Focused Topics in Biochemistry

Current courses – Overview

For students that have one unpaired BCH2024 course, the 1/4 credit courses can be taken as the second half of the BCH2024 course – you will receive an email from Carrie Harber detailing how you can enroll for these courses. For all other students, these courses will now be stand alone 1/4 credit courses and you will register to them through ACORN.

Enrollment Limit – The number of students will be generally between five and 20, but this varies with each course. See individual course sites for more details.

Note, if enrollment for a course is 3 or less it is up to the discretion of the course coordinator as to whether the class will be held or cancelled.

Non-Biochemistry Students: These courses will be available to all non-Biochemsitry students to request through ACORN as follows:
Fall 2025 modules: September 1, 2025 – September 17, 2025 (last day to add Fall courses)
Winter 2026 modules: December 1, 2025 – January 19, 2026 (last day to add Winter courses)

**Important note for non-Biochemistry students – if you have one unpaired BCH2024 course, then you must contact carrie.harber@utoronto.ca to sign up for the second 1/4 module as per the deadlines listed above. Do not enroll through ACORN as your grades must be recorded under BCH 2024H Y – Focused Topic in Biochemistry.

Current Courses for 2025 – 2026

More information can be found regarding each course using the Course link.
All courses are 1/4 credit unless specified.
1/4 credit courses can not be dropped if more than one class has been attended unless approved by the course coordinator.
BCH21xx courses are open to all grad students.
BCH22xx courses are only open to PhD students.

Fall 2025 Winter 2026
BCH2101H Scientific Skills for Biochemists
Course Coordinators:
Nana Lee & Lea Harrington
Required for all incoming BCH grad students
BCH2109H Current Topics in Therapeutic Antibodies

Course Coordinator: Jean-Philippe Julien

March – April

BCH2102H Biomolecular Dynamics and Function

Course Coordinator: Lewis Kay

October 31 – Dec 5

BCH2110H Eukaryotic Signaling

Course Coordinators: Daniela Rotin & Frank Sicheri

March – April

BCH2103H Current Topics in Prion Biology

Course Coordinator: Joel Watts
October – December

BCH2127H Advances in Optical Microscopy: From Single Molecules to Four-Dimensional Imaging

Course Coordinator: Spencer Freeman

January – February (Dates TBC)

BCH2104H The Biochemistry of Translational Medicine

Course Coordinatorss: Mathieu Lemaire & Aleixo Muise

October – November (dates TBC)

MMG 1327H Microbiomes in Health and Disease

Course Coordinator: John Parkinson
Cross listed course with BCH
Winter 2026 (TBC)

MMG 1326H Post-transcriptional Control of Gene Expression

Course Coordinators Craig Smibert
Cross listed course with BCH
October 27 – December 8, 2025

BCH 2139H Islet Biology I: From Gene to Cell to Organ to Disease

Course Coordinators: Robert Screaton, Erin Mulvihill

BCH2135H Mitochondria and Metabolism in Human Health and Disease

Course Coordinator: Angus McQuibban
Fall 2025 – TBC

BCH 2140H Islet Biology II: Beyond Glucose Control: Molecular Targets, Diagnostics and Cutting-Edge Technologies
Course Coordinators: Robert Screaton, Erin Mulvihill
BCH2201H Professional Development

Course Coordinator: Nana Lee

September – November
(Available to PhD students only)

BCH2202H Intro Programming in R

Course Coordinator: Trevor Moraes

Winter 2026 – Dates TBC
(Available to PhD students only)

BCH2203H Introduction to Programming in Python
Course Coordinator: Trevor Moraes
Winter 2026 – Dates TBC
(Available to PhD students only)

 

 

 

Enrollment Limit

None

Last Updated 25 August 2025