Gleevec bound to the Abl kinase domain. (PDB ID: 1IEP. Nagar, B., W. Bornmann, P. Pellicena, T. Schindler, D. R. Veach, W. T. Miller, B. Clarkson, J. Kuriyan. "Crystal Structures of the Kinase Domain of c-Abl in Complex with the Small Molecule Inhibitors PD173955 and Imatinib." Cancer Research. 62 (2002): 4236-4243. Image by Elizabeth Vogel Taylor.)
Instructor(s)
Dr. Elizabeth Vogel Taylor
MIT Course Number
5.36
As Taught In
Spring 2009
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
The course, which spans two thirds of a semester, provides students with a research-inspired laboratory experience that introduces standard biochemical techniques in the context of investigating a current and exciting research topic, acquired resistance to the cancer drug Gleevec. Techniques include protein expression, purification, and gel analysis, PCR, site-directed mutagenesis, kinase activity assays, and protein structure viewing.
This class is part of the new laboratory curriculum in the MIT Department of Chemistry. Undergraduate Research-Inspired Experimental Chemistry Alternatives (URIECA) introduces students to cutting edge research topics in a modular format.
Acknowledgments
Development of this course was funded through an HHMI Professors grant to Professor Catherine L. Drennan.