Physiological Genomics

5 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course integrates principles of physiology with genomics utilizing the concepts of Systems Biology. With the completion of several sequencing projects: the Human Genome, the HAPMAP, the ENCODE and the Genome Wide Association Studies, the field of Physiological Genomics has emerged from the need to link function to thousands of mapped genes and better understand human physiology at all levels of biological organization. The course concepts and tools for student mastery represent advanced competencies of how we can utilize genomic knowledge to re-establish physiologic wellness, if there has been some aberration of the genome leading to a pathologic outcome. This course will cover the function of human body systems and will provide a strong foundation to understand the relationship of genes to complex physiological functions. The course is designed as a combination of lectures, an interactive journal club, and hands-on sessions. Students will focus on both monogenic and more complex polygenic diseases to critically analyze and dissect the genetic effects on the physiological function of major organ systems. The hands-on session will cover the use of various clinical data. Each week will focus on an organ system and its diseases. Students will have a unique opportunity to analyze real patient exome sequencing data and learn to write a clinical report based on disease findings. The goal of this course is to provide students with a strong understanding of the function of major organ systems as a basis for understanding human health, learn how to analyze research papers, and think critically on the effects of genetics/genomics on human pathophysiology.