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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Biology Undergrads, <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Five biology advanced seminars will be offered fall 2020-2021. Pdf posters and information for the seminars are attached.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/">https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN">7.341 The Microbiome and Drug Delivery: Cross-species Communication in Health and Disease</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Instructor: Miguel Jimenez (<a href="mailto:jmiguelj@mit.edu">jmiguelj@mit.edu</a>, 949-285-0318, laboratory of Robert Langer)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>7.342 The Seeds and the Soil: Roles of Tumor Heterogeneity and the Tumor Microenvironment in Cancer Metastasis</b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Instructors: Yun Zhang (<a href="mailto:y.zhang@wi.mit.edu">y.zhang@wi.mit.edu</a>, 919-600-8633, laboratory of Bob Weinberg), Arthur Lambert (<a href="mailto:alambert@wi.mit.edu">alambert@wi.mit.edu</a>, 603-978-2866, laboratory of Bob
Weinberg) <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN">7.343 Microbial Megaproducers: Discovery, Biosynthesis, Engineering and Applications of Natural Products</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Instructors: Kenton Hetrick (<a href="mailto:khetrick@mit.edu">khetrick@mit.edu</a>, 617-571-4580, laboratory of Ron Raines), </span>Emily Ulrich (<a href="mailto:eulrich@mit.edu">eulrich@mit.edu</a>, 608-215-6892, laboratory
of Cathy Drennan)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>7.344 How Parasites Hijack Their Hosts: Mechanisms of Host-Pathogen Interactions</b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Instructors: Elizabeth Boydston (<a href="mailto:liz@wi.mit.edu">liz@wi.mit.edu</a>, 617-324-5869, laboratory of Sebastian Lourido), Jon McGinn (<a href="mailto:mcginn@mit.edu">mcginn@mit.edu</a>, 617-258-6455, laboratory of Rebecca Lamason)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>7.346 Chemical Biology: Using Chemicals and Chemistry to Probe Biological Mechanisms and Identify Therapeutic Targets</b><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN">Instructor: Boyuan Wang (<a href="mailto:boyuanw@mit.edu">boyuanw@mit.edu</a>, 917-855-1293, laboratory of Michael Laub)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Please see below for information from Prof. Bob Horvitz on Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars for 2020-2021.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/">https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">****<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">TO: MIT Biology Majors and Faculty<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">FROM: H. Robert Horvitz, Professor of Biology<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I am writing to inform you of an exciting offering from the Department of Biology for<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">the 2020-2021 academic year: a set of 11 very current seminar courses, 7.34x,<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Advanced Undergraduate Seminars. A complete listing of the courses, instructors, and<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">brief course descriptions is attached below. The topics are highly varied and encompass<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">areas of genetics, genomics, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, virology,<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">cell biology, cancer biology, parasitology, plant biology, chemical biology, evolutionary<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">biology, genome engineering, natural products, biopolymers, drug discovery and<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">delivery, and human disease.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Students can take any number of these courses. The courses, which generally<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">involve four to eight students, are for 6 units, graded pass/fail, and meet two hours each<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">week. The focus is on reading and discussing the primary research literature. Most<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">courses have one short written assignment and one oral presentation. Some include<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">field trips (possibly remote this year) to MIT research laboratories or to companies using<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">technologies discussed in the courses. The level of each course will be tailored to the<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">students who enroll. Because of the small size of these courses, we expect students not<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">to drop these courses once they have begun.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">The scheduling of these courses is flexible. The day of the week and 2-hour<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">period of the day each course will meet will be determined jointly by the prospective<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">students and the instructors at the beginning of the semester.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">These courses offer a number of special features: small class size, a high degree<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">of personal contact with the instructor(s), a focus on the primary research literature, and<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">an opportunity to discuss current problems in biology interactively. I believe these<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">courses greatly enrich an undergraduate’s experience. There are limited alternative<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">opportunities available to undergraduates to interact closely with instructors who are<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">experienced full-time researchers; to learn to read, understand, analyze and critique<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">primary research papers; and to engage in the type of stimulating discussions and<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">debates that characterize how science is really done. Most advanced MIT<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">undergraduates (generally juniors and seniors) have been sufficiently exposed to the<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">basics of biology to be able to read the primary literature and appreciate both<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">methodologies and cutting-edge advances. These courses have two goals: first, to<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">expose students to the kind of thinking that is central to contemporary biological<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">research; and second, to impart specific knowledge in particular areas of<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">biology. These courses are designed to be intellectually stimulating and also to provide<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">excellent preparation for a variety of future careers that require an understanding both of<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">what modern biology is and of how it is done. Students who have taken Advanced<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Undergraduate Seminars in the past (different specific courses, same general design)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">have been enormously enthusiastic about their experiences.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I am writing before Registration Day<span style="color:#FF2600"> </span>to encourage students to consider enrolling<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">in one of these seminar courses. Please feel free to contact any of the instructors to<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">learn more about their courses and in particular to discuss possible meeting days and<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">times if those listed are not possible for you.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">To learn more about the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars to be offered<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">during the Fall 2020 semester, please check our website<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#0433FF"><a href="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/">https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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