Frontiers in Microbiology

(4 Credits)

This course will examine the principles of genetic circuit design in microbes by comparing a variety of naturally occurring genetic circuits that perform various functions (logic gates, oscillators, switches, memory, etc.) to engineered, synthetic circuits that perform similar functions. Coursework will include a quantitative review of gene regulation, reading of the primary literature concerning natural and synthetic genetic circuits, and mathematical/computational modeling of simple genetic circuits. Undergraduates must have Molecular and Cell Biology II ( BIOL-UA 22 ). All students must have taken one semester of college-level calculus.