Biology

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.

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.