Exploration of advanced topics in medicine from a molecular
standpoint, with a focus on the mechanistic basis for acquired
and infectious diseases.
Athena Title
Human Biochemistry II
Prerequisite
BCMB 4120/6120
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will elaborate on the interplay of the 4 biomolecules of life, taught in prerequisite courses, and assess their impact on cellular, organ, and whole system as well as their ability to be manipulated by modern medicine, representing novel opportunities for intervention in disease states
Students will describe vertebrate development through somitogenesis and explain the involvement of the Notch pathway.
Students will recall the hallmarks of cancer and how the Notch pathway is involved in T cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
Students will explain how stem cells can be applied in disease modeling, disease mechanism discovery, cell replacement therapy, and drug discovery.
Students will evaluate the benefits and limitations of different stem cell technologies, including the ethical dimensions.
Students will compare the cellular and biochemical mechanisms of common neurodegenerative diseases.
Students will describe the role of cellular stress responses in the process of aging.
Students will evaluate alignment between biochemical and cell biological data and models.
Students will develop a conceptual and mechanistic understanding of hemoglobin structure-function and impacts on hemoglobinopathies and plasmodium biochemistry and metabolism.
Students will evaluate merits and limitations of breakthroughs in gene therapy and genome editing therapeutic approaches to these diseases.
Students will evaluate results from primary literature with respect to current theories of and therapies for human disorders
Students will explain key scientific results in oral and visual formats to varied audiences.
Topical Outline
Human Pluripotent Stem Cells (hPSCs) and applications to disease mechanisms, drug discovery, cell therapies
Biochemistry of development and its underpinning of birth defects and cancer
Molecular defects in cancer
Drug discovery process
Biosynthetic pathways as drug targets
Clinical pharmacology
Biochemistry of hemoglobinopathies
Gene therapies and genome editing for sickle cell disease
Mechanisms of malaria (plasmodium) and associated therapies
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
