Cell and developmental biology for engineers (BIO-221) (4 ECTS)
Bachelor semester 5, given in the fall semester, together with Andy Oates
Course overview: students are introduced to fundamental questions in cell and developmental biology, with an emphasis on animal model systems and quantitative approaches to analyze them. Topics covered include fertilization, cell polarity, genome activation, patterning, axis specification, differentiation, gastrulation, scaling, organogenesis, size control, regeneration, cell death, germ cell specification, cell migration, multicellularity and evolution. Parallels are drawn between concepts familiar to engineers and developmental systems to highlight underlying guiding principles.
Scientific project design in cell and developmental biology (BIO-464) (5 ECTS)
Masters level, given in the fall semester, together with Andy Oates
Course overview: students are introduced to different model systems and experimental approaches used to address fundamental questions in cell and developmental biology. Students read and analyze scientific literature, which is then presented and discussed with the professors. Topics include spindle assembly, motor proteins, intraflagellar transport, asymmetric cell division, early embryonic development, cell death, signaling, organizer function, somite formation. During the last four weeks of the course, students design and execute a scientific group project in the Gönczy or Oates laboratory.
Research rotation modules (BIO-617) (1 ECTS)
Doctoral course, practical, EDMS doctoral program, given in January
Students get a feel for some of the approaches pursued in our laboratory to understand mechanisms underlying cell division, primarily in C. elegans embryos. Students decipher the function -and if possible the molecular identity- of a mystery gene that has functional relatives from worm to man.
- Current Topics in Chemical Biology and Biochemistry (14 CB01, UNIGE) (4 hours)
Masters level, NCCR Chemical Biology - Hot Topics in Cancer Research (BIO-684, 2 hours)
Doctoral course, EDMS and EDBB doctoral programs -
Landmark Papers in Cancer and Infection (BIO-657, 2 hours, not given in 2019)
Doctoral course, EDMS doctoral program