BIO 301 Molecular Biology I
The purpose of this course is to give a thorough background and understanding of the basic principles of molecular biology and how those principles are used in basic molecular methods. Once we learn the basic applied molecular methods, we will design our own experiments and attempt to understand when and how each molecular method is used in basic research. The lectures will cover molecular biology from the history and the "central dogma" to Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic DNA biosynthesis; chromosomal structure and function (with associated proteins and functions); and Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic gene structure and function (DNA replication, transcription and translation), and how they relate to basic biological and chemical concepts. After finishing the course, students will have chance to be exposed to molecular biology laboratory techniques (see BIO 312).
BIO 302 Molecular Biology II
This course continues to cover basic molecular biology concepts. It will be discussed DNA repair and recombination, control of gene expression (regulation, gene switches, post-transcriptional modification), cell cycle and apoptosis, and developmental biology (patterning and neural develeopment).
NS 209 Genetics I
It will be learned about the basics of genetics starting with the founder of genetics, Mendel and his peas and learn how to differentiate genotypes and phenotypes. Then we will learn about the molecular genetics (chromosomes and DNA), recombination and mapping genes on chromosomes (Morgan and his fruit flies) and then look at different genomes and their structures. Towards the end of semester, we will tackle developmental and cancer genetics and learn how it applies to humans.
NS 210 Genetics II
Further course in genetics designed to teach students current concepts in genetics, cellular and molecular biology. This course will prepare students in the biological sciences for advanced courses in their emphasis areas. Topics covered in this course include: mobile genetic elements; transcription; RNA processing; translation; enzymes and metabolism; membrane structure and function; respiration and photosynthesis; the endomembrane system and trafficking; cytoskeleton; cell signaling.
BIO 304 Structural Biology
An approach to the protein structure in terms of amino acid properties, chain conformation, primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary structure, structural domains and motifs of the protein, families of folds; interatomic forces and interactions such as electrostatics and hydrophobicity.
BIO 305 Biochemistry II
The course continues to cover the study of the structure and function of biomolecules and biochemical reactions with an emphasis on metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and nucleotides, and the chemistry of signal transduction and genetic information transfer.
BIO 306 General Microbiology
Classification of microbial forms of life, the role of microbes in the environment, structure and function of microbial cells, ecology and metabolic diversity of microbes, growth and control of microorganisms, genetic processes in bacteria, microbes as agents of disease, and applications of microbiology in food science, agriculture and biotechnology.
BIO 310 Bioinformatics
Basic knowledge and practical skills needed for bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics analyses and research. The topics include biological databases, molecular biology tools (e.g., primer design), database searches, genome comparison, pairwise and multiple alignments, phylogenetic inference, RNA structure, functional annotation of protein sequences, protein structure and modeling. Commonly used software (e.g., GCG, Entrez, BLAST, ClustalXL, and SwissPDBviewer) will be illustrated and exercised in class. At the end of this course, students will be able to apply the knowledge learned in class to solve practical problems in bioinformatics.
BIO 312 Techniques and Methods in Molecular Biology
Principles for understanding the structure and functional relationships of molecular biology techniques including DNA isolation, -purification, -preparation, extractions, agarose gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, recombinant DNA synthesis, PCR, Blotting (Southern, Western and Northern),DNA isolation, cloning, gene detection, library construction, analysis of expression, protein sequencing (mass spectrometry), X-ray christallography, chromatography and NMR. Special molecular and genetics techniques: transgenic animals, transformation, and cloning. The course describes the principle concepts and uses of each technique and method, using a case study to illustrate the relevant points.
NS 203 Physical Chemistry I
This course covers the thermodynamics and chemical kinetics; principles of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, properties of gases; physical and chemical transformations of matter; kinetic theory of gases, electrochemistry; Quantum theory; atomic structure and spectra; molecular structure and statistical thermodynamics. Ions transport and diffusion, rates of reactions, molecular dynamics and catalysis.
MAT 304 Biopolymers
An introduction to structure, function, and physical properties of naturally-occurring polymers, including proteins, polysaccharides, polyesters, and DNA. Methods of characterization (nuclear magnetic resonance, electron spin resonance, centrifugation, electrophoresis, chemical modification), biodegradability and biocompatibility, interaction of cells and tissues with polymers and polymeric implants, immunology of biomaterials, applications of polymers in medicine and biology, gene therapy and generic immunization.
BIO 308 Plant Structure and Physiology
General principles of the structural organization and function of plants emphasizing cellular structure and physiology, anatomy, genetics, growth and the diversity of plants. The objective of the course is to understand functional relations between plant structure and physiology, and environmental influences on the rate of physiological processes.
BIO 401 Biotechnology
Course is computer-based and involves searching appropriate web sites, accessing software and applications, experimentation for genomic and proteomic analysis and accessing publicly available databases of gene, protein and biological pathway information, provides activities in basic gene and protein detection / measurement technologies, gel electrophoresis and immunohistochemistry.
BIO 402 Molecular Evolution
This course provides lectures and class discussions concerning the evolutionary processes that have changed the genetic material over time, considers the evolution of macromolecules and evolution of genes and genomes; nucleotide substitution rates; positive selection; gene duplication and conversion; transposable elements; evolution of genome size. This course will include the dynamics of genes in populations and several aspects of evolutionary change at the molecular level; diversity and organization of genomes.
BIO 403 Plant Pathogenesis
Introduction to plant-microbe associations: types of interactions, important taxonomic groups, major fungal taxa; symbiotic and non-pathogenic associations: life in the rhizosphere, nitrogen fixing organisms, mychorrhizal fungi; plant pathogenesis and the development of disease: defining disease, disease symptoms and terminology, how pathogens attack plants (mechanical and chemical weapons), the effect of pathogens on the physiology of the host; disease resistance: the genetics of resistance, structural and biochemical resistance mechanisms; case studies: Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
BIO 404 Agricultural Biotechnology
This course is designed to provide knowledge regarding the application of biotechnology to agriscience; application of recombinant DNA technology to agriculture, methods for the introduction of foreign DNA into plant and animal cells. Students consider specific examples of the use of transgenic plants and animals in biotechnology, which can provide protection against insects, diseases, and tolerance to specific herbicides. They also investigate how recombinant growth hormones can result in leaner meat, greater milk yield, better feed utilization, and how transgenic plants and animals can serve as bioreactors for the production of medicinals or protein pharmaceuticals; environmental safety issues.
BIO 405 Molecular Cell Biology
This course is designed to explore the structural organization and processes in living cells, from a foundation of molecular biology towards an understanding of how cells function, leading to processes such as cell differentiation, ageing and tumorgenesis. Topics of discussion will include gene product processing and transport, organelle biogenesis and assembly, cell-cell communication, control of gene expression, cytoskeletal structure and function. Particular attention will be given to discussion of the current literature. This course is designed to help unify genetics, biochemistry and physiology.
BIO406 Biomechanics
The purpose of the course is to introduce the foundational concepts for understanding both the laws of mechanics and the typical tissue responses trough the analysis of the musculoskeletal systems using principles of engineering mechanics. Basic principles of mechanics, stress, strain and deformation in beams are presented and used to characterize the material properties of tissues such as skin, tendon, ligament, bone and cartilage. Principles of biomechanics are also applied to the design of medical devices and bioengineered tissues. Topics include forces, moments of forces, free body diagrams, principal stresses, transverse shear stresses and beam loading.
BIO 407 Protein Engineering
Topics consider the fundamentals of recombinant DNA technology and protein engineering. Gene design, bacterial molecular biology, genetic engineering strategy focused on making site-directed protein mutations. Techniques include the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, DNA cutting/splicing, protein expression.
BIO 408 Modeling and Simulation of Bimolecular Processes
Using a computer simulation as a quantitative tool to predict and model bio-molecular structure, dynamics, and interactions. Computational studies are based on algorithms that represent physical models of important biological processes and take into account the underlying physics and chemistry of the bio-molecular building blocks, both microscopically and macroscopically. Computational studies at atomic level require the availability of three-dimensional structures from crystallographic or NMR studies that provide the molecular detail of the individual elements of the protein, as well as the properties of the surfaces and volume of the protein as a whole.
BIO 409 Immunology
Major topics considered in this course are antibody formation, antigen-antibody interactions, biological effects of immunologic reactions, immunological specificity of normal diseased cells and tissues. Topics include antigens, monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies, humoral immunity, cellular immunity, complement, immunological and immunochistochemical assays, and hybridoma use and production.
BIO 410 Ecology
This is a basic course of ecology that seeks to improve the understanding of the flow of energy and materials through ecosystems and the regulation of the distribution and abundance of organisms. The course covers fundamental ecological principles governing the structure and function of populations, communities, and ecosystems; comparative habitat ecology and natural selection, population growth and physiological ecology.
BIO 411 Molecular Biology Laboratory Course
This laboratory course is designed to enhance the preparation of students for careers in research, biotechnology and science education. This laboratory experience exposes the students to a molecular biology methodologies and instrumentation commonly used in biotechnology and molecular biology laboratories and demonstrates the logical progression of a research project. The students will use the techniques that they have learned. This course will give students practical experience that looks like the realities of the laboratory setting.
BIO 412 Special Topics in Bioengineering
Selected topics in biological and biomedical engineering; presentations and discussions of the current literature in one or more of the following areas: biotechnology, genetics engineering, biomedical engineering etc.
BIO 413 Microbial Genetics: Bacteriophages and Plasmids
Microbial genetic principles: mutation, conjugation, transformation, recombination, transduction, gene expression; molecular biology of bacteriophages and plasmids; recombinant DNA technology.
BIO 414 Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
This course covers topis such are: the genetic elements that control gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes; methods of creating recombinant DNA molecules; chemical synthesis of DNA, the PCR: methodology and applications; gene cloning in E. coli and yeast, antisense technology and antisense drugs; protein pharmaceuticals and vaccines produced by recombinant DNA technology; microbial synthesis of biological molecules, antibiotics, biopolymers; animal models for human diseases, transgenic animals-production of pharmaceuticals, the human genome project; genomics, functional genomics, proteomics, pharmacogenomics-pharmacoproteomics. Molecular target-based drug development; biochips (DNA microarrays)-implications for the molecular diagnosis and the evaluation of drug targets and drug toxicity; ethical and social implications of biotechnology.
BIO 415 Genetics Engineering
A course in genetic engineering designed for advanced students in engineering and related disciplines. The course will cover genetics at the molecular, cellular, organism, and population levels as a basis for discussions of practical applications of recombinant DNA technology in industry and the fields of medicine, agriculture, etc. Basic techniques in molecular cloning; biology of plasmid; construction of recombinant DNA; prospects of recombinant technology for gene arrangement analysis and for microbial, plant and animal improvements.
BIO 416 Population Genetics
Study of molecular genetic variation in natural populations; effects of selection, inbreeding, random drift, migration, and mutation on DNA and protein polymorphisms; the forces that affect gene frequencies in populations of plants and animals. The course includes both theoretical and empirical studies from the current literature.
BIO 417 Molecular Diagnostics
This course offers fundamentals of clinical diagnosis and management of disease by molecular biology laboratory methods. Two broad areas will be addressed: molecular diseases/variants; and molecular methods to diagnose and monitor disease. Disorders due to inherited or acquired molecular defects such as errors of metabolism, hemoglobinopathies, leukemia, lymphoma, and cystic fibrosis are discussed. The discussion of molecular approaches to diagnosing and monitoring these diseases will span the conventional methods of PCR, gel electrophoresis and Southern Blotting to Real-time PCR.
BIO 418 Virology
Course about viruses and their host cell - biochemistry and molecular biology of viral infections. Topics include the physical and chemical nature of viruses, methods of cultivation and assay, modes of replication, characteristics of major viral groups, and the mechanisms of viral disease; emphasis on viral genetics and culture mechanisms.
BIO 419 Molecular Microbiology
The course covers the factors that affect gene expression at the levels of replication, transcription, posttranscriptional and post-translational control. Topics will include mobile genetic elements and their effects on chromosome structure and gene expression, alternate sigma factors, protein modification and degradation, RNA structure, processing and decay, and DNA rearrangements in gene control.
BIO 420 Biophysics
Theory and application of physical techniques to study biological macromolecules for analyzing their structure and function: spectroscopy (UV-VIS absorption and fluorescence, circular dichroism, IR, NMR, X-ray diffraction); helix-coil theory; theories of ligand binding. The treatment of biophysical methods will be based on physical principles, which will be treated with appropriate mathematics when necessary.
BIO 421 Seminar in Biological Sciences
Oral presentations of independent laboratory, library or individual project research on selected topics in biological sciences; instruction in critical reading and understanding of current research literature; utilization of current literature to prepare and carry out a scientifically accurate presentation (publication) of data and results from research efforts.