Courses

General Chemistry I is a pre-requisite; General Chemistry II is a pre/co-requisite. In this course, we will introduce basic terminology, important concepts, and basic problem-solving skills in order to prepare biology and pre-health students for the challenging Biology courses they will take at Columbia. We will do a deep dive into a small number of topics and use these as access points to teaching skills that will aid students in future STEM courses. Classes will include time for problem solving. Recitations will involve problem solving and student presentations of solutions to problems.

This undergraduate lecture course will introduce how transgenic and mutant mouse models are generated and their utility in defining the functional roles of genes in vivo.  Classically, the function of a gene is tested in vivo by either overexpressing or inactivating its expression, leading to a gain-of-function or loss-of-function phenotype from which is inferred a gene’s normal role in homeostasis.  Here we will explore the classic strategies for the generation of transgenic and knockout mice, comparing and contrasting their individual strengths and weaknesses, while exploring the phenotypes that have resulted from these changes in gene expression.  Using a subset of primary papers, students will be introduced to research analysis to become more versed in the layers of experimental design needed to identify a gene’s function in vivo.   The theoretical timing and the strategy needed to design such experiments with these transgenic and mutant mouse models, and the power of stem cell experiments will be discussed.    

In addition, to develop critical and additional analytical skills, students will become versed in basic tissue histology and immunohistochemistry, using processed paraffin-embedded mouse tissues from wild-type and engineered mutant mouse lines.  Students will learn how to recognize numerous, normal adult tissues with light microscopy and to identify proliferative zones vs. fully differentiated layers within each.  In addition, they will analyze the development of mid-to-late gestational embryos in serial sections, to underscore the coordinated transformation of tissues required for normal embryonic development.  Finally, serial sections from well-defined mutant mouse models will used to identify and characterize abnormal phenotypes resulting from the knock-out of genes encoding cell cycle regulators or tumor suppressors.  Live animal handling or experimentation is not a component of this course.

This is an intermediate seminar course focusing on primary literature studying infectious disease in New York City. Selected topics will emphasize transmission ecology and cellular and molecular pathogenesis. The course is organized around presentation and critique of landmark papers in the field. All primary literature to be read study infectious disease in New York City. Potential examples include cholera in the 19th century, typhoid in the early 20th century, AIDS in the late 20th century, and COVID in the 21st century. Discussions will integrate the interplay of laboratory science with New York City organizations and infrastructure throughout history. Students will examine the communities and environments in which residents of New York City experience infectious diseases. Students will also study times of the past, to learn theories and methods of historical analysis, and to discover how different concepts of history shape our understanding of infectious disease, both past and present. Place-based learning will occur at historical locations in New York City.

This is an intermediate seminar course focusing on primary literature studying infectious disease in New York City. Selected topics will emphasize transmission ecology and cellular and molecular pathogenesis. The course is organized around presentation and critique of landmark papers in the field. All primary literature to be read study infectious disease in New York City. Potential examples include cholera in the 19th century, typhoid in the early 20th century, AIDS in the late 20th century, and COVID in the 21st century. Discussions will integrate the interplay of laboratory science with New York City organizations and infrastructure throughout history. Students will examine the communities and environments in which residents of New York City experience infectious diseases. Students will also study times of the past, to learn theories and methods of historical analysis, and to discover how different concepts of history shape our understanding of infectious disease, both past and present. Place-based learning will occur at historical locations in New York City.

Prerequisites:  Chem UN1403 and CHEM UN1404.   Intense laboratory where students desiring an introduction to laboratory skills meet MTWR, 5 hours a day for four weeks in the summer term participating in experimental bench work, data analysis and safe laboratory practice. Grades depend on preparation, participation in the laboratory, short lab reports, critical thinking and experimental skill.  There will be two sections for S4515.  Section 001 begins June 7th and runs through July 1st.  Section 002 begins July 6th and runs through July 29th.  

Students enrolled in the MA in Biotechnology Program have the opportunity to receive academic credit while conducting Supervised Research under the guidance of a faculty mentor within the University (S5502) or a biotech business-specific Supervised Internship outside the University (S5503) within the New York City Metropolitan Area unless otherwise approved by the Program. Credits received from this course are used to fulfill the Practical Training requirement for the MA degree.

Students enrolled in the MA in Biotechnology Program have the opportunity to receive academic credit while conducting Supervised Research under the guidance of a faculty mentor within the University (S5502) or a biotech business-specific Supervised Internship outside the University (S5503) within the New York City Metropolitan Area unless otherwise approved by the Program. Credits received from this course are used to fulfill the Practical Training requirement for the MA degree.

Students enrolled in the MA in Biotechnology Program have the opportunity to receive academic credit while conducting Supervised Research under the guidance of a faculty mentor within the University (S5502) or a biotech business-specific Supervised Internship outside the University (S5503) within the New York City Metropolitan Area unless otherwise approved by the Program. Credits received from this course are used to fulfill the Practical Training requirement for the MA degree.

Students enrolled in the MA in Biotechnology Program have the opportunity to receive academic credit while conducting Supervised Research under the guidance of a faculty mentor within the University (S5502) or a biotech business-specific Supervised Internship outside the University (S5503) within the New York City Metropolitan Area unless otherwise approved by the Program. Credits received from this course are used to fulfill the Practical Training requirement for the MA degree.

Prerequisites: High school algebra or the instructor's permission. Recommended: high school physics and chemistry. This course is preparation for CHEM UN1403 General Chemistry I Lecture or the equivalent, as well as for other science courses. It is intended for students who have not attended school for sometime or who do not have a firm grasp of high school chemistry. Topics include inorganic nomenclature, chemical reactions, chemical bonding and its relation to molecular structure, stoichiometry, periodic properties of elements, chemical equilibrium, gas laws, acids and bases, and electrochemistry. Please note that students must attend a recitation section.

Prerequisites: high school chemistry and algebra, CHEM S0001, or the department's permission. Topics include stoichiometry, states of matter, nuclear properties, electronic structures of atoms, periodic properties, chemical bonding, molecular geometry, introduction to quantum mechanics and atomic theory, introduction to organic, biological chemistry and inorganic coordination chemistry. Topical subjects may include spectroscopy, solid state and materials science, polymer science and macromolecular structures. The order of presentation of topics may differ from the order presented here. Students are required to attend the separate daily morning recitations which accompany the lectures (total time block: MTWR 9:30-12:20). Registering for CHEM S1403D will automatically register students for the recitation section. Students who wish to take the full sequence of General Chemistry Lectures and General Chemistry Laboratory should also register for CHEM S1404Q and CHEM S1500 (see below). This course is equivalent to CHEM W1403 General Chemistry I Lecture.

Prerequisites: CHEM S1403 General Chemistry I Lecture or the equivalent. Topics include gases, kinetic theory of gases, states of matter: liquids and solids, chemical equilibria, acids and bases, applications of equilibria, thermochemistry and spontaneous processes (energy, enthalpy, entropy, free energy) as well as chemical kinetics and electrochemistry. The order of presentation of topics may differ from the order presented here. Students must also attend the daily morning recitations which accompany the lectures (total time block: MTWR 9:30-12:20). Registering for CHEM S1404Q will automatically register students for the recitation section. The continuation of CHEM S1403D General Chemistry I Lecture. Students who wish to take the full sequence of General Chemistry Lectures and General Chemistry Laboratory should also register for CHEM S1403D and CHEM S1500 (see below). This course is equivalent to CHEM UN1404 General Chemistry II Lecture.