Lecturers 
Giovanni D'Angelo 

Language 
English

Summary
Biochemistry is a key discipline in the Life Sciences. Biological Chemistry I and II are two tightly interconnected courses that aims to understand in molecular terms the processes that make life possible.
 
Content 
In Biological Chemistry II we will focus on cell metabolism to understand how the molecules that constitute living beings are produced, modified and used for energetic purposes. A specific emphasis will be put on the understanding of organizing principles in metabolism and on the regulatory circuits living beings have evolved to control their metabolic outputs. 

·       Enzyme Kinetics I
·       Enzyme Kinetics II
·       Glycolysis
·       TCA Cycle/B-oxidation
·       Oxphos
·       Gluconeogenesis/glycogenesis
·       Lipid Biosynthesis I
·       Lipid Biosynthesis II
·       Nucleic acids Biosynthesis
·       Visualising Metabolism I
·       Visualising Metabolism II
·       Global Metabolic Integration
 
Keywords 
Energy Metabolism, Enzymology, Biosynthetic Pathways, Metabolic Circuits

Learning Prerequisites 
Required courses 
Biological Chemistry I
Recommended courses 
Biology I + II, Organic Chemistry I + II
 
Important concepts to start the course 
·       Basic understanding of chemical composition of biological matter
·       Basic understanding of cell organization
·       Basic understanding of protein structure and function
·       Basic reaction mechanisms in organic chemistry

Learning Outcomes 
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
·       Recognize biochemical pathways
·       Integrate cell compartmentalisation and metabolism
·       Interpret the topology of metabolic circuits

Transversal skills 
·       Assess one's own level of skill acquisition, and plan their on-going learning goals.
·       Continue to work through difficulties or initial failure to find optimal solutions.
·       Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking
·       Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.

Teaching methods 
·       Lectures
·       Exercise session accompanying each lecture

Expected student activities 
·       Attendance to classes
·       Attendance to exercises
·       Class participation

Assessment methods 

• written exam - the exam will be an "open book" exam and what this means is that you are allowed to bring all the materials provided during the semester (slides, exercises, solutions), but not the recommended books (The Molecules of Life – Principles of Biochemistry).     

Recommended books

–Leningher -  ‘Principles of Biochemistry'

Teacher

Milena Schuhmacher - milena.schuhmacher@epfl.ch

Teaching assistant

• Jiayan Lin - jiayan.lin@epfl.ch
• Nika Gorsek - nika.gorsek@epfl.ch
• Irmak Kaysudu - irmak.kaysudu@epfl.ch
• Mathilde Morelli - mathilde.morelli@epfl.ch
• Benjamin Mancini - benjamin.mancini@epfl.ch
• Jean Maillat - jean.maillat@epfl.ch