Proteins are the primary workers in the cell, playing fundamental roles in all aspects of biochemistry. Understanding their mechanisms of action is essential both for understanding life at the molecular level and in the development of therapeutic treatments for a wide variety of disease states.

This programme is aimed at giving students in-depth understanding of the structure-function relationship of proteins and the techniques used to produce and characterize them. Around half of the programme involves integration of students into different research groups and the programme allows students to have individual use of the most modern equipment. By the end of the first term, students will have gained practical experience of a wide range of techniques e.g. electrospray mass spectrometry, subsecond kinetics, microcalorimetry, surface plasmon resonance and recombinant protein production.

The programme is taught in a highly international department that has won  national awards for teaching quality. The programme is flexible and allows the students to specialize in the aspects of protein science and biotechnology which will most benefit their future career. The programme is particularly aimed at people going into research and former students have been very successful in finding PhD positions in Finland and abroad.