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-).

The seminar in biotechnology will run from time to time with different topics, including the following: 1) Cutting-edge issues facing the biotechnology industry. 2) Instrumentation and technologies utilized in the biotechnology industry.

Microbial genomes (primarily bacteria and bacteriophages) and genome-scale approaches to addressing questions in microbial physiology and pathogenesis will be the focus of this course. Large-scale sequencing projects, genome structure and evolution, metagenomics, and other challenges in comparative genomics, will be discussed. Hands-on wet laboratory and bioinformatics projects will be included in this laboratory-lecture course.

The development and progression of cancer can be defined by several molecular and cellular biological characteristics. In this course, we will utilize primary literature to begin to understand (1) how specific cellular processes are altered during cancer initiation and progression; (2) how different cancers and the genetic landscape underlying them are being studies using models in the laboratory; and (3) how innovative therapeutics are being designed to target tumors based upon their individual molecular signatures.