Fundamental Papers in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Catalog description

This course introduces fundamental papers in molecular biology and biotechnology that have led to the development of extraordinary biotech drugs that utilize our knowledge of the basis of diseases to specifically address the underlying cause with a precise remedy. These fundamental papers will be the source of small group presentations in which the group will develop a deep understanding of the topic through additional reading and studying. It is expected that the group will productively guide the discussion, address difficult questions, identify connections to other research topics, and suggest implications of the work presented in the paper. Also, in small groups, the students will prepare a high quality, short review paper on a topic in disease biology chosen by the group. This mini-review paper will provide the opportunity to learn how to assemble a coherent picture of a scientific field from a collection of original articles and use published data to develop a consensus picture and to clearly and coherently present that consensus understanding to the other students in the course.