C2908 First Year Seminar in Modern Biology

Columbia University - Department of Biological Sciences
C2908 - First Year Seminar in Modern Biology - Fall 1999

September			October				November					December
13	20	27	4	11	18	25	1	8	15	22	29	6	13

September 13	Undergraduate students present their research
	Heidi Yeung"HIV-resistant T cells" (Dr. Mark Muesing's lab, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center) Andrew Rybin, "Cardiac memory in a mouse heart" (Dr. Rosen's lab, Columbia Pharmacology Dept) Robin Nixon, "Estrogen and brain development" (Dr. Darcy Kelley's lab, Columbia Biology Dept) Rahul Jhaveri "Development of polarity in Drosophila oocytes" (Dr. Kalderon's lab, Columbia Bio Dept)
	SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program) Science in the City. Opportunities to learn about biology outside of class.

October 4	Dr. Ron Prywes, Dept of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
	"Oncogenes and signalling to the nucleus"
	The genetics of cancer

October 11	Dr. Steven Heymsfield, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital
	"The global obesity epidemic: causes and consequences"
	Obesity and weight control, from Healthtouch Online "More weight, less life", from ABCnews.com, October 6, 1999. Calculate your body mass index. "Diet drug reduces obesity-related risks" from heartinfo.com, describes Dr. Heymsfield's research on the drug that blocks fat absorption "Scientists Finding Evidence Of Caloric Restriction's Benefits"The Scientist, May 26, 1997. "Eat less", from The Why Files.

October 18	Dr. Liang Tong, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
	"Structural biology: Protein shape and function"
	Protein crystallography: the human genome in 3-D What is x-ray crystallography? Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, Nobel Prize for x-ray crystallography work

October 25	Dr. Fred Chang, Dept of Microbiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University
	"Cytokinesis in fission yeast"
	Mitosis from Access Excellence Mitosis and The Cytoskeleton from Kimball's Biology Pages Movie of yeast mitosis by Kerry Bloom's lab. Requires QuickTime, may take a while to download.

November 8	Dr. Jian Yang, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
	"Structure, function and regulation of ion channels"
	Ion channels and disease. About the discovery of the K+ channel. Cystic fibrosis, by MJ Welsh & AE Smith, Scientific American, December 1995. A defect in a chloride channel.

November 15	Dr. Eduardo Macagno, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
	"Constructing a nervous system"
	1906 Nobel Prize to Santiago Ramon y Cajal and Camillo Golgi.

November 22	Dr. Lawrence Chasin, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
	"Recent research on mRNA splicing"
	Lecture 17, on pre-mRNA splicing, from Dr. Chasin's course

November 29	Dr. Audrey Minden, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
	"Signal transduction: From the cell surface to the nucleus"

December 6	Dr. Carol Mason, Department of Pathology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia U
	"From eye to brain: pathfinding of retinal axons in the optic chiasm"

December 13	Dr. Ellen Dierenfeld, Department of Nutrition, Wildlife Conservation Society & CERC, Columbia U
	"Wildlife nutrition: Links with conservation"

Course Information

This course gives you a chance to hear about the latest research being conducted by scientists in the Biology Department and in other labs around the city. Attendance at lectures is required. After each lecture, you should write a summary of the talk you heard (1/2 to 1 page, maximum) and submit this by email to jrg43@columbia.edu before the next class. Grading is based on attendance and timely submission of summaries.

September 27	Dr. Alberto Mancinelli, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University
	"Plants and light"

November 1	Election Day - Academic holiday - class cancelled