Columbia University - Department of Biological Sciences
UN1908 - First Year Seminar in
Biology - Fall 2025
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 9/11. 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. No computers may be used in class to take notes. Rewrite the notes you take during class into 1-2 coherent paragraphs.
| No Class | |
| September 11 | Dr. Laura Duvall, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Getting Mosquitoes to Stop Biting | |
| September 18 | Dr. Hashim Al-Hashimi, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, CUIMC |
| HIV Hijacks RNA Polymerase | |
| September 25 | Dr. Oliver Hobert, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University | Deciding Which Neuron Type to Become |
| October 2 | No Class |
| Dr. Lars Dietrich, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University | |
| The Good and Bad of Bacteria | |
| October 16 | Dr. Peter Yim, Department of Anesthesiology, CUIMC |
| Light Receptors in Your Gut? | |
| October 23 | Dr. Eric Greene, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, CUIMC |
| Single Molecule Studies of DNA repair | |
| October 30 | Dr. Gerard Karsenty, Department of Genetics & Development, CUIMC |
| Bones Do More Than Just Support the Body | |
| November 6 | Dr. Luke Berchowitz, Department of Genetics & Development, CUIMC |
Prions: Contagious Protein Conformations |
|
| November 13 | Dr. Lori Zultser, Department of Pathology & Cell Biology, CUIMC |
| Neural Regulation of Brown Adipose Tissue | |
| November 20 | Dr. Michael Badgley, Department of Pathology & Cell Biology, CUIMC |
| Pancreatic Cancer | |
| Thanksgiving Holiday | |
| December 4 | Dr. Franck Polleux, Department of Neuroscience, MBBI |
| Human Cognition |
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.