Department of Biological Sciences

Session Offered:

Prerequisites:

BIOL 23100 or 27000 and BIOL 24100 or 28000 or BIOL 23000 and BME 30100.  May not be enrolled as the following classifications: Freshman 0-14 hours, Freshman 15-29 hours, Sophomore 30-44 hours and Sophomore 45-59 hours.

Description:

The course begins with a review of the current research techniques used to examine the biology of eukaryotic cells and then covers seminal discoveries in the areas of cell cycle regulation, DNA, and RNA tumor virology, growth factors and their receptors, signal transduction and oncogenes.  For all topics, an emphasis is placed on the molecular mechanisms governing growth regulation and how alterations in these mechanisms can give rise to disease states such as cancer.  Reading of both historical and current primary literature is required as a supplement to a course textbook.

This course is designed primarily for students interested in professional careers in which a knowledge of molecular biology, as it pertains to growth control and human cancer, would be useful.  There are three scheduled guest lecturers, each of whom presents a seminar on a current cancer research topic in their laboratory.

Instructor(s):

Elizabeth J. Taparowsky

E-mail:

Textbook(s):

~There is no textbook required for this course~

Grading:

The final grade for the course is determined by the average performance on three one-hour, in-class exams and one quiz grade.

Course Format: