Introductory probability theory. Principles of statistical methods. Problems of estimation and hypothesis testing in biology and related areas.

This course is designed for students who are interested in understanding how physiological functions are achieved. Taking advantage of the recent explosion in genetic data and high-resolution protein structure analysis across organisms, the course focuses on the evolution of physiological functions at the genetic, structural, circuit and organismal levels. Examples include the co-evolution of toxins and toxin resistance between hunter and prey, the evolution of substance transport across cell membranes, intracellular signaling cascades, intercellular communication, distributed and centralized nervous systems, neural circuits controlling physiological functions such as feeding, locomotion and visual information processing. Students are expected to learn 1) basic physiological processes, their origin and adaptation, 2) modern genetic, structural and physiological techniques, 3) to critically evaluate research findings, 4) to present scientific papers, and 5) to write a research report.

This course focuses on the current state of our knowledge about the neurobiological basis of learning and memory. A combination of lectures and student seminars will explore the molecular and cellular basis of learning in invertebrates and vertebrates from a behavioral and neural perspective.

Advanced version of BIOL 140: Humans and the Environment. Additional readings and course work as directed.

The goal of this course is to develop a deeper understanding of techniques and concepts used in Computational Biology. The course will strive to focus on a small set of approaches to gain both theoretical and practical understanding of the methods. We will aim to cover practical issues such as programming and the use of programs, as well as theoretical issues such as algorithm design, statistical data analysis, theory of algorithms and statistics. This course WILL NOT provide a broad survey of the field nor teach specific tools but focus on a deep understanding of a small set of topics. We will discuss string algorithms, hidden markov models, dimension reduction, and machine learning (or phylogeny estimation) for biomedical problems.

This course is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in molecular physiology of sensory signal transduction. The major topics to cover will be signal transduction mechanisms used by membrane ion channels and receptors that detect the sensory stimuli (light, sound, temperature and taste, for example) and transmit the signals to the nervous system. Modern molecular/structural techniques (patch clamp, protein crystallization, molecular genetics, expression cloning and protein purification) will be introduced along with each topic. References will be primary research articles. Students will critically evaluate research discoveries by reading and presenting one to two original research papers. Each student is required to write a 10-page research proposal and to critique proposals written by fellow students.

This course will focus on fundamental topics related to the ecological and evolutionary processes driving the transmission of pathogenic microbes among hosts including life-history strategies; evolution of pathogenic traits; the impacts of temporal, spatial and host-trait heterogeneity; and factors causing the emergence of an infectious pathogen. Examples will be drawn from human, wildlife, and plant pathogens to illustrate these ecological and evolutionary topics. Students will learn to develop and apply current ecological and evolutionary theory to infectious microbe research and gain practical experience accessing, interpreting and synthesizing the peer-reviewed scientific literature through a combination of popular and scientific readings, discussion, and lecture.

Intensive laboratory class where open-ended, interesting biological problems are explored using modern lab techniques. Topics may include protein structure/function studies; genetic screens, genomics and gene expression studies; proteomics and protein purification techniques; and molecular cloning and DNA manipulation. The course emphasizes developing scientific communication and independent research skills. Course topics reflect the interests of individual Biology faculty members. This course is recommended for students considering independent research.

This course will focus on the molecular mechanisms by which fundamental cellular processes are disrupted in the development of cancer.

All organisms, from bacteria to humans, rely on innate, non-specific defense systems to protect against infection and mediate damage. Even in organisms that can generate highly specific and efficient adaptive responses, such as humans, defects in innate immune system components can be fatal. In this course, we will examine the cellular and molecular mechanisms of the components of the innate immune system through discussion of primary literature. We will explore how the innate immune system influences the course of infections and cancer, as well as autoinflammatory disorders that lead to host tissue damage. Though our focus will be on mammalian immunity, we will also explore the evolutionary development of innate immunity through comparison of systems in different organisms.