COURSE DESCRIPTION: The course is designed to convey genetic concepts and their application in a set of model systems. It will allow students to understand and critically evaluate the literature. The course is divided in to three sections. In the first section, students will briefly review basic genetic concepts. This part is followed by a discussion of yeast and bacteria as genetic models and their use in high throughput and classical biochemical approaches. In the second section, students will learn about the major vertebrate systems, including human genetics, mouse genetics, and zebra fish genetics. The third section is dedicated to invertebrate genetics (including worms and flies) as well as to a discussion of special aspects of cancer genetics. Overall, this course should convey graduate level genetics in all its modern facets and constitute the foundation for more advanced studies.

REQUIRED MATERIALS: Computer

PREREQUISITES: Undergraduate genetics is required

STUDENT PREPARATION: Basic concepts should be known, including but not limited to DNA as the basis for heredity, Mendelian concepts of inheritance, structure of DNA and genes as well as basic genetic methods.

SUITABLE FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS: Yes

UNIQUE TRAINING OFFERED IN THIS COURSE: Unique to this course is a comprehensive syllabus that includes a brief introduction and an overview of all major model organisms currently in use for research. Using both classic and modern examples, the possibilities and contributions of the field of Genetics to the understanding of biological processes will be discussed.

STUDENT ASSESSMENTS: 3 exams.

CREDIT HOURS: 5.0