Learn Biochemistry Online
Find out how human health is dependent on chemistry, and what that means for clinical care.
In HMX Fundamentals Biochemistry, you’ll learn about the principles governing the interactions of individual molecules, and how those same principles apply at the scale of cells and organisms.
This online certificate course is led by Harvard Medical School faculty and features:
- detailed animations and illustrations of medical concepts
- clinical application videos including real doctor-patient interactions
- ongoing, rigorous assessments to ensure content mastery
Learn more about the course:
Course Information
Upcoming course periods
June 4 – August 16, 2024 | Apply now through May 14
Partial tuition waiver application deadline: Tuesday, April 30 at 12 noon US ET (HMX Fundamentals only)
September 3 – November 15, 2024 | Application opens May 15
January 14 – March 28, 2025 | Application opens August 14
Course length
Each course is 10 weeks long. New lessons are released weekly, and material remains available until the course closes. Expect to spend 3-6 hours per course per week.
Course cost
US$800 for an individual course
What Learners Say
Kitae Park
New York Medical College
“I really enjoyed the animations and the way they illustrated difficult concepts with simpler analogies.”
Jiwan Toor
William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine
“You learn something in five or ten minutes, then you get quizzed on it…and then there’s a really nice explanation, even if you get the question right or wrong.”
Elizabeth Altman
Union College
“[I appreciated] the relationship between the two professors that were teaching it, and how they would so clearly tie in their own specialties…They had such a good conversation and were able to ask each other questions that built off each other, so they emphasized the molecular understanding and brought it up to a patient understanding.”
Course Topics
Overview
- Course introduction
- Meet the faculty
The Rules of Energy
- Thermodynamics of chemical reactions
- Equilibrium and Le Chatelier’s principle
- The role of enzymes and enzyme regulation
- Glycolysis
How Energy is Harnessed
- Coupling chemical reactions
- Energy currencies: ATP and NADH
- The tricarboxylic acid cycle
- The electron transport chain
How Energy is Transformed
- Bypass reactions and catabolic pathways
- Gluconeogenesis
- Metabolic networks
- Diet and energy
Cellular Specialization
- Cellular metabolic specialization
- The liver and muscle in carbohydrate metabolism
- The role of adipose tissue in lipid metabolism
- Diabetes
Compartmentalization of Biochemical Pathways
- Membranes and organelles
- Pumps and osmolarity
- Sequestration of chemical reactions
- Fatty acid synthesis and oxidation
- The secretory pathway
Signaling Pathways
- Response to stimuli
- Receptors, ligands, and enzyme cascades
- Positive and negative feedback
- Endocrine signaling (insulin and glucagon)
The Chemistry of Life
- The hydrophobic effect
- Amino acid and protein structure
- How structure dictates function
- Allosteric and covalent enzyme regulation
Course Instructors
Kevin S. Bonham, PhD
Lecturer in Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School
Ole-Petter (“OP”) Hamnvik, MB BCh BAO, MMSc
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Program Director, Endocrinology Fellowship, Brigham and Women’s Hospital