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Overview

Pathology 750 is a graduate-level course that covers general topics in cellular and molecular biology, ranging from nuclear targeting and cellular signaling mechanisms, to angiogenesis and cell invasion. Disease mechanisms are emphasized when possible. The course is usually oversubscribed by graduate students, and is thus not open to undergraduates.

The 2005 lecture schedule is shown below. The lectures will be at an advanced level with an emphasis on experimental approaches. Students with weaknesses in these topics should re-acquaint themselves with the topic by consulting a cell biology text or recent review.

Course organization

The course consists each week of two lectures (M, W) and one discussion (F). For discussion, the class will be split into four groups, two that meet during the assigned class time (9:50-10:45AM) and two that meet in the following hour (11:00-11:50).

Course discussions

Discussion will focus on an assigned scientific paper that best illustrates recent work in the weekly topic. Students can access the assigned paper and assigned questions on the course website. The main purpose for the assigned questions is to help the students read the paper and come to the discussion prepared to discuss these questions and other issues that may come up. Students will be expected to attend discussion and hand in answers to the assigned questions as part of their grade.

Experimental Problems

Students will complete three experimental problems during the semester, each covering a third of the course. In this exercise, the students will select one problem from a set of four, will formulate an hypothesis in response to the question posed, propose one or a related set of experiments to test their hypothesis, describe potential outcomes of their experiments, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their proposed approach.

Grading

Points will be awarded for attendance in discussions and answers to the discussion questions (70 pts total) and for each of the three experimental problems (150 pts total). The final course grade will be based on total cumulative points (220 possible points). There will be no midterms or final exam.

Where

Course location to be announced.