[bioundgrd] Reminder: Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars - Spring 2025

[Joshua Stone]

Dear Undergrads and Faculty,

Please see below for information from Prof. Bob Horvitz on Biology Advanced Undergraduate Seminars for Spring 2025.

Descriptions and posters for each course can be found on the following page.
https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/

Please note that scheduling for these courses is flexible and will be determined jointly by the prospective students and the instructors at the beginning of the semester.

**Please note, students who have taken the seminars before can share their experience with any MIT students they think might be interested.

****

TO: MIT Biology Majors
FROM: H. Robert Horvitz, Professor of Biology
DATE: January 2, 2025

I am writing to inform you of an exciting offering from the Department of Biology for
the 2025 spring semesters: a set of 4 very current seminar courses, 7.34x,
Advanced Undergraduate Seminars. A complete listing of the courses, instructors, and
brief course descriptions is enclosed. The topics are highly varied and encompass
areas of genetics, genomics, biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology,
bacteriology, biophysics, microbiology, immunology, developmental biology,
evolutionary biology, cancer biology, stem cells, infectious diseases, other human
diseases, antibiotic resistance, chemotherapy, vaccines, bioengineering and
biotechnology, and the search for extraterrestrial life.

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 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 to you before Registration Day to encourage you 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 Spring 2025 semester, please check our website
(https://biology.mit.edu/undergraduate/current-students/subject-offerings/advanced-undergraduate-seminars/) and/or contact the instructors.


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