Biological Sciences (BA/BS)

This course is designed to help you explore the fundamental concepts and mechanisms that regulate the wonder of animal development from fertilization of the egg to formation of the adult organism, including such topics as cycle of life, differential gene expression, cell-cell communication, fertilization, early development, formation of germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm) and their derivatives, inductive cell/tissue interactions, stem cells, organogenesis, environment/genetics/birth defects, evolutionary changes and more.

Pathophysiological changes underlie most of the diseases affecting humans. This course is designed to provide basic understanding on the pathologic alterations in physiology at the cellular, tissue and organ level and how such alterations could lead to diseases across the human life span. Following an initial introduction to altered cellular and tissue biology, pathophysiology of major organs and systems will be covered in separate modules. In addition, pediatric pathophysiology and aging-related changes are also included in the content.

This course is a survey introducing you to various aspects of neuroscience and is textbook-based. The cell types of the nervous system are introduced, with emphasis on the molecular specializations used for these cells to function and develop connections to other cells. The structure, function and processing of all six senses (including kinesthesia) are covered. More complex functions of the nervous system, including control of eye movements, hunger, sleep, addiction, speech, and learning and memory are also covered.