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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear Biology undergrads,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </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 Spring 2021. <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">**Please note, <span style="color:black">students who have taken the seminars before can share their experience with any MIT students they think might be interested.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Four spring seminars will be offered.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">7.342 How Cells Perform Amazing Functions and Evolve to Overcome Challenging Environments<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Instructor: Idan Frumkin (<a href="mailto:frumkini@mit.edu">frumkini@mit.edu</a>, 617-335-4294, laboratory of Michael Laub)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">7.343 Food for Thought: How Metabolism Controls Cancer Cell Biology<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Instructors: Alicia Darnell (<span style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:adarnell@mit.edu">adarnell@mit.edu</a></span>, 5-4523; laboratory of Matthew Vander Heiden)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Evan Lien (<span style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:elien@mit.edu">elien@mit.edu</a></span>, 5-4523; laboratory of Matthew Vander Heiden)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">7.345 Peptides and Nucleosides: Structures, Synthesis and Therapeutic Strategies<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Instructors: Christine Arbour (<span style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:arbour@mit.edu">arbour@mit.edu</a></span>, 617-253-0206, laboratory of Barbara Imperiali)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Leah Seebald (<span style="color:blue"><a href="mailto:lseebald@mit.edu">lseebald@mit.edu</a></span>, 617-253-0206, laboratory of Barbara Imperiali)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">7.346 Plants at War: How Conflicts Shape Plant Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Development<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Instructors: Satyaki Rajavasireddy (<span style="color:#0563C2"><a href="mailto:satyaki@wi.mit.edu">satyaki@wi.mit.edu</a></span>, 781-819-4075, laboratory of Mary Gehring)<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Rebecca Povilus (<span style="color:#0563C2"><a href="mailto:rpovilus@wi.mit.edu">rpovilus@wi.mit.edu</a></span>, 248-953-1498, laboratory of Mary Gehring)<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">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 2021 spring semester: a set of four 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, natural products, drug discovery and 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">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">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 Spring 2021 semester, please check our website<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/"><span style="color:#0563C1">https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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