Introduction to Molecular Genetics

26 GNTD 871
4 graduate credits

Course Director: Dr. James Stringer

This is a graduate level core curriculum course designed to provide all graduate students in the College of Medicine with fundamental knowledge in the discipline of molecular genetics. Students are assumed to have had previous classes in molecular genetics, molecular biology and/or genetics, but such background is not necessary because the course is taught primarily from a textbook and each subject is presented in a way that can be understood by students without previous knowledge of the subject. However, the course covers approximately twice as much material as the typical undergraduate course. The course is divided into two segments. The first, which comprises approximately 24 of the 38 lectures, covers the basic mechanisms of genome structure, replication, maintenance and expression. Included in this segment are lectures on manipulating and analyzing DNA in the laboratory by methods such as DNA cloning, PCR, genomics, transcription chips and proteomics. The last third of the course covers human and mouse genetics including embryonic stem cell technology.

The material will be presented by faculty instructors who are conducting research in the areas presented. The dates of the topics to be covered, scheduled exams and list of lecturers, as well as other information related to the course are all posted online on Blackboard, the University electronic educational platform.

The exams take place outside of the regular class time in order to provide students with up to 3 hours to complete them. Examines are generally not multiple choice, are closed-book and require students to solve research problems and explain mechanisms etc