Core Course Topics

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Fall Semester

Section I – Experimental Biology

Imaging:

  • Imaging at different scales
  • Physics of converting a 3D object into a 2D image
  • Electron microscopy
  • Light microscopy
  • Whole body imaging

Genetics:

  • Nature and types of mutations
  • CRISPR techniques and application
  • Forward and reverse genetics
  • Drosophila model systems
  • Mouse genetics

Biochemistry:

  • Molecular techniques for the analysis of DNA, RNA, and protein
  • Protein production and purification
  • Post-translational modifications
  • Protein-nucleic acid interactions

Genomics:

  • Basic overview of genomes
  • Technology platforms for genomics
  • Sequencing techniques and approaches
  • Library construction
  • Single-cell analyses

Quantitative and Computational Biology:

  • Overview of Unix and R
  • Review and plotting of TCGA data
  • RNA-seq
  • Single-cell RNA-seq
  • ChIP-seq 
Section II – Mechanistic Biology I

Genome Biology, Gene Expression, and Proteins:

  • Chromosome structure
  • Chromosome replication
  • Topoisomerases and the effects of DNA topology
  • Biochemical mechanisms of homologous recombination
  • Meiotic recombination
  • Transcription
  • Epigenetics
  • RNA modification
  • Translation
  • RNAi and miRNAs
  • Measurement of gene expression
  • Protein structure, folding, and modification
  • Protein-protein interactions
  • Errors in protein folding and disease

Cell Biology and Developmental Biology I:

  • The cell cycle
  • The mitotic checkpoint
  • Programmed cell death
  • Cellular membrane structure and function
  • Cytoskeletal architecture
  • Chemotaxis and cell migration
  • Secretory pathway
  • Endocytic trafficking
  • Mitochondria
  • Ion channels
  • Cell adhesion
  • Mechanobiology
  • Pre-implantation mouse development
  • Gastrulation in mammals and other organisms
  • Epigenetic regulation of development
  • Lineage specification and cell polarity in development

Spring Semester

Section III – Mechanistic Biology II

Developmental Biology II:

  • Hedgehog signaling
  • Notch signaling
  • Ras and MAPK signaling in development
  • Organogenesis
  • Stem cells and human biology
  • Stem cells and therapy

Immunology:

  • Overview: molecules, cells, and tissues
  • Innate immunity
  • Cytokines and chemokines
  • NK cells and receptors
  • MHC and antigen presentation
  • Rearrangements of antigen receptor genes
  • B cell differentiation
  • Lymphocyte activation
  • T cell differentiation
  • Tolerance and autoimmunity
  • Lymphoid architecture and recirculation
Section IV – Cancer Biology
  • Cancer as a disease
  • Genetic mechanisms
  • Cancer signaling
  • Computational biology and oncology
  • Cancer metabolism
  • Tumor heterogeneity
  • Cancer modeling
  • Tumor microenvironments
  • Metastasis
  • Targeted therapies
  • Immunotherapy