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Core Curriculum

First-Year Courses

First-year students in all Graduate Biomedical Sciences programs take a common 10-week core curriculum (shown below) emphasizing the fundamentals of biochemistry, genetics, and cell biology. Students in the Genetics and Genomics theme will continue their first year course work with four required one-month intensive classes, Genomics (GGS 700), Quantitative Genetics, Systems Biology, and Bioinformatics (GGS 701), Animal Model Systems for Genetic and Genomic Analyses (GGS 702), and Cytogenetics and Biochemical Genetics (GGS 703). Students who fail a course (i.e., make less than a B) must retake and pass the relevant course in the subsequent year. Students who fail more than two courses during the first year are subject to dismissal from the program.

GRADUATE BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES CORE CURRICULUM

BLOCK 1 - BIOCHEMISTRY/METABOLISM                                                           

  • Amino acids and primary protein structure

  • Protein secondary and tertiary structure

  • Postranslational modifications  and allosteric changes

  • Glycobiology

  • Lipid structure and metabolism

  • Thermodynamic principles of biochemical reactions

  • Enzyme kinetics

  • Enzyme mechanisms and regulation

  • Amino acid/nitrogen metabolism

  • Glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and citric acid cycle

  • Glycogenesis, glycogenolysis, and pentose phosphate pathway

  • Electron transport/oxidative phosphorylation  


BLOCK 2  - GENETICS/MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

  • DNA recombination

  • Nucleic acids & DNA replication

  • Prokaryotic transcription

  • Prokaryotic translation

  • Prokaryotic gene regulation

  • Eukaryotic genome organization

  • Eukaryotic DNA replication

  • Eukaryotic transcription

  • Eukaryotic translation

  • Eukaryotic gene regulation I

  • Eukaryotic gene regulation II

  • Mendelian inheritance

  • Genetic variation and polymorphisms


BLOCK 3  - BIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

  • Integrated systems: From organelles to organs

  • Membrane structure/function

  • Cytoskeleton

  • Secretion

  • Endocytosis, lysosomal targeting, protein degradation

  • Biochemistry of signal transduction

  • Cell cycle

  • Cell-cell junctions and polarity

  • ECM and ECM-cell interactions

  • Cell motility

  • Apoptosis

  • Discipline of pharmacology

  • Pharmacokinetics