Micr & Molecular Genetics: Genetics and Genomics

Integrated entry into both genome science and modern genetic analysis. Students will develop skills needed to access, organize and interpret emerging genomic information. Credit not awarded for both MMG 3330 and MMG 5330. Prerequisites: Biological or computational sciences major; minimum Junior standing. Pre/Co-requisites: MMG 2010, BCOR 2500.

Open to Degree and PACE students

Course description - outline: Genetics is key to understanding human health and disease. Genetic principles find their application to explaining a range of biological phenomena and processes, such as gene inheritance patterns, ontogenesis, susceptibilities for diseases, and they provide the basis for personalized medicine. However, while human genetics has focused traditionally on genetic and environmental factors that cause diseases, the advent of genomics and metagenomics enables scientists to start understanding human health in a novel way: we no longer define “health” as “absence of disease”, but we can start conceptualizing it as a dynamic state whereby organisms show robust development and maintain physiological homeostasis, also in cooperation with the symbionts of our microbiomes. While we will thus focus on how genes and genomes contribute to human health (rather than how certain genes can be involved in distinct diseases), our understanding of these concepts continues to evolve rapidly. Therefore, this state-of-the-art survey course will introduce the students to the scientific concepts of Genetics and Genomics mainly through readings and discussions of recent commentaries, reviews, and comparable publications. Course Learning Objectives Upon completion of this course, students will be able to identify the main components of the human genome and describe how they are thought to contribute to proper development (ontogenesis) and health (maintaining physiological homeostasis). They will learn that RNA (rather than DNA) plays the central role in gene expression. While this is not a methods course, the students will nevertheless be able to describe how particular methods allow analyzing specific questions regarding how distinct genetic elements, together, result in specific phenotypes. They will be able to discuss how (spatio-temporally) improper gene expression, triggered e.g. by distinct environmental factors, may lead to aberrant cellular phenotypes that can result in disease(s).

Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing in life sciences or computational sciences; basic knowledge of genetics. Since this is not an introductory course in genetics, students should already be familiar with basic concepts/terms, such as allele, homozygous, heterozygous, genotype, Mendelian inheritance, etc. Drs. Chatterjee and Thali will jointly teach this course, where they will provide a flavor of different concepts, principles, and applications of employing genetics and genomics in understanding human health (and diseases). They will leverage recent publications and updates on key technologies. While primarily aiming at giving the students a survey of various types of carriers of genetic information (RNA, DNA, coding and non-coding), their evolution, and their association with distinct functions (if already known), the class is expected to be a hands-on course with active discussion, in-class activities, and lots of reading and also exploration of online analytical tools. The course is expected to be much fun with creative ways to think about and understand genetics and genomics. Both Drs. Chatterjee and Thali will be available to address any questions or further discuss any topic before and after the class.

Assessment and Grading Class attendance and participation: 15 % of the final grade. The instructors will be mindful of the student's extenuating circumstances. The minimal expectation is class attendance, including a basic level of participation by responding to instructor questions and volunteering to be a group leader for the group discussions. Specifically, mere attendance will secure only 40% of the possible 15% contribution to the final grade, while active participation in group and class discussions will be critical for getting most or all of the possible 15%. Participation also includes timely delivery of a summary of the assigned weekly reading or studying of online tools. While they won’t be graded, those summaries must be posted into Brightspace (into folders in the Discussion Board) before class on Tuesday as they are supposed to prepare the students for the group discussions at the beginning of class. The UVM attendance policy outlines expectations for both students and faculty concerning attendance and excused absences. Quizzes will take place every other week as indicated in the schedule: 25 % of the final grade. Five questions will be asked at the beginning of the scheduled class, with typically four questions covering material discussed during the previous two classes and one question on the required reading(s) for the current class. Students will be given up to 10 minutes to answer on an online platform. Absences must be notified to the instructor at least one week ahead of time to arrange for a make-up assignment. Summary and reflection folder: 30 % of the final grade. At the end of each module, students will work at home on a reflective question posted into Brightspace. The response which will be worth up to 200 words will summarize the module and address the question related to the lecture. The response must be submitted prior to the beginning of the next module. There are six modules in the syllabi. The first summary will not be graded. Exams: 30 % of final grade. There will be three exams with multiple choice, true/false, match-type, and other types of questions. Exam dates are posted on the Lecture Schedule. There will be no Final! The exams, including the third one, will test the material that was covered since the previous exam; the time limit is 75 minutes (also for the third one, which, again, is not a “final” as it is not cumulative).