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<div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><span class="">Dear Biology undergrads and faculty,</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></div><div class=""><div class=""><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">Please see below for information from Prof. Bob Horvitz on Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars for Spring 2021. </div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"><div style="margin: 0in;" class="">Four spring seminars will be offered.</div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class="">7.342 How Cells Perform Amazing Functions and Evolve to Overcome Challenging Environments<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;" class="">Instructor: Idan Frumkin (<a href="mailto:frumkini@mit.edu" style="color: blue;" class="">frumkini@mit.edu</a>, 617-335-4294, laboratory of Michael Laub)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class="">7.343 Food for Thought: How Metabolism Controls Cancer Cell Biology<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;" class="">Instructors: Alicia Darnell (<span style="color: blue;" class=""><a href="mailto:adarnell@mit.edu" style="color: blue;" class="">adarnell@mit.edu</a></span>, 5-4523; laboratory of Matthew Vander Heiden)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;" class="">Evan Lien (<span style="color: blue;" class=""><a href="mailto:elien@mit.edu" style="color: blue;" class="">elien@mit.edu</a></span>, 5-4523; laboratory of Matthew Vander Heiden)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class="">7.345 Peptides and Nucleosides: Structures, Synthesis and Therapeutic Strategies<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;" class="">Instructors: Christine Arbour (<span style="color: blue;" class=""><a href="mailto:arbour@mit.edu" style="color: blue;" class="">arbour@mit.edu</a></span>, 617-253-0206, laboratory of Barbara Imperiali)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;" class="">Leah Seebald (<span style="color: blue;" class=""><a href="mailto:lseebald@mit.edu" style="color: blue;" class="">lseebald@mit.edu</a></span>, 617-253-0206, laboratory of Barbara Imperiali)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class="">7.346 Plants at War: How Conflicts Shape Plant Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Development<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;" class="">Instructors: Satyaki Rajavasireddy (<span style="color: rgb(5, 99, 194);" class=""><a href="mailto:satyaki@wi.mit.edu" style="color: blue;" class="">satyaki@wi.mit.edu</a></span>, 781-819-4075, laboratory of Mary Gehring)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;" class="">Rebecca Povilus (<span style="color: rgb(5, 99, 194);" class=""><a href="mailto:rpovilus@wi.mit.edu" style="color: blue;" class="">rpovilus@wi.mit.edu</a></span>, 248-953-1498, laboratory of Mary Gehring)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><a href="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/" style="color: blue;" class="">https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">****<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">TO: MIT Biology Majors and Faculty<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">FROM: H. Robert Horvitz, Professor of Biology<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">I am writing to inform you of an exciting offering from the Department of Biology for<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">the 2021 spring semester: a set of four very current seminar courses, 7.34x,<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">Advanced Undergraduate Seminars. A complete listing of the courses, instructors, and<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">brief course descriptions is attached below. The topics are highly varied and encompass<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">areas of genetics, genomics, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, virology,<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">cell biology, cancer biology, parasitology, plant biology, chemical biology, evolutionary<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">biology, natural products, drug discovery and <span class="">delivery, and human disease.</span></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">Students can take any number of these courses. The courses, which generally<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">involve four to eight students, are for 6 units, graded pass/fail, and meet two hours each<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">week. The focus is on reading and discussing the primary research literature. Most<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">courses have one short written assignment and one oral presentation. Some include<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">field trips (possibly remote this year) to MIT research laboratories or to companies using<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">technologies discussed in the courses. The level of each course will be tailored to the<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">students who enroll. Because of the small size of these courses, we expect students not<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">to drop these courses once they have begun.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">The scheduling of these courses is flexible. The day of the week and 2-hour<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">period of the day each course will meet will be determined jointly by the prospective<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">students and the instructors at the beginning of the semester.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">These courses offer a number of special features: small class size, a high degree<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">of personal contact with the instructor(s), a focus on the primary research literature, and<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">an opportunity to discuss current problems in biology interactively. I believe these<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">courses greatly enrich an undergraduate’s experience. There are limited alternative<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">opportunities available to undergraduates to interact closely with instructors who are<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">experienced full-time researchers; to learn to read, understand, analyze and critique<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">primary research papers; and to engage in the type of stimulating discussions and<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">debates that characterize how science is really done. Most advanced MIT<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">undergraduates (generally juniors and seniors) have been sufficiently exposed to the<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">basics of biology to be able to read the primary literature and appreciate both<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">methodologies and cutting-edge advances. These courses have two goals: first, to<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">expose students to the kind of thinking that is central to contemporary biological<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">research; and second, to impart specific knowledge in particular areas of<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">biology. These courses are designed to be intellectually stimulating and also to provide<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">excellent preparation for a variety of future careers that require an understanding both of<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">what modern biology is and of how it is done. Students who have taken Advanced<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">Undergraduate Seminars in the past (different specific courses, same general design)<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">have been enormously enthusiastic about their experiences.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">I am writing before Registration Day<span class="" style="color: rgb(255, 38, 0);"> </span>to encourage students to consider enrolling<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">in one of these seminar courses. Please feel free to contact any of the instructors to<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">learn more about their courses and in particular to discuss possible meeting days and<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">times if those listed are not possible for you.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">To learn more about the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars to be offered<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;">during the Spring 2021 semester, please check our website<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class="" style="margin: 0in;"><a href="https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/" class="" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</a><o:p class=""></o:p></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""></div></div></div></div></body></html>