MOLECULAR BASIS OF DISEASES

Credit Hours: 3 · Graduate

The course intends to provide in-depth knowledge of the molecular basis of human diseases. We will discuss: 1) Different types of genetic variations that may lead to human diseases; 2) The various approaches to investigate the molecular basis of human diseases; 3) The molecular and cellular consequences of disease-associated genetic variations; 4) The physiological and environmental causes of genetic variations; 5) The molecular basis for disease diagnosis and treatments. We will mainly focus on molecular mechanisms of inherent genetic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and environmentally induced diseases. This will be a combined lecture/discussion course. The class materials are mainly based on preliminary literatures and case studies. Students are expected to actively participate in discussion in class and to give presentations and lectures based on research paper. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: BIOS 420 .