Students take a written and oral qualifying examination at the end of their third semester. Qualified students then choose a doctoral dissertation adviser and begin research. This twice-weekly literature, discussion, and lecture course covers mechanisms of hormone action upon target cells, with emphasis on the molecular mechanisms by which hormones mediate their cellular effect. Students should be already familiar with fundamentals of bacterial structure and metabolism. The first part of the course covers basic ideas, while the second part examines selected specific organisms in further detail.
Classes consist of lectures and discussion of research papers.
There are two exams and student presentations. This core course introduces basic ideas of immunity and the immune system, including evolutionary and comparative studies, specific and nonspecific immunity, the biology of T and B lymphocytes, the genetics of the antigen-receptor and MHC loci, immunochemistry, and the role and action of cytokines. The course includes lectures, student presentations, and term papers. This core course combines lectures, student presentations of research and review papers, and group discussions. Topics include parasite life histories, the evolutionary biology of parasitism, parasite genetics, immunoparasitology, and control strategies.