What is Molecular Biophysics?

[Dr. Nesmelova: I clearly know nothing about molecular biophysics, so please feel free to suggest edits to this copy as necessary]

At its most fundamental level, the field of molecular biophysics seeks to improve our shared understanding of the ways the numerous systems of a cell interact; as a result, it is an inherently interdisciplinary area of study, as molecular biophysics involves intersecting concepts in biology, engineering, mathematics, chemistry, physics, genetics, and bioinformatics, among other research areas.

How does our program work?

Our Molecular Biophysics Ph.D. track is not a self-contained doctoral degree program, but rather, is a specialization that can be pursued within a wide variety of existing UNC Charlotte Ph.D. programs. In this way, students can benefit from the opportunity to receive valuable training for a rapidly growing field without needing to spend any extra time on their degree. A brief summary of our program’s required courses can be found below, and please see the Curriculum page for more details.

Required Coursework:

8 credit hours achieved by a combination of electives and open credits within a “home” Ph.D. program:

• PHYS 6101 – Biophysics (3 credits)
• PHYS 6203 – Methods of Molecular Modeling and Simulation in Physics (3 credits)
• PHYS [insert here] – Biophysics Seminar (1 credit per course, to be taken twice)