Required Courses

These courses form the core curriculum for the Interdisciplinary Program. They are generally team-taught classes designed to provide a core body of knowledge relevant to biomedical science and biotechnology. In most core courses, material will be presented as a combination of traditional lecture and analysis of original literature.

Suggested Year 1:

CHEM 8101. Biochemical Principles. This course will lay the basic groundwork for the core courses to follow. Topics covered will include the structural and physical properties of biological molecules and their behavior in aqueous environments; bioenergetics including thermodynamics of biological reactions and enzyme mechanisms; metabolic biochemistry, including fundamentals of enzyme systems in the processing of biological molecules.

BIOL 8102. Cell and Molecular Biology. This course complements CHEM 8101 by integrating information into the context of regulation of cellular function. Topics will include: Structure of cellular components; the cell cycle; regulation of transcription, translation, and protein trafficking; cell membranes and transport; cell-cell communication, including signal transduction; extracellular matrix.

BIOL 8800. Laboratory Rotations. During the first year of study all students will do at least one rotation for with a maximum of 3 rotations for two hours credit each. A typical rotation will involve 5-10 hours per week in the laboratory for 4-10 weeks (most last half a semester). There is no expectation that the work done during the rotation will result in a publication. A short summary report (1-2 pages) is to be submitted to the Program Coordinator. By the end of the student's second semester he/she must have determined their major advisor. A rotation must have been completed in the advisor's laboratory.

Suggested Year 2:

PHIL 8050. Biomedical ethics. This course will focus on the ethical issues that relate to both biomedical science and biotechnology. Topics will include medical research ethics, ethics of organ "making" and organ transplantation, alternative and complementary medicine, and a heavy emphasis on genetic screening, genetic counseling, gene therapy, cloning, and stem-cell research.

BIOL 8000. Hypothesis Testing.

Required courses to be taken every year:

BIOL 8200. Interdisciplinary Colloquium. This course brings together faculty and students from the program's participating departments in an informal discussion setting. In each session, a guest speaker will begin with a miniseminar on some aspect of the speaker's research. This will be followed by informal discussion among the speaker, faculty and students, with the intent of both introducing the students to research outside of biology and of promoting interdisciplinary critical thinking. Students will be expected to read one or more research papers relevant to the topic prior to the session. This course must be taken every fall semester for the first four years. In subsequent years, registration is not required, but attendance is mandatory.

BIOL 8201. Seminar. Formal student presentations of current literature topics. This course must be taken every spring semester for the first four years. In subsequent years, registration is not required, but attendance is mandatory.

Electives: These courses provide a selection of specialized courses to enhance the interdisciplinary nature of the program. Although 5000 and 6000 level courses are listed, at least half of the course credits taken must be at the 8000 level. The availability of 5000 level courses outside of the primary discipline of the student will make this material accessible. Additional elective courses will be available as seminar courses in individual faculty's area of expertise.

BIOL 9999. Doctoral Degree Graduate Residence. For students who have completed their research as well as all course requirements. Registering for 1 credit hr in this course satisfies the need to be enrolled as a full-time student in the semester in which the student graduates.

BIOL 8999. Doctoral Dissertation Research. Individual investigation that culminates in the preparation and presentation of a doctoral dissertation. For students on an assistantship who have completed the 72 hours of required course work (yet are still conducting research), enrolling in 1 credit hour is sufficient for the student to be considered a full-time student.

BIOL 8104. Integrative Systems Physiology. The purpose of the Integrative Physiology course is to synthesize the content of the preceding core courses into the function of an intact mammalian organism with an emphasis on human physiology. In addition to a traditional survey of organ systems function, the course will serve as a bridge between the preceding core courses and the engineering aspects of the program by addressing problems of the response of cells within tissues to stress and their impact on organismal response.

BIOL 8103. Microbiology and Immunology. This course will focus on the function and pathogenesis of prokaryotes, as well as related aspects of host response. Topics will include microbial physiology with an emphasis on aspects relevant to pathogenesis; bacterial genetics with an emphasis on operons and regulons as models of control of bacterial gene expression; pathogenic microbiology. The Immunology module will focus on the interaction between immunology and chemistry (immuno-toxicology), molecular biology and microbiology (resistance to infection and tumors).

BIOL 8000. Advanced Genetics: Epigenetics. The study of heritable changes in gene function that cannot be explained by changes in DNA sequence. In this course the molecular biology of and seminal papers for topics related to epigenetic regulation and the role of heritable gene regulation in biology will be covered. [Fall]

BIOL 8000. How to be a Professional Scientist. This course will be taught as if you are a new Assistant Professor or new Research Scientist just joining a university or a company. What do you do now? The overall goal of this course is to expose you to information, ideas, and problems that might arise as a new Assistant Professor or Research Scientist. Much of what is done in this course will be useful to students now, and when students go on to a postdoctoral or industrial position.  [Spring]

BIOL 8000. NIH Study Section. This course will be taught as if you are a member of a standing NIH Study Section. The overall goal of this course is to expose you to the duties of an NIH extramural grant reviewer by actively participating in reviews of a variety of NIH grants. [Spring]

BIOL 8000/PHYS 8101. Biophysics. This course will provide a survey of physical principles relevant to biological research followed by a more in depth treatment of these principles related to optical and imaging techniques for biomedical applications:

a. Elements of Optical Science and Technology; topics include: optical parameters, light sources and detectors, optical components, devices, and light guides; light-tissue interaction and laser beam delivery; diagnostic and therapeutic modalities.

 

b. Optics in Biomedical Sciences; specific applications to thermography, cardiology, oncology, dermatology, ophthalmology, and dentistry are presented. Safety considerations relating to bio-hazards, chemical effects, and use of high-power lasers and high-voltage devices are considered. The use of light for (non-invasive) high resolution imaging will be discussed. The focus will be on light-tissue interaction to identify (diseased) tissues. Additional imaging applications include: topography of heart valve motion, 3-D image reconstruction, and computer simulations.

All aspects of diagnostics and treatment utilities will be viewed in their relation to normal physiological functions, including: fluid dynamics (blood flow), mechanics (muscle contraction), and electronics (cell electrical activity).

 

CHEM 8165. Advanced Biochemistry. An advanced course on protein structure, enzyme and mechanistic biochemistry, metabolic biochemistry, biophysical chemistry.

BIOL 8000/MEGR 8109. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. This interdisciplinary course will integrate key areas of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biotechnology and Bioengineering. Biotechnology and Bioengineering incorporates lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and writing. Lectures will establish a strong background in the biochemical basis of cells and biotechnology; key aspects of Biomedical Engineering will be discussed to introduce biotechnological innovations based in Engineering. Invited lectures by researchers will provide examples of how basic science establishes the foundation for innovation.

BIOL 6010. Special topics in Microbiology. (1-4G) Advanced courses in microbiology. May be

repeated for credit as topics vary. Lecture and laboratory hours will vary with the courses taught. (On demand)

BIOL 6030. Special topics in Genetics. (1-4G) Advanced courses in genetics. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Lecture and laboratory hours will vary with the courses taught. (On demand)

BIOL 6040. Special topics in Molecular Biology. (1-4G) Advanced courses in biochemistry and molecular biology. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Lecture and laboratory hours will vary with the courses taught. (On demand)

BIOL 6050. Special topics in Physiology. (1-4G) Advanced courses in physiology. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. Lecture and laboratory hours will vary with the courses taught. (On demand)

CHEM 6169. Topics in Biochemistry. (3G) A discussion of current topics in biochemistry emphasizing their biomedical/biotechnological aspects from bioinorganic chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry, biophysical chemistry, biocomputational chemistry. Three lecture hours per week. (Fall, Spring)

EEGR 6127. Medical Ultrasonics. (3G) Acoustic wave propagation in fluids and solids, acoustic impedances, acoustic radiators and beam profiles; piezoelectricity, piezoelectric ceramics and polymers, integrated ultrasound transducers, design and testing of medical ultrasound transducers; hyperthermia, imaging, tissue characterization. (Spring)

EEGR 6118. Applied Digital Image Processing. (3G) Digital image fundamentals; comparison of image transforms including Fourier, Walsh, Hadamard and Cosine; image data compression techniques; image enhancement algorithms; image restoration; image encoding process; image segmentation and description; relationship of hardware restrictions to image fidelity. (On demand)

PHYS 6251. Statistical Physics. (3G) Classical and quantum statistical mechanics. Statistical thermodynamics. Ensembles, partition functions, fluctuations, ideal Fermi and Bose gas systems. (Spring, alternate years)

PHYS 6131. Classical Electromagnetism I. Electrostatic and boundary value problems. Multipole expansions, dielectrics and magnetostatics. Maxwell's equations, time varying fields and conservation laws. Plane electromagnetic waves and wave propagation. Wave guides and resonant cavities. Simple radiating systems. Scattering and diffraction theory. (Fall, alternate years)

BIOL5250 Microbiology. (3G) Morphology, physiology,

BIOL 5252. Monoclonal Antibodies/Production and Purification. (3G) A laboratory-oriented course devoted to the theory and procedures for the production and utilization of Monoclonal antibodies and the associated techniques for protein isolation and characterization. One lecture hour and two laboratory periods of three hours a week. (Fall)

BIOL 5255. Bacterial Genetics. (3G) Regulation of gene expression in bacterial systems. Bacteriophage genetics. DNA transfer in bacteria. (Spring)

BIOL 5256. Pathogenic Bacteriology. (3G) Cellular and molecular interactions of mammalian hosts with procaryotic parasites. (Fall)

BIOL 5257. Microbial Physiology and Metabolism. (4G) A laboratory-oriented course covering such topics in general microbiology as the preparation and use of cell-free systems, isolation of auxotrophs, transport mechanisms, etc. Lectures in microbial metabolism and physiology and reading on recent development in microbiology. Two, one-hour lectures and two, two-hour laboratory periods per week. (Fall)

BIOL 5259. Virology. (3G) Morphology, classification, genetics and pathogenicity of bacterial and animal viruses. (Fall)

BIOL 5277. Endocrinology. (3G) Endocrine glands and their physiological roles in metabolism, growth and reproduction. (Spring)

BIOL 5279. Neurobiology. (3G) Physiology and anatomy of nervous systems, especially mammalian. (Spring)

BIOL 5291. Advances in Immunology. (3G) Current topics in immunology with particular emphasis upon the genetic systems and molecular mechanisms underlying immune reactions. Additional work required by graduate students. (Fall)

CEGR 5141. Bioprocess Engineering. (3) (3G) Introduction to metabolic pathways, growth kinetics and reactor theories. Laboratory investigation of the operation, optimization and scale-up problems associated with batch and continuous culture of microorganisms. Process analysis and modeling of environmental engineering processes. (Spring)

CEGR 5232. Bioenvironmental Engineering. (3) (3G) Theoretical principles and design of aerobic and anaerobic biological unit processes for renovating waters and wastewaters. Activated sludge, aerated and facultative lagoons, rotating biological contractors, trickling and anaerobic filters. (On demand)

CHEM 5165. Structure and Mechanism in Protein Chemistry. (3G) (3G) Examination of structures, properties, and functions of proteins, enzyme catalysis, and bioenergetics, emphasizing underlying mechanistic chemical and biochemical principles. (Spring) (Alternate years)