Purpose: With the development of large scale biomedical projects, including research in Genome Sequencing, Structural Genomics, Functional Proteomics, and related large scale technologies, the biomedical research community has been inundated with information that must be organized and converted into knowledge. Organization and analysis of this information requires the effective cross-disciplinary communication and input of mathematicians, computer scientists and biomedical researchers.

The Graduate Track in Structural and Computational Biophysics (SCB) is designed to meet this need for next generation scientists and educators with broad, interdisciplinary training in the quantitative biological, biochemical, and biomedical sciences. Students who successfully complete the SCB Track and degree requirements will receive a certificate in Structural and Computational Biophysics, as well as the degree in the program in which they matriculate. The Track is implemented by collaboration among the programs of Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and Physics at Wake Forest University.

Training Opportunities: The SCB track is designed to prepare students for careers in academic research, teaching, biotechnology, or the pharmaceutical industry. Students can obtain a PhD in Biology, Physics, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, or Chemistry, or a M.S. degree in Computer Science or Mathematics. As part of the training program students receive customized coursework designed for researchers at the interface of Biophysics, Structural Biology, Mathematics, Biology, and Computer Science. Students also interact with a diverse and interdisciplinary team of investigators to carry out cutting edge research. Students are supported with stipends, tuition costs, and a laptop computer. Exceptionally qualified students have the opportunity to be supported through the NIH- T32 training grant.

Admission to the WFU Graduate School: Admission to a graduate program is made through the WFU Graduate School to one of the home programs (currently: Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, or Mathematics). You are encouraged to express, at the time of application, your interest in being considered for the "SCB Track" at the beginning of your "Statement of Interest". Following matriculation and at least one semester of coursework in a participating program apply for admission to the SCB Graduate Track.

The WFU Graduate School application can be submitted online through the Graduate School website.

Admission to the SCB Track: Students are normally considered for admission to the Interdisciplinary SCB Graduate Track after the first semester of their graduate studies. (Students in doctoral programs can also be admitted at later times.) Admission to the SCB track is initiated by meeting with the SCB department representative and submitting a letter of intent. Applicants will be considered for admission by the SCB Advisory Committee, who will then make recommendations to the Graduate School Dean for final approval. More details are provided in the Information sheet. Students are encouraged to contact the track advisor, Dr. Freddie Salsbury prior to admissions to the SCB program.

Rebecca Alexander (Chemistry): Mechanisms of protein synthesis, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases

Ed Allen (Mathematics): Combinatorial algorithms; computational algebraic modelling; computational systems biology

Ulin Bierbach (Chemistry): Organic and inorganic synthesis of novel drugs and drug conjugates

Keith Bonin (Physics): Molecular motors; total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy

Jim Curran (Biology): Molecular mechanisms of protein synthesis, translation, ribosome, tRNA, frameshifting, programmed frameshift, translational regulation

Larry Daniel (Biochemistry): Cell signaling in cancer, lipid-derived messengers, redox networks; modeling of signal transduction pathways

Jacque Fetrow (Physics and Computer Science): Protein structure/function; redox signaling; modeling of signal transduction pathways; cheminformatics; structure-based drug discovery

Martin Guthold (Physics): Nanobiotechnology , atomic force microscopy, fluorescence microscopy, single molecule biophysics, fibrin fibers, blood clotting, aptamers

Roy Hantgan (Biochemistry): Integrin structure and function; biomolecular/ biophysical interaction analysis

Tom Hollis (Biochemistry): X-ray crystallography, DNA repair proteins, protein DNA interactions, processing nucleic acids to prevent autoimmune disease.

George Holzwarth (Physics): Motor proteins, fast transport of vesicles

Dave Horita (Biochemistry): NMR spectroscopy, structural biology, protein-lipid interactions, protein-nucleic interactions

David John (Computer Science): Combinatorial algorithms; genetic algorithms; computational algebraic modeling; computational systems biology

Dany Kim-Shapiro (Physics): Spectroscopy, sickle cell hemoglobin, nitric oxide

Bruce King (Chemistry): Organic compounds as nitric oxide (NO) and nitroxyl (HNO) delivery agents, reagents to examine oxidative signaling pathways

Mark Lively (Biochemistry): Protein biochemistry

Todd Lowther (Biochemistry): Macromolecular X-ray crystallography, enzymatic reduction of cysteine sulfinic acid and methionine sulfoxide, thioesterase and glyoxylate/hydroxypyruvate reductase structure/function

Doug Lyles (Biochemistry): Virus structure and assembly; biophysics and genetics of viral protein function; signaling pathways in virus-infected cells

Jed Macosko (Physics): Mechanics of protein machines and motors; atomic force microscopy (AFM), single molecule fluorescence microscopy and video-enhanced differential interference contrast light microscopy (VE-DIC)

Linda McPhail (Biochemistry): Protein structure/function; lipid signaling pathways; mammalian NADPH oxidases; assembly of enzyme complexes

Gloria Muday (Biology): Transport protein structure/function, plasma membrane protein targeting, phosphorylation-dependent signaling pathways

Jim Norris (Mathematics): Statistical ecological modeling, statistical analysis of biological signaling pathways, systems biology

Derek Parsonage (Biochemistry): Structure-function studies of the FAD-dependent streptococcal NADH peroxidase and NADH oxidase; site-directed mutagenesis

Paul Pauca (Computer Science): Computational imaging systems, data mining, molecular dynamics simulation

Fred Perrino (Biochemistry): DNA replication, DNA repair, mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, cancer therapeutics, deoxyribonucleases, TREX genes, DNA polymerases, alkylation DNA damage, mechanistic and structural studies

Leslie Poole (Biochemistry): Enzymological and biophysical studies of antioxidant enzyme systems; flavoprotein structure and function; redox active cysteinyl centers; biological cysteine sulfenic acid formation

Larry Rudel (Biochemistry): Plasma lipoprotein metabolism and regulation of apolipoprotein gene expression; cholesterol transport and trafficking

Fred Salsbury (Physics): Molecular dynamics, protein dynamics and function, electrostatic and solvent models, structural modeling of proteins and protein-DNA complexes, electronic structure

Pete Santago (Computer Science): Pattern recognition, image analysis, signal processing, cheminformatics, QSAR prediction

Brian Tague (Biology): Plant molecular biology, epigenetics, transcription

Stan Thomas (Computer Science): Database systems, neural networks, computer science education

Alan Townsend (Biochemistry): Molecular pharmacology of anticancer drugs; mechanisms of resistance to cytotoxic and mutagenic agents; glutathione metabolizing enzymes; aldehyde dehydrogenases

William Turkett (Computer Science): Probabilistic reasoning, machine learning, bioinformatics, multiagent systems