The evolution of multicellularity required that cells be able to both send and receive signals from their neighbors. The development of organs and differentiation of cells and tissues requires reliable and continuous communication between cells. Consequences of inappropriate or anomalous signaling include development abnormalities and cancer. This class will examine mechanisms of cell-to-cell signaling between cells in plants and animals with an emphasis on the cell biology of development.

This course will focus on the molecular basis of neurological diseases, exploring in detail key papers that cover topics including defining the disease genes, development of animal models that provide mechanistic insight, and seminal findings that reveal molecular understanding. Diseases covered will include neurological diseases of great focus today such as Alzheimer's, Fragile-X and autism, dementia, motor neuron degeneration, and microsatellite repeat expansion disorders. The course will provide a perspective from initial molecular determination through current status. Students will gain an understanding of how the molecular basis of a disease is discovered (from classical genetics to modern genomics) and how such diseases can be modeled in simple genetic systems for mechanistic insight. The course will be comprised of lectures with detailed analysis of primary literature and in-class activities. Grading will be based on class participation, exams, and written papers. Prerequisite: BIOL 251 and BIOL 421 are recommended.

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

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. Prerequisite: Probability theory and linear algebra are higly recommended.

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.

Early development of microbiology, pathology, and immunobiology; molecular and cellular bases of immune phenomena including: immunity to pathogens, immune diseases, autoimmunity, and hypersensitivity. This course is open to students in the College of Liberal and Professional Studies only.

This interactive course is intended for a small group of students aspiring to pursue research in microbiology, preferably using prokaryotes. Students will study selected papers and will attend the Prokaryotic Microbiology Seminars on Fridays. Specific problems of importance to a given field at a particular time will be critically analyzed and discussed: How were cutting edge techniques of the time used to address these problems? How would the same problems be approached using current techniques? The emphasis of the course will be on learning to become a thoughtful experimentalist rather than acquiring the hottest emerging knowledge. Prerequisite: BIOL 375 is recommended but not required.

This course focuses on teaching students the Pennsylvania flora, both native and naturalized. Through weekly field trips, students will gain an appreciation for the diversity of plant species and plant communities in PA, and observe and discuss ecological and historical forces that influence plant species occurrences and plant communities. The ability to quickly and accurately identify plants in the field, through both sight identification and the use of a dichotomous key, is the major thrust of this course. Students will also learn how to appropriately collect plant materials for further study/identification in the laboratory and for archiving in an herbarium collection.