BIOL 441 - Cell Signaling

(4 credits)
Prerequisite: BIOL 200 with a minimum grade of “C-“
Corequisite: BIOL 441L
Development and health of multicellular organisms is dependent on proper regulation of cell behaviors, most notably cell proliferation, differentiation and death. Moreover, defects in cell behavior lie at the root of many human diseases, including cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and others. Cell behavior is regulated by various “signals” (both intra- and extracellular), which cells sense and convert into a behavioral response through a complex array of molecular interactions and events. This course will explore the molecular interactions and events through which intra- and extracellular signals modulate cell behavior. Examples of how defects in these events contribute to disease will also be discussed. Significant emphasis will be place don experimental approaches used to investigate molecular events within cells and how they drive cell behavior and disease. This will manifest through analysis of experimental data from primary literature during lecture and pursuit of a semester-long project during lab in which students examine molecular events that drive cell differentiation into neurons in response to an extracellular signal. Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory weekly. Offered alternate fall semesters. Additional fee required. (CWRM)