Understanding Biochemical Pathways: A Pattern-Recognition Approach

Understanding Biochemical Pathways: A Pattern-Recognition Approach is designed to serve as a companion text to standard biochemistry textbooks. The book lays out a clear methodology for mastering biochemical pathways through pattern recognition, as well as how specific enzymes are named. The approach is illustrated through particular examples of pathways in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. 

Students will learn about oxidation state patterns, and metabolism and glycolysis. They will study the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. They will also explore the electron transport chain, gluconeogenesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway. The final chapters are devoted to fatty acid oxidation, and ketone body and fatty acid synthesis. 

Understanding Biochemical Pathways provides readers with a set of critical questions regarding any specific pathway that, when answered, enable them to understand the “big picture” of that metabolic pathway, and how pathways are regulated and integrated. The book is an excellent addition to any course in biochemistry, particularly undergraduate courses, as well as in nutrition, medical, and nursing programs.

Carol A. Wilkins earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry at Michigan State University, East Lansing where she is now a faculty member in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Wilkins serves as a semester director for the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, to assist in coordinating and integrating the first-year basic science courses. In this college, she also directs and helps teach a multi-systems microbiology laboratory experience for second-year students. She developed and teaches a two-semester online graduate course for the MSU Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program. Her writing has appeared in Biophysical Chemistry and FEMS Microbiology Ecology, and she most recently presented at the national conference of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, where she spoke on Increasing Student Engagement in the Classroom.