Columbia University - Department of Biological Sciences
UN1908 - First Year Seminar in
Biology - Fall 2023
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 9/14. After each lecture, you should write a summary of the talk (1/2 to 1 page, maximum) and email it (pasted into the body of your message) to Chanda Springer at cs2660@columbia.edu by the following Wednesday (6 days later) at 8am. Rewrite the notes you take during class into 1-2 coherent paragraphs.
| No Class | |
| September 14 | Dr. Laura Duvall, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Getting Mosquitoes to Stop Biting | |
| September 21 | Dr. Stuart Firestein, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Smell | |
| September 28 | Dr. Oliver Hobert, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University | Determing which Type of Neuron to Become |
| October 5 | Dr. Lars Dietrich, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| The Good and Bad of Bacteria | |
| Dr. Samuel Sternberg, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics, CUIMC | |
| Editing the Code of Life with CRISPR | |
| October 19 | Dr. Jaewon Min, Department of Pathology & Cell Biology, CUIMC |
| Chromosomes Count Time | |
| October 26 | Dr. Christine Iok In Chio, Department of Genetics & Development, CUIMC |
| Pancreatic Cancer | |
| November 2 | Dr. Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Perceiving Pain & Pleasure | |
| November 9 | Dr. Simon Tavare, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
Cancer by the Numbers |
|
| November 16 | Dr. Jonathan Javitch, Department of Psychiatry, CUIMC & NYSPI |
| Opiods & Depression | |
| November 23 | Thanksgiving Holiday |
| Dr. Rolando Perez-Lorenzo, Department of Dermatology, CUIMC | |
| Hair Loss in the Age of Skin Cancer | |
| December 7 | Dr. John Hunt, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University |
| Cystic Fibrosis |
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.