Biology

L/R 501. Principles of Biological Science. (L) Waldron/Bergey.

This course will provide a strong background in biology for middle school teachers in the MISEP program.  The major topics will be animal and plant biology, cell biology and genetics, and evolution and diversity.

SM 513. (CAMB513, GCB 513) Evolution in Cancer. (A) Dr.  Carlo Maley and Dr.  Lauren Merlo. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.Preference is given to students who have completed CAMB 512 and medical students.

Cancers evolve by mutation and natural selection.  This is the basis for both why we get cancer and why it so hard to cure.  We will survey the cancer literature through the lens of evolutionary and ecological theory and review how that theory does and does not apply to cancer biology.  This seminar is restricted to graduate students.

515. Advanced Limnology. (M) Bott. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 415 or permission of instructor.

Laboratory and field studies applying commonly used procedures in limnology.

SM 516. Microbial Ecology Seminar. (M) Bott.

Population and community ecology of bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa in soils, aquatic systems, and extreme environments; microbial interactions; associations with plants and animals; biogeochemical cycles; and practical applications (e.g., genetic engineering, biological control, bioremediation, and mining).

SM 526. (CAMB526, MOLB526) Experimental Principles in Cell and Molecular Biology. (A) Cashmore.

The course aims to introduce principles of current experimental techniques used in modern biology.

527. (BIOL221, GCB 527) Advanced Molecular Biology and Genetics. (C) Bonini/Gallagher/Guild. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 101 or 121.  Permission of instructor needed.

This course will survey the discipline of molecular genetics.  Two broad areas will be considered: 1) Molecular biology: DNA replicaton, transcription, translation, and the regulation of gene expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems and genomics and 2) Genetics: basic Mendelian & molecular genetics.

535. Ecological Modeling. (K) Dunham.

Survey and development of mathematical theories in ecology, particularly theories of population growth, predation, and competition, as well as other topics of current interest.

536. (CIS 536, GCB 536) Computational Biology. (B) Kim. Prerequisite(s): College level introductory biology required; undergraduate or graduate level statistics taken previously or concurrently required; molecular biology and/or genetics encouraged; programming experience encouraged.

Introductory computational biology course designed for both biology students and computer science, engineering students.  The course will cover fundamentals of algorithms, statistics, and mathematics as applied to biological problems.  In particular, emphasis will be given to biological problem modeling and understanding the algorithms and mathematical procedures at the "pencil and paper" level.  That is, practical implementation of the algorithms is not taught but principles of the algorithms are covered using small sized examples.  Topics to be covered are: genome annotation and string algorithms, pattern search and statistical learning, molecular evolution and phylogenetics, functional genomics and systems level analysis.

537. (CIS 635, GCB 537) Advanced Computational Biology. (A) Staff. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 536 or permission of instructor.

Discussion of special research topics.

540. (CAMB541, MOLB541) Genetic Analysis. (B) Poethig. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 221 or permission of instructor.

The logic and methodology of genetic analysis in plants and animals.  This lecture course will focus on the use of mutations to study gene function and higher order biological processes, methods for reporting and manipulating gene expression, and analysis of the genetic basis of natural variation.

544. Mathematics for Biologists. (J) Dunham.

Review of basic mathematics designed to equip students to handle applications to model problems in biological science. Topics to be considered will depend on the interests and needs of the student.

556. Advanced Statistics. (K) Petraitis. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 446 or equivalent, and permission of instructor.

Advanced statistical methods, including multivariate techniques (in particular discriminant functions, principal components, multiple correlation, and regression) and the design and analysis of experiments.

SM 571. Proteomics. (M) Rea.

Biology 571 is concerned with recent developments in the identification and characterization of proteins using high-sensitivity, high-resolution mass spectrometric (MS) techniques.  Several new MS technologies, including matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI), electrospray ionization (ESI) and fast atom/ion bombardment (FAB) are making the study of biomolecules routine.  Working from the original literature (and some work that has yet to be published), this course will emphasize how, in what is now the post-genomic functional genomic era, this technology has given rise to and sustains proteomics in all its guises, from the study of single molecules to the temporal and spatial definition of the total protein complement, the 'proteome', of a cell.

Department of Bioengineering
School of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Pennsylvania
210 S. 33rd Street
Room 240 Skirkanich Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone No.: (215) 898-8501
Fax No.: (215) 573-2071
beoffice@seas.upenn.edu

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