Exploration of the forces (mutations, selection, random drift, inbreeding, assortative mating) affecting the frequency and distribution of genetic variation in natural populations. Quantifying the structure of populations. Methods of analysis for theoretical and practical applications. Prereq: GEN 604 or equivalent; BIOL 528 or equivalent.

Methods, applications, and implications of genomics--the analysis of whole genomes. Medical, ethical and legal implications of genomic data. Computer lab provides exposure and experience in a range of bioinformatics approaches used in genome analysis. Prereq: GEN 604. Computer Lab.

Development of programming skills that enable life science students to ask fundamental biological questions that require computers to automate repetitive tasks and handle query results efficiently. Topics include: computer values of important parameters of biological sequence data; pattern search and motif discovery scripts; accessing, querying, manipulating, retrieving, parsing, analyzing, and saving data from local and remote databases. Prereq: GEN 604 and GEN 711. Computer Lab.

Hands-on approach to exploration of evolutionary forces affecting the frequency and distribution of genetic variation in natural populations. Wet lab techniques include DNA extraction, restriction enzyme digestion, PCR, DNA fragment size-selection. Computational skills include high-throughput sequencing data control, identifying allelic variants, and generation of population genetic summary statistics. Prereq: GEN 604 or equivalent; BIOL 528 or equivalent.