Students undertake an advanced exploration of bacteriophage biology through wet-lab and/or bioinformatic investigation of previously-discovered bacterial viruses. In the setting of bacteriophage genome study, students develop working fluency with coding of genetic information, annotation of genomes, publication and presentation of discoveries, and design of experiments to assess questions in viral structure and function. Prereq: BSCI 418 or BMS 503.

Fundamental biological principles that underlie cell culture and its applications are the foundation of the lecture component of this course. Applications of cell culture techniques to current research areas in academic and biopharmaceutical settings will be discussed. Prereq: BMS 503 and BMS 604.

In this course, students will gain an understanding of how best to conduct data analysis experiments utilizing data specific to biotechnology applications. Hands-on exercises involve using computer software programs such as Matlab and JMP. Data input/manipulation, descriptive and inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, curve fitting, and Matlab coding will be covered. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to conduct data analysis experiments within the context of biotech. No credit for students who have taken BSCI 797 "SpcTop/Num & Statistical Analysis". Prereq: CHEM 403 with a minimum grade of C- and (BIOL 413 with a minimum grade of C- or BIOL 411 with a minimum grade of C-).

Introduction to stem cells and how biomaterials are utilized in their applications involving biotechnology and biomedical engineering. Lab topics such as aseptic technique, stem cell cultures, biomaterials engineering, bioprinting, biocompatibility and bioactivity analyses will be covered. Lectures will focus on the current literature while the lab portion involves inquiry-based projects that will investigate how biomaterials and molecules modulate stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Prereq: CHEM 403 with a minimum grade of C- and (BIOL 414 with a minimum grade of C- or BIOL 412 with a minimum grade of C-).