MCB Course Information

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MCB Structure

Structure and Function

  • MCB 63. Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
  • MCB 65. Physical Biochemistry: Understanding Macromolecular Machines
  • MCB 176. Biochemistry of Membranes
  • MCB 178. Biochemistry of Protein Complexes
  • MCB 188. Chromosomes
MCB Microbes

Microbes

Courses include:

  • MCB 64. The Cell Biology of Human Life
  • MCB 68. Cell Biology Through the Microscope
  • MCB 80. Neurobiology of Behavior
  • MCB 105. Systems Neuroscience
  • MCB 115. Cellular Basis of Neuronal Function
  • MCB 121. The Microbes
  • MCB 129. The Brain: Development Plasticity and Decline
  • MCB 141. Molecular and Cellular Biology of the Senses and their Disorders
  • MCB 186. Circadian Biology: from Cellular Oscillators to Sleep Regulation

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MCB 60

MCB 60

MCB 60 provides an introduction to the principles of molecular and cellular biology and their connections to biomedicine. We explore how medical syndromes provide insights into biological processes and how biological mechanisms underlie human disease and physiology. Topics range from DNA repair, protein folding and vesicle transport to metabolism, cell migration and cancer. Lectures focus on the experimental evidence for key concepts, and the weekly sections combine a discovery-based laboratory research project with discussions that emphasize problem solving and primary literature.

MCB Disease

Disease

Courses include:

  • MCB 63. Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
  • MCB 64. The Cell Biology of Human Life
  • LS 120. Global Health Threats
  • MCB 169. Molecular and Cellular Immunology
  • MCB XXX. Cell cycle and Cancer
  • MCB 165. Viruses and their Interactions with Hosts
MCB Logic

Logic and Approaches of Science

Courses include:

  • MCB 68. Cell Biology Through the Microscope
  • MCB 111. Mathematics in Biology
  • MCB 142. Major Advances in Classical and Molecular Genetics
  • MCB 144. The Power and Pitfalls of Genetical Thinking
  • MCB 151. From the Gene to the Phenotype: A Genomics Perspective
  • MCB 162. Major Advances in Understanding Heredity and Evolution
  • MCB 195. Foundations of Systems Biology and Biological Engineering
  • MCB 198. Advanced Mathematical Techniques for Modern Biology
  • MCB 199. Statistical Thermodynamics and Quantitative Biology

Description of the Gateway Course

MCB 60. Cellular Biology and Molecular Medicine
Dominic Mao and Vlad Denic (fall course)

This course provides an introduction to the principles of molecular and cellular biology and their connections to biomedicine. We explore how medical syndromes provide insights into biological processes and how biological mechanisms underlie human disease and physiology. Topics range from DNA repair, protein folding and vesicle transport to metabolism, cell migration and cancer. Lectures focus on the experimental evidence for key concepts, and the weekly sections comprise a semester-long discovery-based laboratory research project on DNA damage response using yeast as a model organism.

Description of Intermediate Courses

The courses below will fulfill the intermediate course requirement, with all students taking MCB 60 and at least one other course within this selection. Two courses focus on biochemistry (MCB 63 and MCB 65) while the other four courses tackle cell biology (MCB 66, MCB 68, and MCB 80). Furthermore, three courses have a perspective closely linked to human health (MCB 63 and MCB 66), while others are more singly focused on fundamental science concepts (MCB 65, MCB 68, and MCB 80). Note that spring courses MCB 65, MCB 66, and MCB 68 do not require MCB 60, allowing students to start an intermediate course sequence in the spring.

 

MCB 63. Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
Alain Viel (fall course)

The course integrates an introduction to the structure of macromolecules and a biochemical approach to cellular function. Topics addressing protein function will include enzyme kinetics, the characterization of major metabolic pathways and their interconnection into tightly regulated networks, and the manipulation of enzymes and pathways with mutations or drugs. An exploration of simple cells (red blood cells) to more complex tissues (muscle and liver) is used as a framework to discuss the progression in metabolic complexity. Students will also develop problem solving and analytical skills that are more generally applicable to the life sciences.

 

MCB 65. Physical Biochemistry: Understanding Macromolecular Machines
Max Prigozhin and Monique Brewster (spring course)

The course aims to develop fundamental concepts of biochemistry as they apply to macromolecules, including protein and nucleic acid structure, thermodynamics and kinetics, ligand interactions and chemical equilibria. The course will also emphasize how these concepts are used in studies of the structure and function of biological molecules, including examples from metabolism. In the weekly section, students will undertake a discovery-based laboratory research project in which they will apply these concepts toward understanding the structure and function of the ATPase domain from the ABC transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP).

 

MCB 66. Pathological Cell Biology (spring course)
Sam Kunes

Pathological cell states are at the heart of human disease: in this course, we view cell pathology as a window into the normal state of the cell; the robustness of its homeostatic mechanisms and the alternative modes a cell may adopt in order to contribute to multicellular structures as precise as a nervous system and as chaotic as a malignant tumor. The curriculum draws upon foundational courses in genetics and cell biology (e.g. LS1A, LS1B, MCB60 and related coursework) and supports further understanding of normal cell states through exploration of cell’s pathological states. The curriculum emphasizes advanced experimental approaches and current findings in oncogenic transformation and other pathologies.

 

MCB 68. Cell Biology Through the Microscope
Ethan Garner and Jeff Lichtman (spring course)

MCB 68 explores three fundamental fields of eukaryotic cell biology: chromosome segregation, cell motility, and neuroscience. Each topic is approached from a historic and technical perspective. Students will discover these systems as the scientific field did, learning how each successive advance in microscopy revealed new biological details. Students will come away with a theoretical and hands-on understanding of microscopy as well as a grasp of the biological findings each technology revealed.

 

 

MCB 80. Neurobiology of Behavior
Jeff LIchtman and Kathleen Quast

An introduction to the ways in which the brain controls mental activities. The course covers the cells and signals that process and transmit information, and the ways in which neurons form circuits that change with experience. Topics include the neurobiology of perception, learning, memory, emotion, and neurologic disorders. This year we are combining interactive, didactic lecture videos with live Tuesdays and Thursdays featuring guest lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and review sessions in addition to small discussion sections.