Achievement

MILES IGERT trainees Joe Allen and Justin Lemkul, under the guidance of Professor David Bevan from the department of Biochemistry, successfully developed a course in practical aspects of molecular modeling intended for senior-level undergraduate and graduate students. Joe and Justin designed the course as part of their MILES teaching internship. The course was first offered in the fall 2009, and it provided details of modeling techniques, with special emphasis on practical applications. Other topics of the class included visualization, homology, modeling, and structural evaluation, docking, and molecular dynamics. Both Joe and Justin use modeling techniques in their research, and teaching these techniques will broaden their knowledge of theory and practice of molecular modeling. This class resulted in a regular course now being offered through the Biochemistry department for students interested in learning these techniques.