Columbia University - Department of Biological Sciences
UN1908 - First Year Seminar in
Biology - Fall 2024
Thursdays 3pm-3:55pm, 601 Fairchild |
Instructor: Dr. Alice Heicklen |
This course gives you a chance to hear about the latest research being conducted by scientists at Columbia University. Attendance at lectures is required, including the first lecture on 9/12. After each lecture, you should write a summary of the talk (1/2 to 1 page single spaced, maximum) and submit on Canvas quizzes by the following Wednesday (6 days later) at 8am. Rewrite the notes you take during class into 1-2 coherent paragraphs.
| No Class | |
| September 12 | Dr. Laura Duvall, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Getting Mosquitoes to Stop Biting | |
| September 19 | Dr. Oliver Hobert, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Determing which Type of Neuron to Become | |
| September 26 | Dr. Franck Polleux, Department of Neuroscience, MBBI | Genetic Changes Underlying the Development of Human Cognition |
| October 3 | No Class |
| Dr. John Hunt, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University | |
| Cystic Fibrosis | |
| October 17 | Dr. Lars Dietrich, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| The Good and Bad of Bacteria | |
| October 24 | Dr. Simon Tavare, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Cancer by the Numbers | |
| October 31 | Dr. Stuart Firestein, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Smell | |
| November 7 | Dr. Alice Prince, Department of Pediatrics, CUIMC |
Respiratory Pathogens |
|
| November 14 | Dr. Alice Heicklen, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Stem Cells | |
| November 21 | Dr. Robert Bauer, Department of Medicine, CUIMC |
| Coronary Artery Disease and Blood Lipids | |
| Thanksgiving Holiday | |
| December 5 | Dr. Samuel Sternberg, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, CUIMC |
| Editing the Code of Life with CRISPR |
Grading
You must attend class, turn in your weekly summary on time and participate in class (ask at least two questions during the semester and participate in class activities) to maintain your grade. If you attend class but do not turn in a summary, this counts as if you missed the class. Everyone begins with an A. Every missed class decreases your grade one step: A to A-, A- to B+, etc. You can check the Grade Book in Canvas to verify that your assignments have been recorded. Recording of the grade in Canvas may take up to a week. Each assignment (attendance and summary) is worth 2 points. 2 points=submitted, 1 point=some issue, and 0 points=not submitted.