Official description

This course will introduce physical principles important in the study of cellular and organismal systems. Some of the topics that will be covered are signal transduction and homeostasis in the context of tissues, and cell fate and development in embryos. We may embark on some topics in developmental plasticity in plants. The model systems used to demonstrate these topics will include microbes (bacterial biofilms), worms (C. elegans), flies (Drosophila), and mammals (mice and humans). The relevant biology and mathematical tools will be introduced as necessary. Lectures will be paired with a literature review and a select number of papers will be discussed in class. Grading will primarily be based on an oral presentation and a written report reviewing a current example from the literature with some homework problems during the term (TBD).