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Revamped Topics in Cell Biology (BIOL 428)

Topics in Cell Biology (BIOL 428) Revamped for Fall 2016 Semester

The BIOL 428 course hasn't been offered in recent years, and we're excited to announce that this course will be offered Fall 2016!  Moe Gupta, one of our faculty members from the Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology (GDCB) will be teaching the course.  It will introduce students to multidisciplinary methods used to investigate cell biology and emphasize the dynamic organization and regulation of cellular processes (it will not emphasize biomembranes as the current ISU catalog description suggests).  The course is worth 3 credit hours and counts as an advanced biology course for Biology majors.  This Fall of 2016, it will meet MWF from 9:00 to 9:50 am.  

Course Overview

BIOL 428 will incorporate detailed discussion of a wide range of topics in cell biology. The course aims to convey an understanding of how the structure and function of individual molecules synergize to form the macromolecular machinery capable of performing complex cellular processes. Attention will be given to the dynamic nature of cellular organization, the diverse mechanisms that regulate this organization, and how multiple processes are integrated within the cell (systems biology). The course will also introduce students to an array of interdisciplinary strategies researchers use to investigate cellular function including genetics, cell biology, time-lapse fluorescent microscopy, biochemistry and biophysics. Reading and discussion of original research articles will be used to demonstrate how scientific exploration leads to our knowledge and understanding of cell biology.