar, simulations, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum of 8.0 overall credits.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 2F01.

BCHM 3P25
Wine Chemistry
(also offered as OEVI 3P25)
Sugars, acids, nitrogenous compounds in grape juice; antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of sulphur dioxide; must adjustments; biochemistry of alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation; bitartrate and protein stability; fining agents; wine aging and phenolic oxidation. Laboratories include juice/wine chemical analysis, fermentation and stability tests.
Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.
Restriction: open to BCHM, BIOL (single or combined), BTEB, BTEC, and OEVI majors and OEVI certificate students or permission of the instructor.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 2F01, CHEM 2P20 and 2P42.
Note: materials fee required. Students must be a minimum of 18 years of age. It is strongly recommended that students take BCHM 3P01 prior to or concurrent with OEVI (BCHM) 3P25.

BCHM 4P03
Current Topics in Photobiology
(also offered as BIOL 4P03)
The interaction of light with biological molecules. Effects of ultraviolet radiation, photosynthesis, vision and photoregulation of genes and proteins.
Lectures, seminar, lab, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to BCHM, BIOL (single or combined), BIOL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), BMED, BTEC, NEUR, OEVI majors and BIOL minors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): one-half BCHM credit numbered 3(alpha)00 to 3(alpha)99 or permission of the instructor.

BCHM 4P06
Bioinformatics
(also offered as BIOL 4P06 and BTEC 4P06)
Sequence analysis, phylogeny, databases and tools, functional genomics, genome project basic bioinformatics programming.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 3P50 or 3P51.
Note: BIOL 3P80, BCHM 3P02 and MATH 1P98 are recommended.

BCHM 4P08
Topics in Plant and Microbial Biotechnology
(also offered as BIOL 4P08 and BTEC 4P08)
Characterization of biochemical processes and structures. Genetic modification of such processes and structures through molecular manipulation to meet scientific and/or societal needs. Examples include yeast and microbial enzymes or enzyme systems as well as crop proteins and enzymes.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to BCHM, BIOL (single or combined), BIOL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), BMED, BTEB, BTEC, NEUR, OEVI majors and BIOL minors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): one of BCHM 3P01, 3P02, BIOL 3P50, CHEM 3P93 (3P63) or permission of the instructor

BCHM 4P11
Theory of Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
(also offered as BIOL 4P11 and BTEC 4P11)
Theory behind basic and some advanced techniques in nucleic acid and protein manipulations and analysis.
Lectures/seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to BCHM, BIOL (single or combined), BIOL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), BMED, BTEB, BTEC, NEUR, OEVI majors and BIOL minors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have a minimum of 14.0 overalls credits or approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 2F01.

BCHM 4P21
Mutagenesis in Disease and Biotechnology
(also offered as BIOL 4P21 and BTEC 4P21)
Exploration of the various mechanisms of mutagenesis of the genetic material, how they contribute to disease, and how they can be adapted to produce new biomolecules.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to BCHM, BIOL (single or combined), BIOL (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), BTEB, BMED, BTEC, NEUR, OEVI majors and BIOL minors until date specified in Registration guide. Students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 3P50 or BCHM 3P02.

BCHM 4P41
Human Molecular Genetics
(also offered as BIOL 4P41, BTEC 4P41 and CHSC 4P41)
Principles of human genetics, human genome organization, comparative genomics, forensic and cancer genetics, genome sequencing, personal genomics.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: students must have a minimum of 14.0 overall credits or approval to year 4 (honours).
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 3P50 or 3P51.

BCHM 4P67
Biophysical Techniques
(also offered as BTEC 4P67 and CHEM 4P67)
Modern instrumental methods of biotechnology emphasizing under-standing theory. Development of newer technologies which utilize biological components. Topics include optical, X-ray and NMR techniques, separation techniques, hybridization assays, immunoassays, biosensors and mass spectral techniques; membrane chemistry.
Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite(s): CHEM 2P21 and 2P63 or permission of the instructor.

CO-OP COURSES

BCHM 0N01
Work Placement 1
First Co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.

BCHM 0N02
Work Placement II
Second Co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.

BCHM 0N03
Work Placement III
Third Co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.

BCHM 0N04
Work Placement IV
Optional Co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.

BCHM 0N05
Work Placement V
Optional Co-op work placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.

BCHM 2C01
Co-op Reflective Learning and Integration I
Provide student with the opportunity to apply what they've learned in their academic studies through career-oriented work experiences at employer sites.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.
Prerequisite(s): SCIE 0N90.
Corequisite(s): BCHM 0N01.
Note: students will be required to prepare learning objectives, participate in a site visit, write a work term report and receive a successful work term performance evaluation.

BCHM 2C02
Co-op Reflective Learning and Integration II
Provide students with the opportunity to apply what they've learned in their academic studies through career-oriented work experiences at employer sites.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.
Prerequisite(s): SCIE 0N90.
Corequisite(s): BCHM 0N02.
Note: students will be required to prepare learning objectives, participate in a site visit, write a work term report and receive a successful work term performance evaluation.

BCHM 2C03
Co-op Reflective Learning and Integration III
Provide student with the opportunity to apply what they've learned in their academic studies through career-oriented work experiences at employer sites.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.
Prerequisite(s): SCIE 0N90.
Corequisite(s): BCHM 0N03.
Note: students will be required to prepare learning objectives, participate in a site visit, write a work term report and receive a successful work term performance evaluation.

BCHM 2C04
Co-op Reflective Learning and Integration IV
Provide student with the opportunity to apply what they've learned in their academic studies through career-oriented work experiences at employer sites.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.
Prerequisite(s): SCIE 0N90.
Corequisite(s): BCHM 0N04.
Note: students will be required to prepare learning objectives, participate in a site visit, write a work term report and receive a successful work term performance evaluation.

BCHM 2C05
Co-op Reflective Learning and Integration V
Provide student with the opportunity to apply what they've learned in their academic studies through career-oriented work experiences at employer sites.
Restriction: open to BCHM Co-op students.
Prerequisite(s): SCIE 0N90.
Corequisite(s): BCHM 0N05.
Note: students will be required to prepare learning objectives, participate in a site visit, write a work term report and receive a successful work term performance evaluation.