[bioundgrd] Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars AY 2020-2021

Tue Aug 25 14:06:50 EDT 2020

Dear biology undergrads and faculty,

Five biology advanced seminars will be offered fall 2020-2021. Pdf posters and information for the seminars are attached.
https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/ <https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/>

7.341  The Microbiome and Drug Delivery: Cross-species Communication in Health and Disease
Instructor: Miguel Jimenez (jmiguelj at mit.edu <mailto:jmiguelj at mit.edu>, 949-285-0318, laboratory of Robert Langer)

7.342  The Seeds and the Soil: Roles of Tumor Heterogeneity and the Tumor Microenvironment in Cancer Metastasis
Instructors: Yun Zhang (y.zhang at wi.mit.edu <mailto:y.zhang at wi.mit.edu>, 919-600-8633, laboratory of Bob Weinberg), Arthur Lambert (alambert at wi.mit.edu <mailto:alambert at wi.mit.edu>, 603-978-2866, laboratory of Bob Weinberg) 

7.343  Microbial Megaproducers: Discovery, Biosynthesis, Engineering and Applications of Natural Products
Instructors: Kenton Hetrick (khetrick at mit.edu <mailto:khetrick at mit.edu>, 617-571-4580, laboratory of Ron Raines), Emily Ulrich (eulrich at mit.edu <mailto:eulrich at mit.edu>, 608-215-6892, laboratory of Cathy Drennan)

7.344  How Parasites Hijack Their Hosts: Mechanisms of Host-Pathogen Interactions
Instructors: Elizabeth Boydston (liz at wi.mit.edu <mailto:liz at wi.mit.edu>, 617-324-5869, laboratory of Sebastian Lourido), Jon McGinn (mcginn at mit.edu <mailto:mcginn at mit.edu>, 617-258-6455, laboratory of Rebecca Lamason)

7.346  Chemical Biology: Using Chemicals and Chemistry to Probe Biological Mechanisms and Identify Therapeutic Targets
Instructor: Boyuan Wang (boyuanw at mit.edu <mailto:boyuanw at mit.edu>, 917-855-1293, laboratory of Michael Laub)

Best wishes,
Janice

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> From: Janice Chang <jdchang at mit.edu>
> Subject: Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars AY 2020-2021
> Date: August 4, 2020 at 7:17:20 AM EDT
> To: bioundgrd <bioundgrd at mit.edu>, biofac <biofac at mit.edu>
> 
> Dear biology undergrads and faculty,
> 
> Please see below for information from Prof. Bob Horvitz on Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars for 2020-2021.
> 
> https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/ <https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/>
> 
> ****
> TO: MIT Biology Majors and Faculty
> FROM: H. Robert Horvitz, Professor of Biology
> 
> 
> I am writing to inform you of an exciting offering from the Department of Biology for
> the 2020-2021 academic year: a set of 11 very current seminar courses, 7.34x,
> Advanced Undergraduate Seminars. A complete listing of the courses, instructors, and
> brief course descriptions is attached below. The topics are highly varied and encompass
> areas of genetics, genomics, biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, virology,
> cell biology, cancer biology, parasitology, plant biology, chemical biology, evolutionary
> biology, genome engineering, natural products, biopolymers, drug discovery and
> delivery, and human disease.
> 
> Students 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 one short written assignment and one oral presentation. Some include
> field trips (possibly remote this year) to MIT research laboratories or to companies 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.
> 
> The scheduling of these courses is flexible. The day of the week and 2-hour
> period of the day each course will meet will be determined jointly by the prospective
> students and the instructors at the beginning of the semester.
> 
> These courses offer a number of special features: small class size, a high degree
> of personal contact with the instructor(s), 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, analyze and critique
> 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 before Registration Day to encourage students to consider enrolling
> in one of these seminar courses. Please feel free to contact any of the instructors to
> learn more about their courses and in particular to discuss possible meeting days and
> times if those listed are not possible for you.
> 
> To learn more about the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars to be offered
> during the Fall 2020 semester, please check our website
> https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/ <https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/>
> 
> 

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