Gene Control

BIOL5420 - MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (Fall TR 10:00AM-11:45PM) 

Molecular biology revolutionized genetics and the course will broadly cover various milestone in molecular genetics as an experimental approach to investigate and analyze the fundamental principles and mechanisms of gene control and expression. The course covers genetic analysis of gene structure (mutations and their analysis, complementation, and recombination), gene expression (transcription, RNA processing, translation), and the regulation of gene expression in selected model systems (viral, prokaryotic, organellar, eukaryotic); principles of genetic engineering (cloning and recombinant DNA technology). The course is designed to equip students with skills: understand the major concepts of molecular biology and genetics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms; read, explain, and discuss scientific papers in the molecular biology field; and analyze research problems and design experiments to address them.

BIOL6355 - NUCLEUS (not offered until further notice; Fall W 10:00AM-12:45PM) 

The nucleus is the defining feature of all eukaryotes. It contains our chromosomes and is the command center of all our cells. In the nucleus, our genetic information is interpreted, protected, duplicated, and modified. Central control of gene expression occurs in the nucleus by transcription and post-transcription mechanisms. Moreover, the nucleus is organized into various functional compartments that specialize in transcription, splicing, rRNA processing, and repression. The course will provide a broad overview of the functional organization of the nucleus using recent primary literature from the field, focusing particularly on genomic analyses of nuclear function. The course will introduce students to seminal works in the field and recent developments with the goal of instilling a critical understanding of the structure and function of the nucleus.