Winter 2026 Class Schedule

**Please note that these classes/days/times are tentative; finalized schedule published in Caesar.

First Year Seminars

Distribution/Foundational studies courses 

core courses

300 Level courses

Winter 2022 course descriptions

First Year Seminars & 100 Level courses

BIOL_SCI 116.6: First Year Seminar - Science Research Preparation

This course will provide students with skills and training to be successful in research environments. Under the guidance of faculty, graduate mentors and peer facilitators, students are expected to develop an independent research project, write a research funding proposal, give an oral presentation on their project, and develop basic laboratory skills.

Registration Requirements: enrollment open only to participants in the Bioscientist program. Students should contact Dr. Flores to obtain a permission number.

BIOL_SCI 150: Human Genetics

This class will examine basic principles of human inheritance and the role of genetic variation in human biology. The course will progress from simple Mendelian genetics to the study of complex traits controlled by multiple genes. We will examine how genetic variation affects disease, what it tells us about human evolution, and discuss the implications of the human genome project and gene editing in medicine and society. 

Foundational Studies/Distribution course.

Core Courses

BIOL_SCI 203: Genetics & Evolution

 This course will present the fundamentals of genetics and evolution. From the rules of heredity to the complex genetics of humans, we will cover the methods and logic of genetics as applied to inheritance, development, neurobiology, and populations. These concepts will transition to the process and tempo of evolution. From natural selection to speciation, we will cover evolution with an emphasis on how genetics plays a critical role.

Prerequisite: Students must have completed, with a C- or better, BIOL_SCI 202-0 or 219-0 to register for this course. Must be taken concurrently with BIOL_SCI 233-0.

Natural Sciences Distro Area

BIOL_SCI 233: Genetics & Molecular Processes Laboratory

This is the second course in a three-quarter sequence of introductory biology laboratory, which meets once a week for four hours and includes an online lecture component. The course is designed to provide students with an authentic laboratory experience that investigates relevant scientific research and teaches scientific inquiry skills such as experimental design, writing research proposals, data collection, data analysis/interpretation, and the presentation of results. The experimental model revolves around aggregate prone proteins in nematodes and how RNA interference (RNAi) can be used to affect protein folding and the clearance of protein aggregates. Students will learn and become proficient at various cell and molecular biology techniques.

Prerequisite: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 232-0. Must be taken concurrently with BIOL_SCI 203-0. Credit not allowed for both BIOL_SCI 220-0 and BIOL_SCI 233-0.

BIOL_SCI 241: Fundamentals of Multicellular Complexity

This course explores the developmental and evolutionary mechanisms that led to the emergence and complexity of multicellular life in animals. Topics include the evolution of multicellularity, cell communication, morphogenesis, and the genetic and molecular mechanisms that drive complexity. We will also examine examples of developmental complexity across major animal phyla and discuss current research in evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo). 

Prerequisite: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 240-0 to register for this course. Must be taken concurrently with BIOL_SCI 233-0.

300 level courses

BIOL_SCI 302: Fundamentals of Neurobiology

Fundamentals of Neurobiology will explore the structure and function of the central nervous system, from the molecular to the systems/behavioral level. This course will provide an introduction to a number of concepts in cellular and systems neurobiology, with an emphasis on: ion channel structure and function; the structure and function of neurons; the ionic basis of the membrane potential, graded potential and action potential; synaptic physiology, neuromodulation, neuronal networks; neural plasticity, including learning and memory. 

BIOL_SCI 310-0 strongly recommended prior to registering for this course. 

Prerequisites: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 201-0, BIOL_SCI 202-0, and BIOL_SCI 301-0 to register for this course. May not receive credit for both BIOL_SCI 302-0 and NEUROSCI 202-0

BIOL_SCI 303: Molecular & Structural Neurobiology

Exploration of the overlap between neurobiology and molecular biology.

Prerequisite: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 301-0 to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 310: Human Physiology

Biol_Sci 310 explores the functions of the human body with an emphasis on homeostatic mechanisms, interdependence of organs and organ systems and the influence of modulatory systems. Topics include: nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and digestive systems as well as endocrine application in these systems. Readings and activities focusing on the contributions of scientists of color to the advancement of physiology, and examples of social injustice that have occurred during the pursuit of physiology research, will be included.

Prerequisites: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 201-0, BIOL_SCI 202-0, and CHEM 132-0, CHEM 152-0, or CHEM 172-0. Credit not allowed for both BIOL_SCI 310-0 and BIOL_SCI 217-0.

BIOL_SCI 319: Virology and Antiviral Immunity

This course will introduce students to viruses that infect mammalian cells, their replication mechanisms, their interactions with host cells, and mechanisms triggering disease, immunity, and pathogenesis. Both virus life cycles and host antiviral immunity will be covered.   

Prerequisites: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 202-0, BIOL_SCI 203-0, and BIOL_SCI 301-0 to register for this course. 

BIOL_SCI 323: Bioinformatics

Scientific research and knowledge-based economies rely on critical thinking skills for success. The course will explore through case studies, classroom discussions, and homework assignments, the principles and practical applications of computational tools in contemporary molecular and structural biology research. Students will learn to conduct ‘experiments' in silico and critically analyze different types of sequence and structural data to establish relationships between sequence, structure, and function with an emphasis on constructing testable hypotheses. Students will gain an appreciation for the underlying algorithmic aspects of the computational tools along with their limitations. They will also learn to code in Python (recent advances in AI notwithstanding) to accelerate the process of discovery. Much of the learning will occur in class; however, deep thinking and learning will occur through written homework assignments where they will learn to provide evidence-based arguments in support of their hypotheses/models. As such, the course objectives align with the empirical and deductive reasoning objectives mandated by WCAS. 

Prerequisites: Students must have taken BIOL_SCI 241-0 or BIOL_SCI 301-0 to register for this class.

BIOL_SCI 339-0

Critical Topics in Ecology and Conservation

This course will provide students with the conceptual and theoretical framework within the field of plant ecology (especially plant biology) and conservation. This seminar-style class is based on reading and discussion of historical and contemporary primary literature. It will provide you with the opportunity to think critically and discuss your thoughts within a structured yet informal setting and will provide them with a basic background in reading and writing scientific papers. This course is designed to help you: 1. Read and discuss primary literature critically. 2. Learn important skills for writing scientific papers. 3. Become comfortable presenting and discussing papers with your peers. 4. Become more familiar with topics in Plant Science and Conservation. 5. Write a critical review of a manuscript written by a colleague. 6. Write a review paper on the topic of your choosing. 

Prerequisite: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 203-0, or BIOL_SCI 341, or BIOL_SCI 342-0, or ENVR_SCI 202-0 to register for this course.

 BIOL_SCI 345: TOPIC - Cell Division in Health & Disease

Prerequisites: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 240-0, BIOL_SCI 203-0 or BIOL_SCI 241-0, and BIOL_SCI 234-0 to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 345: TOPIC - Data Analysis & Visualization for Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation 

Community ecology investigates the composition, structure, functioning, and dynamics of ecological communities. Readings, discussions, lectures, and activities will address how communities are organized, how they interact with their biotic and abiotic environments, how they are studied, and how they are influenced by anthropogenic impacts like climate change.

Pre-requisite: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 203-0, or BIOL_SCI 339-0, or BIOL_SCI 341, or BIOL_SCI 342-0, or ENVR_SCI 202-0 to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 350: Plant Diversity & Evolution Laboratory

This course is an introduction to the diversity and evolutionary history of land plants for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. It will introduce principles of plant structure, classification, phylogeny, and paleontology in an evolutionary framework. Morphological, anatomical, molecular and fossil evidence for the evolutionary history and relationships of each group will be presented. Laboratories will focus on diversity and structural characteristics of each group and their fossils. Field trips will complement lecture and laboratory activities. In addition to lecture and lab, students will prepare an annotated bibliography on a topic of their choosing (subject to approval).

Pre-requisite: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 203-0, or BIOL_SCI 339-0, or BIOL_SCI 341, or BIOL_SCI 342-0, or ENVR_SCI 202-0 to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 354: Systems Biology

Systems biology is not any single field in biology but rather, it is an approach to studying all of the life sciences. Systems biology is different from classical approaches such as reductionism, and it can tackle problems that cannot be solved by these other approaches. It uses quantitative measurement of individuals, whether organisms, cells, or molecules, and describes their collective behavior - how they act and function as groups or populations in living systems. It combines analysis of big data with simple mathematical modeling to capture the essence of collective behaviors. Systems biology is a gateway to synthetic biology, which engineers novel living systems based on collective behaviors. This course will focus on systems approaches to study important phenomena in molecular and cell biology, and developmental biology. Emphasis on modeling, analysis of big data, and interpretation of results will be given in the course.

Prerequisites: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 201-0 and BIOL_SCI 202-0 to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 355: Immunobiology

Immunobiology is the study of the response of higher organisms to foreign substances and pathogens, such as bacteria and viruses. This course examines the cells and organs of the vertebrate immune system and how they function to protect us during an immune response against microbial infection. We will also examine disorders of the immune system, including immune deficiency, hypersensitivity, autoimmunity, and cancer. 

Prerequisite: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 201-0, BIOL_SCI 202-0, and BIOL_SCI 301-0 to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 377-0

The Human Microbiome

The Human Microbiome is an introductory course on the collection of microorganisms in and on the body and the fascinating role they play in our health. We will explore different communities of microorganisms in the human body -the gut, urogenital, oral, and skin microbiota and learn about how those communities contribute to or are altered in healthy and diseased states. Topics will include, but are not limited to, the contribution of these communities to digestion and gut health, mood, obesity, the immune system, fertility and pregnancy, and neurological disorders. This is a rapidly expanding field, and we will place a special emphasis on exploring these topics through review of primary research articles.

Prerequisite: BIOL_SCI 201-0, BIOL_SCI 202-0, and BIOL_SCI 301-0 to register for this course.

Advance Expression course

BIOL_SCI 378: Functional Genomics

The sequencing and assembly of genomes has sparked a new era in biomedical science, in which analyses of very large datasets drive new understanding of fundamental biological phenomena. This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of genome sequencing and assembly, analysis of important genome features, and large-scale identification of genes and regulatory elements.  Moreover, it will cover genome-scale "transcriptomic" experiments that identify important gene expression patterns, proteomic analysis that seeks to define the dynamic molecular machines underlying life processes, and analysis of genes in complex functional networks.  The course will introduce key concepts in bioinformatics and molecular evolution and will teach students to use computational analyses to derive interesting information from large datasets. 

Prerequisites: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 202-0 and BIOL_SCI 203-0 to register for this course. 

BIOL_SCI 379: Proteomics & Disease

This course is designed to investigate the homeostasis of the proteome, what mechanisms maintain this homeostasis, and how breakdown of these mechanisms leads to disease.  The topics will cover gene expression, the biochemistry of protein folding, and the various pathways that ensure proper protein folding as well as the destruction of misfolded proteins and aggregates.  The topics covered will be a progression of the material learned in NU’s introductory biology courses.  

Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 203-0, BIOL_SCI 234-0, and BIOL_SCI 301-0.

BIOL_SCI 381: Stem Cells & Regeneration

The use of stem cells for growth, repair, and maintenance of tissue is widespread throughout the animal kingdom. In addition, species vary in their natural abilities of repair tissue in adulthood, from wound healing and scar formation to complete cell/tissue/organ regeneration after damage. What are the molecular processes that imbue stem cells with their unique abilities, how are these controlled by the organism, and how can they be harnessedtherapeutically? This course takes a comparative approach to explore this fascinating problem by critically examining classic and modern scientific literature about the developmental and molecular biology of regeneration and both embryonic and adult stem cells.

Prerequisites: BIOL_SCI 203-0 or BIOL_SCI 215-0 and BIOL_SCI 202-0 or BIOL_SCI 219-0, to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 392: Morphogenesis

Development of overarching principles alongside classic readings of experiments exploring key concepts in developmental biology.

Prerequisites: Students must have completed BIOL_SCI 202-0, BIOL_SCI 203-0, BIOL_SCI 234-0, and BIOL_SCI 301-0 to register for this course.

BIOL_SCI 397: Honors Colloquium 

A student intending to write a Thesis in Biological Sciences must register for Senior Thesis Colloquium (BIOL SCI 397) during Winter Quarter of the Senior Year.I t is in the context of this class that Senior or Honors Theses are written. Do not also register for a 399 that quarter; for the Winter, BIOL SCI 397 replaces 399 with regard to both your research and its write-up.

Pre-requisities: At least one BIOL SCI 398 or 399 registration must have preceded BIOL SCI 397. Do not register for a 398 or 399 during the same quarter as 397. Please contact the instructor for a permission number to register for this course. 

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