Chemical Biology is the application of chemistry to the understanding and utilization of biological phenomena. Chemical biology represents an approach to understanding biology through the underlying chemical interactions of biological macromolecules and provides students with the essential tools to reveal the logic of how biological systems operate as well as engineering changes in those systems. Stevens pioneered this field with establishing the first undergraduate program in chemical biology in the late 1970s.
By developing a chemical understanding of biological systems, chemical biologists can develop quantitative descriptions of complex biological phenomena, predict outcomes of biological systems, and contribute to the new field of synthetic biology wherein the chemistry of life is expanded using existing scientific principles that nature has not yet employed.
The Stevens Program in Chemical Biology combines a complete education in chemistry with additional mathematics and physics training to ensure a solid foundation in quantitative physical sciences and a set of biology courses that introduce the key elements of cellular, molecular, and physiological biology. Thus, the chemical biology program is effective in launching students onto careers in chemistry, biochemistry, biotechnology, forensic science or biology. This program also allows students to prepare for further training at the Masters or Ph.D. level in a wide array of programs in chemical or biological sciences as well as gain the training necessary for admission to professional schools in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or other health professions.
The Bachelor of Science in Chemical Biology is certified by the American Chemical Society if the students choose to take two additional courses in the degree program which includes courses in Inorganic Chemistry, which serves a general elective, and Professional Ethics.
Beyond the traditional chemical biology curriculum, two specialized tracks have been identified within the chemical biology program: Bioanalytical Chemistry and Bioinformatics.
Chemical Biology Curriculum
Term I
| CAL 103 | Writing and Communications Colloquium | 3 |
| CH 115 | General Chemistry I | 3 |
| CH 117 | General Chemistry Laboratory I | 1 |
| CH 189 | Seminar in Chemistry and Biology | 1 |
| CS 105 | Introduction to Scientific Computing | 3 |
| | | |
| MA 121 | Differential Calculus | 2 |
| MA 122 | Integral Calculus | 2 |
| | | |
| PEP 111 | Mechanics | 3 |
Term II
| BIO 281 | Biology and Biotechnology | 3 |
| CAL 105 | CAL Colloquium: Knowledge, Nature, Culture | 3 |
| CH 116 | General Chemistry II | 3 |
| CH 118 | General Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| | | |
| MA 123 | Series, Vectors, Functions and Surfaces | 2 |
| MA 124 | Calculus of Two Variables | 2 |
| | | |
| PEP 112 | Electricity and Magnetism | 3 |
Term III
| BIO 381 | Cell Biology | 4 |
| CH 243 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CH 245 | Organic Chemistry Lab I | 1 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| MA 221 | Differential Equations | 4 |
| PEP 221 | Physics Lab I for Scientists | 1 |
| | Physical Education | |
Term IV
| BIO 382 | Biological Systems | 4 |
| CH 301 | Professional Ethics in Chemical Research | 1 |
| CH 321 | Thermodynamics | 3 |
| CH 244 | Organic Chemistry II | 3 |
| CH 246 | Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | 1 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| PEP 222 | Physics Lab II for Scientists | 1 |
| | Physical Education | |
Term V
| BIO 484 | Molecular Genetics | 4 |
| BT 244 | Microeconomics | 3 |
| CH 362 | Instrumental Analysis I - Spectroscopy and Chromatography | 4 |
| CH 580 | Biochemistry I - Cellular Metabolism and Regulation | 3 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| | Physical Education | |
Term VI
| CH 398 | Research Proposals for Undergraduate Research | 1 |
| CH 461 | Instrumental Analysis II - Electrochemistry | 4 |
| CH 581 | Biochemistry II: Biomolecular Structure and Function | 3 |
| ENGR 243 | Probability and Statistics for Engineers | 3 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| PEP 242 | Modern Physics | 3 |
| | Physical Education | |
Term VII
Term VIII
| | | |
| CH 497 | Chemistry Project II | 3 |
| | Or | |
| CH 499 | Chemical Research II | 3 |
| | | |
| CH 582 | Biophysical Chemistry | 3 |
| G.E. | General Elective | 3 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| T.E. | Technical Elective | 3 |
Note:
CS 105: Students may choose CS 115, Intro. to Computer Science, in place of CS 105. The Bioinformatics Concentration requires CS 115 in place of CS 105.
BT 244: Students may choose BT 243, Macroeconomics, in place of BT 244.
General Elective: CH 412 required for ACS certification and only offerred in Spring semester.
Technical Elective: BIO 486 Immunology is suggested but available elective courses can be selected from CH or BIO 3XX, 4XX, and 5XX courses.
Humanities requirements can be found in the College of Arts and Letters, Humanities Requirements.
CH 421 can be taken in term V instead of term VII.
Bioinformatics Concentration
New and powerful techniques have been developed for determining the structures of biological molecules and manipulating biomolecular sequences which results in large amounts of data. Bioinformatics makes use of mathematical and computer science techniques to process this data so it can be used for further scientific advances. The Stevens Bioinformatics track is built on the foundations of chemical biology. Students elect CS115 as an introduction to computing in the freshman year in place of CS105. After the first two years in the Chemical Biology Program, the Bioinformatics student begins replacing certain electives with mathematics and computer science courses. The Stevens Bioinformatics track concentrates on giving students the ability to contribute to building the software and analytical infrastructure of the field.
Bioinformatics Concentration Curriculum
Term V
| CH 580 | Biochemistry I - Cellular Metabolism and Regulation | 3 |
| CH 362 | Instrumental Analysis I - Spectroscopy and Chromatography | 4 |
| CS 135 | Discrete Structures | 4 |
| CS 284 | Data Structures | 4 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
Term VI
| CH 398 | Research Proposals for Undergraduate Research | 1 |
| CH 461 | Instrumental Analysis II - Electrochemistry | 4 |
| CH 581 | Biochemistry II: Biomolecular Structure and Function | 3 |
| MA 222 | Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| PEP 242 | Modern Physics | 3 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
Term VII (21 Credits)
Term VIII
| BIO 368 | Fundamentals of Computational Biology | 3 |
| BIO 486 | Fundamental Immunology | 3 |
| CH 497 | Chemistry Project II | 3 |
| CH 582 | Biophysical Chemistry | 3 |
| CS 442 | Database Management Systems | 3 |
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
Note:
CS 284: CS 115 must have been chosen in Freshman year.
CH 497: Project/Research can either be a project (CH 496/497) or thesis (CH 498/499) and can be done either in the junior/senior or senior year.
Humanities requirements can be found in the College of Arts and Letters, Humanities Requirements.
CH 421 can be taken in term V instead of term VII.
Bioanalytical Chemistry Concentration
Biological systems are characterized by presence of large, complex biological molecules arrayed as collections of genes, transcripts, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and associated metabolites. Whereas a comprehensive chemical definition of biological systems was once beyond the realm of possibility, we can now envision the treatment of biological cells, tissues, and even complete organisms in terms of their chemical composition and interactions. Bioanalytical chemistry comprises the techniques and instrumentation necessary to separate and analyze the chemical composition of biological systems. Bioanalytical chemists have already made tremendous contributions in the areas of genomics, gene expression analysis, and disease gene/protein identification, as well as drug discovery and forensic science. In addition to further contributions in these fields, bioanalytical chemists will be increasingly needed to improve the practice of medicine through chemically- defined diseases states, and to protect our general public through surveillance for illicit drugs, explosives, and pathogens. The track in bioanalytical chemistry is built on the foundations of chemical biology. After the first two years in the regular chemical biology program, the bioanalytical chemistry student begins concentrating on analytical techniques relevant to biological macromolecules such as mass spectrometry, magnetic resonance imaging, flow cytometry, and genome and transcriptome array analysis.
Bioanalytical Chemistry Concentration Curriculum
Term V (21 Credits)
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| CH 560 | | 3 |
| CH 362 | Instrumental Analysis I - Spectroscopy and Chromatography | 4 |
| CH 580 | Biochemistry I - Cellular Metabolism and Regulation | 3 |
| CH 421 | Chemical Dynamics | 4 |
| BIO 484 | Molecular Genetics | 4 |
Term VI (17 Credits)
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| MA 222 | Probability and Statistics | 3 |
| PEP 242 | Modern Physics | 3 |
| CH 461 | Instrumental Analysis II - Electrochemistry | 4 |
| CH 581 | Biochemistry II: Biomolecular Structure and Function | 3 |
| CH 398 | Research Proposals for Undergraduate Research | 1 |
Term VII (16 Credits)
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| BT 244 | Microeconomics | 3 |
| CH 662 | Separation Methods in Analytical and Organic Chemistry | 3 |
| CH 666 | Modern Mass Spectrometry | 3 |
| | | |
| CH 496 | Chemistry Project I | 3 |
| | Or | |
| CH 498 | Chemical Research I | 3 |
Term VIII (16 Credits)
| HUM | Humanities | 3 |
| CH 660 | Advanced Instrumental Analysis | 3 |
| CH 412 | Inorganic Chemistry I | 4 |
| CH 582 | Biophysical Chemistry | 3 |
| | | |
| CH 497 | Chemistry Project II | 3 |
| | Or | |
| CH 499 | Chemical Research II | 3 |
Note:
CH 662, CH 666, and CH 660: Requires advisor’ approval.
CH 496 and CH 497: Project/Research can be either a project (CH 496/497) or thesis (CH 498/499) and can be done either in the junior/senior year or senior year.
MA 222: E243 Engineering Statistics may be substituted.
CH 421 can be taken in term VII instead of term V.
Humanities requirements can be found in the College of Arts and Letters, Humanities Requirements.