Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Genomic Sciences
The UAB Undergraduate Program in Genetics and Genomic Sciences (GGS) is designed to nurture a new generation of scientists equipped for a career in genetics research. Genetics and genomic sciences is a rapidly advancing field offering opportunities in academics, government research, medicine, biotechnology and other health-related sciences. This program is an interdisciplinary major in partnership with the Department of Genetics in the School of Medicine and the Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences and taught by experts across campus.
The program's mission is to provide students with strong educational and research experiences to prepare them for a career in genetics and genomics-related health sciences and research. Opportunities to develop skills in leadership, teaching, research and scholarship are also available.
Click here for a Plan of Study
Undergraduate Genetics Courses
Click here for a course listing of Genetics courses offered at the undergraduate level.
Below is a listing of clsses offered during the next semester.
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Fall 2023
Fall 2023
GGSC 310: Genome Structure/Organization
CRN: 64885
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lecture
Instructor: Michael Crowley (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level BY 210 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CH 117 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CH 118 Minimum Grade of C
Description
This course will cover the general concepts of genomics including gene structure and function, genomic technologies and their applications, and comparative genomics.
GGSC 320: Colloquium Genetics/Genomics
CRN: 63538
Min CR: 1
Schedule Type: Seminar
Instructor: John L Hartman (P)Description
Faculty-led seminar course that exposes students to cutting edge research topics and career opportunities in the fields of genetics and genomics. Students will read assigned articles and be prepared for discussion.
GGSC 320: UG Research-Genetics/Genomics
CRN: 63540
Min CR: 1
Max CR: 3
Schedule Type: Undergraduate Research
Instructor: Wioletta Czaja (P)Description
Research project for non-GGS Honors students under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. May be repeated for a total of 9 semester credit hours in a 2 or 3 semester period.
GGSC 320: Hon Research-Genetics/Genomics
CRN: 63541
Min CR: 1
Max CR: 3
Schedule Type: Undergraduate Research
Instructor: Wioletta Czaja (P)Description
Research project for GGS Honors students under the supervision of a faculty sponsor. May be repeated for a total of 9 semester credit hours in a 2 or 3 semester period.
GGSC 415: Hon Research-Genetics/Genomics
CRN: 63542
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lecture
Instructor: Ryan M Centini (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level CH 117 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CH 118 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level BY 210 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level GGSC 310 Minimum Grade of C
Description
This course will cover the basic anatomy, biology, life history, husbandry, and research applications for a variety of aquatic organisms used as animal models of human disease in biomedical research. Species discussed will include zebrafish, Medaka, Xiphorous, Onchorynchus, Xenopus, and Axolotls.
GGSC 420: Bioinformatics
CRN: 66463
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lecture Online
Instructor: David Crossman, Chen Huang (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level BY 210 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CH 117 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CH 118 Minimum Grade of C and (Undergraduate level GGSC 310 Minimum Grade of C or Undergraduate level BY 311 Minimum Grade of C)
Description
Introduction to computational tools and bioinformatics databases used in the fields of genetics and genomic sciences. This course will cover a wide variety of different bioinformatics applications, which will be taught through use of available on-line bioinformatics resources. Topics covered include large-scale genomic databases, sequence analysis systems, protein sequence analysis, structural bioinformatics, protein folding, and homology modeling.
GGSC 490: Genetics Models
CRN: 60196
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lecture Capstone Course
Instructor: Bobby L Jones (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level BY 210 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CH 117 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CH 118 Minimum Grade of C and (Undergraduate level GGSC 310 Minimum Grade of C or Undergraduate level BY 311 Minimum Grade of C)
Description
Invertebrate and non-human vertebrate species are commonly used in scientific research work to provide significant insights into human genetic processes and disease. This course focuses on the different methods and strategies by which researchers use these systems for genetic and genomic analyses of human biology and relevant disorders. Model organisms covered include, but are not limited to nematodes (C. elegans), fruit flies (Drosophila sp.), zebrafish (Danio rerio), and mice (Mus musculus). Capstone course (GGS majors). Students that enroll in this class as their capstone experience are expected to do writing or presentation assignments to fulfill their capstone requirement.
GGSC 499: GGSC Program Final
CRN: 66529
Min CR: 0
Schedule Type: Independent Study Online
Instructor: Wioletta Czaja (P)Description
This 0-credit hour course includes two self-paced components: One career counseling recorded video and data collection from students via CV submission and an automated exit inerview for documenting learning essentials of GGSC students towards GGSC program evaluation. Students will register for GGSC 499 during their last semester as a requirement for graduation with GGSC major. The GGSC program director(s) will be the faculty instructor(s) with assistance from the GGSC program manager and student advisor.
GGSC 690: Model Systems Gen Disorders
CRN: 61715
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lecture
Instructor: Bobby L Jones (P)Description
Invertebrate and non-human vertebrate species are commonly used in scientific research work to provide significant insights into human genetic processes and disease. This course focuses on the different methods and strategies by which researchers use these systems for genetic and genomic analyses of human biology and relevant disorders. Model organisms covered include, but are not limited to nematodes (C. elegans), fruit flies (Drosophila sp.), zebrafish (Danio rerio), and mice (Mus musculus).
INFO 302: Bioinformatics-I
CRN: 62024
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lecture
Instructor: Jin Chen (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level BY 210 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CS 103 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level PUH 250 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level INFO 101 Minimum Grade of C
Description
Introduction to bioinformatics and methodologies, with emphasis on concepts and application of informatics tools to molecular biology. Focus on experimental models to collect data from genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, applied statistics when it relates to experimental design, construction of bioinformatics tools into pipelines, representing biological data, biological sequence analysis, gene annotation, basic programming, basic web/data analysis programming, sharing of biological information, social/legal aspects of open science.
INFO 497: Research in Bioinformatics
CRN: 62796
Min CR: 0
Max CR: 4
Schedule Type: Undergraduate Research
Instructor: Elliot J Lefkowitz (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level PSDO 200 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CS 103 Minimum Grade of C
Description
Research in Bioinformatics for non-honors students under the supervision of a faculty sponsor.
INFO 498: Honors Bioinformatics Research
CRN: 62797
Min CR: 0
Max CR: 4
Schedule Type: Capstone Course Undergraduate Research
Instructor: Elliot J Lefkowitz (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level PSDO 200 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level CS 103 Minimum Grade of C
Description
Honors Research is an innovative course that will provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to engage in rigorous scholarly practice of the core bioinformatics skills necessary for performing independent research. Program faculty will closely work with students to identify a project that explores an area of interest for the student based on the integration of prior learning. Students will be performing bioinformatics analyses on laboratory data or publicly available large-scale data, incorporate quality control and develop software pipelines.
INFO 499: Bioinformatics Capstone
CRN: 63543
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lab Capstone Course
Instructor: Elliot J Lefkowitz (P)Prerequisites
Undergraduate level INFO 403 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level INFO 404 Minimum Grade of C and Undergraduate level PSDO 200 Minimum Grade of C
Description
Students will be allowed to rotate to different program faculty or continue with their mentor from BY/CS 498 Bioinformatics Capstone Research I. With close mentoring and guidance from program faculty, the student will identify a capstone project or continue their existing bioinformatics project. The capstone project is expected to culminate in a formal scholarly work reflecting integration of the scientific knowledge gained through the project. The scholarly work may take the form or a written manuscript or semester report.
INFO 601: Introduction to Bioinformatics
CRN: 62026
Min CR: 3
Schedule Type: Lecture Online
Instructor: Zechen Chong (P)Description
Introduction to bioinformatics and computational biology, with emphasis on concepts and application of informatics tools to molecular biology. It covers biological sequence analysis, gene prediction, genome annotation, gene expression analysis, protein structure prediction, evolutionary biology and comparative genomics, bioinformatics databases, cloud computing, basic R-based data analysis, simple programming skills using Perl, Linux/Unix environment and command lines, visual analytics, and social/legal aspects of open science. It will have a class research project component.
To register for courses, click here.