Course Description
Selected topics in biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, and biotechnology involved in modern medicine. Includes cloning, stem cells, endocrinology, human genetics, gene testing, and human population genetics. Bioethical issues will also be discussed. Both formal lectures and discussion sessions will be utilized and students will write short essays on selected topics.
Athena Title
Biology for Medicine
Non-Traditional Format
Will include lectures, discussion groups, and seminars. There will be ten hours in discussions/seminars per week for three weeks, accompanying ten lectures per week. This course, designed for the Maymester, will be taught at the UGA facility in Cortona, Italy.
Prerequisite
BIOL 1107 or BIOL 1107E
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course is a lecture and small group discussion-based course, taught by faculty from the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Genetics, designed to introduce students to the integrated treatment of human biochemistry and genetics and covers selected topics on the biochemical and genetic bases of human evolution and disease. Upon completion of this course students should have a fundamental understanding of the biochemical mechanisms operative in the normal function of the human body, variation and genetics, gene flow and natural selection, genetic drift and molecular evolution, and the human genome and epigenome. Moreover, they will also have grounding in the molecular and cellular basis underlying a number of human diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and disorders of the cardiovascular and circulatory, metabolic, reproductive and early developmental, digestive, immune, neural, and muscular systems. Following fundamental biochemical and genetic information that is given each lecture, there are small group discussions in which students prepare researched written material and lead (orally) fellow students in a critical assimilation and analysis of the presented information. Included in the small group discussions are one or more clinical cases using actual case reports from the literature. The discussions include ethical and moral issues, as well as the underlying biochemical/genetic principles and disorders. The learning objectives of this course include problem solving communicated through writing on examinations, critical thinking, moral and ethical reasoning, and oral and written presentations. Student performance is assessed through two written in-class, closed book examinations using a variety of formats: true-false, matching, multiple choice, short essay, discussion, and problem solving. In addition, participation in small group discussions and oral and written presentations are evaluated. At the end of the semester student evaluations are obtained in class consistent with the university policy.
Topical Outline
Fertilization, Implantation, Early Development, Stem Cells and Stem Cell-Based Therapies Endocrinology (Reproductive & Sexual Differentiation, Thyroid and Adrenal) Neurochemistry and Muscle Biochemistry Blood and Acid-Base Balance Digestion, Hepatic and Integrative Metabolism Cardiac Biochemistry and Vascular Biology Immunology Cell Cycle Regulation, Oncogenes and Cancer Biology Biotechnology, including Bioreactors and Bioethics Gene Flow and Natural Selection Genetic Drift and Molecular and Human Evolution The Human Genome and Epigenome Social Impact of Individual Genome Sequencing Pathogenic Bacterial Genomes and Synthetic Cells
Syllabus