Academics Genetics and Development

Genetics and Development

Programs of Study

The faculty members responsible for the subject matter of genetics and development believe that students who elect this Program of Study should consider themselves primarily biologists. Accordingly, students are urged to pursue a broad curriculum in the biological sciences while satisfying the requirements for the program area.

The Program of Study requires at least 13 credits chosen from a specific list of upper-level courses. Most of these courses beyond the introductory genetics course deal with current research in various aspects of genetics and development. In such courses there is usually no conventional textbook. Instead, students are expected to become familiar with the original literature dealing with the subjects under discussion. Often take-home rather than standard examinations are given so that students may exercise originality and ingenuity in answering a series of challenging questions for which there may be no single "correct" answer.

Students are encouraged to undertake independent study in a professor's laboratory. There are a large number of laboratories on campus that perform research that relate to the Program of Study in Genetics and Development. (for example, click here). This activity affords an exposure to the disciplines of genetics and development that is almost impossible to achieve in formal course offerings. Faculty research encompasses a broad spectrum of problems and experimental organisms. A brief overview of these interests can be found below:

  1. Genetic studies in baker's yeast, fruit flies, plants, and other model organisms aimed at understanding cell cycle control, signal transduction, DNA replication, DNA repair, chromosome segregation, gene expression, and virus life cycles.
  2. Developmental and behavioral genetics in model organisms such as fruit flies, nematodes, zebra fish, and mice.
  3. Population genetics and molecular evolution, genetics of complex traits, evolution of viruses.

Most of the faculty study some aspect of gene regulation; many work on genetic control of and during development. Control of gene expression and differentiation in adult and developing Drosophila are studied by several members of the faculty. Other systems of genetic regulation being studied include bacteria and their viruses, single-celled eukaryotes, and the unique two-part system found in the interactions between nuclei and mitochondria. In addition, genetic control during early development of an invertebrate free-living worm, and aspects of the development of reproductive cells in amphibia are being studied.

Aside from their intrinsic appeal, the disciplines of genetics and developmental biology are important to biology in several ways. They are an essential part of the background necessary to understand numerous aspects of other biological sciences. Thorough training in genetics and development is prerequisite to entering fields of applied genetics in agriculture and in health-related sciences. The need for understanding the underlying facts and principles of genetics and development is increasing as our society faces questions concerning genetics and human affairs.

Finally, since most of the faculty actively apply the new technologies of recombinant DNA, students working in this area are exposed to many aspects of this biological revolution.

Required Classes for Program of Study in Genetics and Development:

A minimum of 13 credits, usually chosen from the following courses:

2007-2008 Course Descriptions

Spring 2008 Room and Time Rosters

Department Website

Up to 3 credits for this Program of Study may be chosen from other Biological Sciences courses, including, BIOGD 3990 Research Practicum in Molecular and Cellular Biology, or BIOG 4990 Independent Undergraduate Research in Biology, with approval from the faculty advisor.