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Experimental Molecular Biology: Biotechnology II
This course—part of MIT’s extensive OpenCourseWare offerings—applies molecular biology and reverse genetics approaches to the study of apoptosis, or programmed cell death (PCD), in Drosophila cells. Small teams of students design and carry out experiments to address questions about the genes involved in the regulation and execution of PCD in this system. Some projects involve the use of DNA-damaging agents or other cytotoxic chemicals or drugs to help understand the pathways that control a cell's decision to undergo apoptosis. The course also provides instruction and practice in written and oral communications. The website features a course description, detailed lab protocols, and guidelines for keeping a lab notebook. Its 10 lectures on various aspects of scientific communications address writing research proposals, writing research papers, and giving an oral presentation. Slides and two movies support a special guest lecture on "Apoptosis in Mammalian Cells."
Program Director: Graham C. Walker, Ph.D.
Award Years: 1989, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006
Summary: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its HHMI-funded initiatives include:
- The development of project-based laboratory courses and undergraduate research opportunity programs that allow students to work on cutting-edge research projects in collaboration with faculty labs;
- The Whitehead Seminar Series for High School Teachers, a monthly lecture series featuring talks by world-class researchers, which provides a framework for teachers to incorporate new ideas into their science classrooms, and
- The Whitehead Spring Lecture Series for High School Students, a program that includes laboratory demonstrations at the Whitehead and field trips to local biotechnology companies.