Courses

Advanced treatment of the principles and methods of the molecular biology of eukaryotes, emphasizing the organization, expression, and evolution of eukaryotic genes. Topics include reassociation and hybridization kinetics, gene numbers, genomic organization at the DNA level, mechanisms of recombination, transposable elements, DNA rearrangements, gene amplification, oncogenes, recombinant DNA techniques, transcription, and RNA splicing. Students participate in discussions of problems set on the current literature. Course Director: Tim Bestor.

This course is designed to illustrate how genetic systems have played a fundamental role in our understanding of basic biological problems. Topics include mitosis and meiosis, chromosomal linkage and mapping, consequences of chromosomal rearrangements, mechanisms of recombination and gene conversion, the use of mutants to study gene structure, regulation and the cell cycle, uses of recombinant DNA in genetic analysis, and the genetic analysis of development in Drosophila.

Basic principles and current areas of interest in mouse and human genetics. Topics include an introduction to mouse genetics, X-chromosome inactivation and genomic imprinting, genetic manipulation of the mouse, genetics of mouse coat color, genetics of sex determination, human linkage analysis, somatic cell genetics, physical mapping of the human genome, cytogenetics, mitochondrial genetics, and disease. Course Directors: Michael Shen and Wayne Frankel.

This fall-semester course is required for all first-year students and covers basic biochemical and experimental principles, such as protein and nucleic acid structure and chemistry, thermodynamics and enzyme kinetics, and bioinformatics. Also discussed are biochemical processes common to all cells, such as genome replication and repair, regulation of gene expression, cell cycle control, and cell membrane and receptor biochemistry. Course Director: Stavros Lomvardas.

Required for all first-year students, this spring-semester course is an introduction to eukaryotic cell biology and covers such topics as membrane trafficking, mitochondria, nuclei, viral biology, and apoptosis, as well as the cytoskeleton and its role in various cellular processes, including mitosis, cell migration, cell polarity, and cell adhesion. Course Directors: Gregg Gundersen and Ai Yamamoto.

This spring-semester course explores a variety of ethical and policy issues that may arise during basic and clinical scientific research. Course sessions include lectures, discussion periods, and analyses of case studies. Columbia requires that all graduate students share in the discussions. Course Directors: Arthur Palmer and Jaime Rubin.

This spring-semester course provides an introduction to the basic statistics commonly used in biomedical research laboratories. Students are provided with a statistical software package for use during the course. Exercises based on relevant experimental data sets use the software to reinforce the lecture material. Topics covered include the role of statistics in biomedical research, principles of statistical analysis, and selecting and applying the appropriate statistical tests. Course Director: Arthur Palmer.