Global Arc

MOL350 prepares students to become contributing members of a research lab. Students will advance as creative, critical thinkers and effective communicators. While completing original research, students will employ techniques used by cell and molecular biologists, molecular geneticists, and biochemists. Students will discover how and why specific knowledge, skills and techniques are applied to the semester's research topic; will practice extracting pertinent information from scientific literature; and will generate a research report modeled on the scientific literature. One lecture, two three-hour laboratories. Prerequisite: MOL 214.

Microbes offer a rich world for exploration, a teeming universe invisible to the naked eye but thrilling in terms of diversity and scope. Human beings could not survive in their absence, yet we often think of them as the enemy. In fact, the majority are beneficial and can be harnessed for good in science and industry. This course will examine both sides: first an overview of microbial growth and function as well as specialized applications in areas such as photosynthesis, synthetic biology, quorum sensing, and CRISPR, with subsequent study of the threats to human health arising from dangerous pathogens that cause bacterial and viral disease.

This course is intended to give students a hands-on introduction into the main computational approaches used in molecular biology research, with a special focus on Genomic approaches. We will reiterate the central dogma of molecular biology, by explaining the biology behind every component of the dogma (DNA, RNA, Protein, and Metabolites), introducing state-of-the-art computational approaches used to analyze large datasets of each component, giving examples of medical or industrial applications of these approaches, and finally, demonstrating how to perform an actual analysis using the most common tools available.

The ultimate goal of every species is the successful contribution of an individual's genes to the next generation, leading to the evolution of diverse strategies to maximize reproductive success. First, we discuss various reproductive tactics employed in the animal kingdom, examining topics such as asexual and sexual reproduction, extent of parental investment, and maximizing reproductive lifespan. We then focus on human reproductive biology, highlighting age and environment-induced fertility issues, as well as cutting edge research into fertility treatments and assisted reproductive technologies employed in clinics which combat these issues.

At 10 nanometer scale, protein machines 'walk' on microtubule tracks. At a scale 10,000 times larger, sheets of cells self-organize to form ornate shapes that can even heal themselves after injury. This course will examine these and other complex biological systems at the molecular, cellular, and tissue scales. In parallel, we will cover the current and emerging methods that enable us to quantitatively probe and analyze biological systems. Specific topics will include structural biology from crystallography to cryo-electron microscopy, enzyme kinetics and networks, next-gen sequencing and data mining, modern microscopy and image analysis.

We will explore the molecular events leading to the onset and progression of human cancer. We will review the central genetic and biochemical elements that make up the cell cycle, followed by a survey of the signal transduction pathways and checkpoints that regulate it. We will discuss oncogenes, tumor suppressor and mutator genes that act in these pathways and review the role of viral oncogenes and their action on cells. We will investigate the role of cancer stem cells and the interaction between tumor and the host environment. We will explore specific clinical case studies in light of the molecular events underlying different cancers.

This course will examine fundamental determinants of human microbe interaction at the biological and ecological levels. The focus will be on major global infectious diseases, their burden of illness and policy challenges for adequate prevention and control. Each infectious agent will be discussed in terms of its biology, mechanisms of pathogenesis, and epidemiology, as well as strategies for its control. Specific emphasis will be placed on the public health aspects of each disease. Prerequisite: MOL 101, MOL 214, or permission of instructor. One three-hour lecture.

How do organisms ensure that genes are expressed at the right time and place as they develop from a single egg cell into a multicellular animal? In this seminar style course, we will explore some of the diverse mechanisms that control gene expression, including those involved in transcriptional regulation, epigenetic silencing, translational regulation and cell-cell signaling. By reading and critically evaluating the primary literature, we will explore many of the crucial molecular biology, cell biology and genetics techniques that have helped illuminate the gene regulatory mechanisms that are essential for animal development.

This course will consider the principles, development, outcomes and future directions of therapeutic applications of biotechnology, with particular emphasis on the interplay between basic research and clinical experience. Topics to be discussed include production of hormones and other therapeutic proteins, gene therapy, oncolytic viruses, and stem cells. Reading will be from the primary literature. Prerequisite: MOL 214.

This course will cover statistical models, methods, and concepts with a particular focus on applications in molecular biology and genomics. Real data sets will be analyzed in order to gain an understanding of how statistics is used in practice. Topics to be covered include probability, experimental design, point estimation, hypothesis testing, Bayesian statistics, and the extension of these topics to high-dimensional data sets. Areas of application will be chosen among quantitative genetics, sequence analysis, population genetics, association studies, gene expression analysis, and other modern experimental approaches.