[bioundgrd] Spring 2007 Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars

[Janice Chang]

TO:     Biology Majors
FROM:   H. Robert Horvitz, Professor of Biology

I am writing to inform you of the exciting Advanced Undergraduate 
Seminar courses being offering by the Department of Biology for the 
Spring 2006 term.  A complete list of the courses, instructors, and 
brief course descriptions are enclosed.  The topics are highly varied 
and encompass areas of genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, 
microbiology, cell biology, immunology, neurobiology, evolution and 
human disease.  A student can take any number of these courses.  The 
courses, which generally involve four to eight students, are for 6 
units, graded pass/fail, and meet two hours each week.  The focus is 
on reading and discussing the primary research literature.  Most 
courses have two short written assignments.  Some include field trips 
to MIT research laboratories or to commercial sites using 
technologies discussed in the courses.  The level of each course will 
be tailored to the students who enroll.  Because of the small size of 
these courses, we expect students not to drop these courses once they 
have begun.

         These courses offer a number of special features:  small 
class size, a high degree of personal contact with the instructor, a 
focus on the primary research literature, and an opportunity to 
discuss current problems in biology interactively.  I believe these 
courses greatly enrich an undergraduate's experience.  There are 
limited alternative opportunities available to undergraduates to 
interact closely with instructors who are experienced full-time 
researchers; to learn to read, understand, and analyze primary 
research papers; and to engage in the type of stimulating discussions 
and debates that characterize how science is really done.  Most 
advanced MIT undergraduates (generally juniors and seniors) have been 
sufficiently exposed to the basics of biology to be able to read the 
primary literature and appreciate both methodologies and cutting-edge 
advances.  These courses have two goals:  first, to expose students 
to the kind of thinking that is central to contemporary biological 
research; and second, to impart specific knowledge in particular 
areas of biology.  These courses are designed to be intellectually 
stimulating and also to provide excellent preparation for a variety 
of future careers that require an understanding both of what modern 
biology is and of how it is done.  Students who have taken Advanced 
Undergraduate Seminars in the past (different specific courses, same 
general design) have been enormously enthusiastic about their 
experiences.

          I am writing to you before Registration Day this Spring to 
encourage you to consider enrolling for one of these seminar courses. 
To learn more about the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars, please check 
our website (http://mit.edu/biology/www/undergrad/adv-ugsem.html) 
and/or contact the instructors


Spring 2006-2007

7.340  Under the Radar Screen: How Bugs Trick Our Immune Defenses
Instructors: Marie-Eve Paquet (paquet at wi.mit.edu; 4-1734; laboratory 
of Hidde Ploegh)
Gijsbert Grotenbreg (grotenbreg at wi.mit.edu; 4-2081; laboratory of Hidde Ploegh)
Spring 2007. Thursdays, 1-3 pm.  Room 68-151.

Why are infectious diseases such as HIV, mycobacterium tuberculosis, 
malaria or influenza thriving today and killing millions of people 
each year? These diseases are threats because our immune system 
sometimes fails. Although we are equipped to effectively counter most 
attacks from the microbial world, some pathogens have developed ways 
to evade both our innate and adaptive immune barriers to ensure their 
own survival. The strategies used by these viruses, bacteria or 
parasites are numerous, but all target specific branches and pathways 
of our immune defenses. In this course, we will explore the specific 
ways by which microbes defeat our immune system and the molecular 
mechanisms that are under attack (phagocytosis, the 
ubiquitin/proteasome pathway, MHC I/II antigen presentation). Through 
our discussion and  dissection of the primary research literature, we 
will explore aspects of host-pathogen interactions. We will 
particularly emphasize the experimental techniques used in the field 
and how to read and understand research data. Technological advances 
in the fight against microbes will also be discussed, with specific 
examples. These sessions will highlight the interplay among different 
disciplines of biology and the fact that much can be learned about 
the fundamental properties of our immune system through the study of 
immune evasion.


7.341  Sex, Chromosomes, and Disease
Instructors:	Dena Cohen (greendna at mit.edu, 3-3567; laboratory of 
Leonard Guarente)
		Sheryl Krevsky Elkin (skelkin at mit.edu, 4-1963; 
laboratory of Angelika Amon)
Spring 2007.  Wednesdays, 3-5 pm.  Room 68-151.

Organisms as diverse as the papaya and the platypus use sexual 
reproduction to generate genetic diversity.  How does an organism 
with two copies of each chromosome create a gamete with only one set 
of chromosomes?  What are the genetic determinants of gender, and how 
did these elements evolve?  In this course we will examine meiosis, 
the specialized cell division through which diploid organisms 
generate haploid gametes such as sperm and eggs.  During meiosis, 
cells undergo DNA replication, followed by two nuclear divisions, and 
the chromosomes must be properly segregated, one copy to each 
daughter cell.  Improper chromosome segregation during meiosis is the 
leading cause of miscarriage and can also result in a variety of 
disorders, such as Down's Syndrome (three copies of chromosome 21) 
and Klinefelter syndrome (men have an extra copy of the X chromosome, 
i.e. are XXY instead of XY).  We will talk about what makes the X and 
Y chromosomes different and how those chromosomes can cause 
individuals to be male (XY) or female (XX).  We will also think about 
how sex chromosomes have evolved and discuss special mechanisms, such 
as X-chromosome inactivation, that have evolved to help organisms 
cope with the fact that females have twice as many copies of the X 
chromosome as do males.


7.342  G-Protein Coupled Receptors: Vision and Disease
Instructor:   Parvathi Kota (pkota at mit.edu, 3-1866; laboratory of 
Gobind Khorana)
Spring 2007.  Thursdays, 3-5 pm.  Room 68-151.

How do we communicate with the outside world?  How are our senses of 
vision, smell, taste and pain controlled at the cellular and 
molecular levels?  What causes medical conditions like allergies, 
hypertension, depression, obesity and various central nervous system 
disorders?   G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) provide a major part 
of the answer to all of these questions.  GPCRs constitute the 
largest family of cell-surface receptors and in humans are encoded by 
more than 1,000 genes.  GPCRs convert extracellular messages into 
intracellular responses and are involved in essentially all 
physiological processes.  GPCR dysfunction results in numerous human 
disorders, and over 50% of all prescription drugs on the market today 
directly or indirectly target GPCRs.  In this course, we will discuss 
GPCR-mediated signal transduction pathways, GPCR oligomerization and 
the diseases caused by GPCR dysfunction.  We will study the structure 
and function of rhodopsin, a dim-light photoreceptor and a 
well-studied GPCR that converts light into electric impulses sent to 
the brain and leads to vision.  We will also discuss how mutations in 
rhodopsin cause retinal degeneration and congenital night blindness.


7.343  Neuron-glial Cell Interactions in Biology and Disease
Instructor: Bikem Akten (bikem at mit.edu, 2-2726, 46-3251, Supervisor: 
Dr. Troy Littleton) Spring 2007.  Thursdays, 11 am - 1 pm.  Room 
68-151.

Glia (Greek for "glue"), the non-neuronal elements of the nervous 
system, were first identified in 1846 by the anatomist Rudolph 
Virchow.  Since then, glial cells have been regarded as passive 
nervous system components that provide insulation and tropic support 
for neurons.  This view has been challenged in the last few years, 
and we now know that glial cells actively control synapse formation, 
synapse function and synaptic plasticity.  In the mammalian nervous 
system, glial cells outnumber neurons by a factor of ten, reflecting 
the importance of these cells.  Thus, it seems essential that we 
understand the functions of these cells and rethink our view of the 
nervous system as we learn more about the dynamic connections among 
neuronal and glial cells.  The main goal of this seminar will be to 
study the nervous system from the perspective of neuron-glia 
interactions.  In each class, we will focus on one type of glial cell 
and discuss its origin, classification and function within the 
nervous system.   Current findings concerning diseases associated 
with each type of glial cell will be discussed.  Topics will include 
the behavior of glial cells in diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis 
(MS), glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), HIV-associated dementia (HAD), 
Alzheimer's Disease (AD), ischemia, hypoxia and epilepsy.  We will 
also discuss the role of glial cells as neural stem cells in the 
adult brain and their importance in the effective rebuilding of 
damaged brains after injury or disease-associated neurodegeneration. 
The class will include a field trip to a medical school to observe 
clinical research concerning glial disorders. 





7.344   Antibiotics, Toxins, and Protein Engineering
Instructors:	Caroline Koehrer (koehrer at mit.edu, 3-1870; laboratory 
of Uttam RajBhandary)
Mandana Sassanfar (mandana at mit.edu, 452-4371; Education Office)
Spring 2007.  Tuesdays, 1-3 pm.  Room 68-151.

The lethal poison Ricin (best known as a weapon of bioterrorism), 
Diphtheria toxin (the causative agent of a highly contagious 
bacterial disease), and the widely used antibiotic tetracycline have 
one thing in common: they specifically target the cell's 
translational apparatus and disrupt protein synthesis.  In this 
course, we will explore the mechanisms of action of toxins and 
antibiotics, their roles in everyday medicine, and the emergence and 
spread of drug resistance.  We will also discuss the identification 
of new drug targets and how we can manipulate the protein synthesis 
machinery to provide powerful tools for protein engineering and 
potential new treatments for patients with devastating diseases, such 
as cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy.
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