Course Description
This course uses literature or biotech industry examples for each topic together with some literature reviews. There will be a small component that requires the student to know or to learn some basic programming skills. For graduate students of any level with a background in biomedical sciences, chemistry, biochemistry, or engineering. Undergraduate-level courses in either basic molecular biology or biochemistry are required.
Athena Title
Protein Therapeutics
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The main focus of the class "Engineering of Protein Therapeutics" is to obtain an understanding of how proteins can be engineered to become a therapeutic. We will first introduce the market of biopharmaceuticals and which proteins classes are the most common therapeutics (including vaccines). After a short introduction to refresh basic molecular biology and biochemistry of proteins, we will discuss how proteins are engineered through directed evolution and protein design. Next to learning how to plan genetic selections experiments, which ones are commonly used and how to optimize specific properties of proteins, we will also learn about how protein structure can be integrated into experimental planning. Computational structural design components will be covered as well. There will be a small component for which we will use python programming. The student should be able to: 1. know the list of existing biologics and their manufacturing and mechanisms of action 2. quality control for biologics 3. experimental setup for protein engineering of therapeutics 4. understand the molecular basis of action 5. able to analyze a protein structure 6. basic python-based data analysis 7. basic immunology behind the development of therapeutics and vaccines
Topical Outline
Overview of biopharmaceuticals and market analysis - Pharmacological classification of proteins drugs - Most common biopharmaceutics and market analysis - Overview of the industry Review basic protein and peptide biochemistry - SDS page, SEC and CD - Mass spectrometry Structural biology - NMR - Crystal structures Protein structure-function - Pymol Directed evolution (= high throughput screening for biologics) - Basic molecular biology - Beginnings and Nobel prize 2018! Drug resistance Protein engineering methods using directed evolution principles (= lead discovery) - Phage display o Antibodies o Enzymes - Yeast display - Types of libraries - Expansion of the genetic code - All alternative scaffolds Manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals Weaponizing antibodies via drug conjugations Change in antibody engineering: B cell selection Immunology - Immunogenicity - Checkpoint regulators CART engineering Physiological discovery and the "big data" version of Genetic selections - Deep mutational scanning - Example data and jupyter notebooks Protein Design - Principle behind design - Examples for design Rosetta using FoldIt The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.