All GBS students are required to enroll in the fall semester core curriculum, which is designed to introduce students to fundamental principals in genetics, biochemistry and metabolism, and cell and molecular biology, respectively.

Core Courses:

• GBS 707- Basic Biochemistry & Metabolism. Shannon Bailey & Mythreye Karthikeyan This course is intended to provide students a rigorous background in the principles of biological chemistry. The principles taught are those we believe student should master and include the application of these principles to research protocols and performance.
  2023 Dates: August 21 - September 22, 2023
  Recommended Text (not required): Biochemistry, 4th Ed. (Voet & Voet)
  
  
• GBS 708- Basic Genetics & Molecular Biology. David Schneider This course is intended to provide students with a strong foundation in basic genetics and basic molecular biology so that students are able to apply and understand fundamentals in their lab research.
  2023 Dates: September 25 - October 27, 2023
  Recommended Text (not required): Molecular Biology of the Cell, 6th Ed. (Alberts et al)
  
  
• GBS 709- Basic Biological Organization. Alecia Gross & Sasanka Ramanadham This course is intended to provide students with exposure to the fundamentals of basic cell biology and begin to build a foundation of knowledge that will be needed as the student progress along the scientific path.
  2023 Dates: October 30 - December 8, 2023
  Recommended Text (not required): Molecular Biology of the Cell, 6th Ed. (Alberts et al)
  
  
• GBS 701- Core Concepts in Research: Critical Thinking & Error Analysis. This course examines the nature and philosophical foundations of science using an interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes critical thinking and storytelling; discusses the principles of good scientific practice – rigor, reproducibility and responsibility (the 3R's) - by exploring revolutionary discoveries in the life, public health and natural sciences; elaborates the relationship between theory, practice and serendipity in scientific discovery, and concludes with a discussion of the role of scientists in society.
  
  

Please contact the course director for any further course details.

GBS students are required to complete four, 4-week modules during their 1st year. Please see your theme training plans for recommended and required spring modules.

*If a student is planning to count a module course as advanced credit, they must complete the Advanced Course Verification form.

Module Dates:

• Module 1: January
• Module 2: February
• Module 3: March
• Module 4: April

For course dates please refer to the GBS Academic Calendar

January Modules:

• GBS 710- Cell Signaling (CANB & CMDB). Chenbei Chang & Jianbo Wang This course covers major extracellular and intracellular signal transduction cascades that regulate animal development and physiology. Topics include the mitogen activated protein kinase cascade, transforming growth factor beta, insulin, and cytokines.
• GBS 724- Principles of Human Genetics (GGB). Fady Mikhail & Andre Leier This course will cover recessive, dominant, X-linked, and mitochondrial inheritance, as well as basic cytogenetics, chromosome abnormalities, and epigenetics.
• GBS 740A- Intro to Immunology Part 1 (IMM). Louis Justement & Peter Burrows Introductory Immunology is a team-taught survey course that covers basic concepts of innate and adaptive immunity. These integrated series of lectures provide a firm foundation in immunology, especially for those with minimal immunology background, and serve as an important refresher for the developing immunologist.
• GBS 750- Intro to Physiology I (P3). Glenn Rowe, Lufang Zhou, Michelle Gray, & Quamarul Hassan This course will include an overview of basic cellular physiology and the neurological and musculoskeletal systems. Neurologic and neuromuscular diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and myasthenia gravis will be discussed, along with primary myopathies (e.g., dystrophinopathies), joint diseases (osteoarthritis, acute arthritis, arthropathies, fibrosing disorders), and bone diseases (osteoporosis, osteopetrosis, osteonecrosis).
• GBS 760- Bacterial Genetics and Physiology (MICRO). Michael Gray This course is designed to familiarize students with advanced knowledge in recombination, transcription, translation, regulation of gene expression, transport mechanisms and protein export. The students will learn the fundamental principles how structural components of bacterial cells are built and how bacteria-specific metabolic pathways can be exploited by antibiotics. We will also cover state-of-the-art technologies such as whole genome sequencing, microarray experiments, methods to analyze protein-protein interactions and the metabolome of bacteria. In this course, we emphasize the training of critical thinking and foster the ability of the students to design their own experiments to solve scientific problems in bacteriology. The goal of the course is to provide a strong foundation for advanced bacteriology classes and for doing research in any bacteriology lab.
• GBS 781- Molecular Enzymology (BSB). Kirill Popov This course intends to touch on the various mechanisms of enzymes in biological systems.
• GBSC 744- Neuroanatomy (NEURO). Laura Volpicelli-Daley The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the basics of neuroanatomy. The goals are: •Understand the anatomy of the cranial nerves, the visual system, the auditory system, the olfactory system, the limbic system, the cerebrovascular system, neural pathways responsible for movement and cognition. In addition: • Human nervous system anatomy will be compared to rodents and non-human primates and simpler models systems such as C. elegans and zebrafish •Novel techniques such as optogenetics, functional MRI and MATLAB for data analyses to study brain neuroanatomy and connectivity will be discussed. •Sheep brains will be dissected. •Students will view human brain slicing.

February Modules:

• GBS 712- Cell Molecular Aspects in Developmental Biology (BSB & CMDB). Rosa Serra The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to the fundamentals of vertebrate developmental biology. The course will consist of faculty lectures and research paper discussion groups covering a broad range of developmental issues from fertilization to organogenesis.
• GBS 720- Genomic Sciences (GGB). Brittany Lasseigne Genomic sciences (sequencing technologies and the corresponding analytical approaches) have become pervasive and vital tools in biology. This course will cover how sequencing works, the sequencing technologies available for profiling biological systems, and introduce genomic analyses using both the R programming language and web-based tools through biologically-relevant examples. Case studies throughout the course will demonstrate proper sequencing study design, foundational discoveries, and cutting-edge applications.
• GBS 740B- Intro to Immunology Part 2 (IMM). Louis Justement & Peter Burrows Introductory Immunology is a team-taught survey course that covers basic concepts of innate and adaptive immunity. These integrated series of lectures provide a firm foundation in immunology, especially for those with minimal immunology background, and serve as an important refresher for the developing immunologist.
• GBS 751- Intro to Physiology II (P3). Zdenek Hel & Ji-Bin Peng This course will introduce the exquisitely integrated cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal systems. This integration will be reinforced with examination of numerous disease states (acidosis, hypertension, heart failure, atherosclerosis/chronic vascular inflammation, genetic and environmentally-induced pulmonary diseases, chronic kidney disease).
• GBS 762- Virology (MICRO). Joel Glasgow This course is designed to familiarize students with the general steps involved in viral lifecycles and use this knowledge as a framework for understanding the similarities and differences in the lifecycles of (+) and (-) stranded RNA viruses, DNA viruses, and retroviruses. The course also covers the role of viruses in oncogenesis, the origin and evolution of viruses, the innate immune response to viral infections, and the development of antiviral chemotherapeutics. The goal of the course is to provide a strong foundation for advanced virology classes and to provide students with enough background in virology to be comfortable teaching in a college level microbiology class.
• GBS 769- Carcinogenesis (CANB). Rajeev Samant & Lalita Samant The course is intended to introduce the concepts in carcinogenesis, followed by understanding the etiology, molecular events and signaling pathways involved.
• GBSC 729- Cell Neurophys (NEURO). Jacques Wadiche, Linda Wadiche, & Scott Cruikshank This course presents the fundamental principles of how nerve cells work. Starting with ion channels themselves, it integrates them into the functioning of individual neurons. The way in which voltage-dependent ion channels act in concert to generate action potentials and synaptic potentials is discussed in the framework of basic physical laws. The mechanisms of transmitter release and the postsynaptic actions of transmitter are studied. The overall aim is to provide students with a quantitative understanding of how individual nerve cells communicate with each other.

• GBS 714- Developmental Neuro (NEURO). Neda Wick and Anne Thiebert The course will utilize the scientific literature and faculty lectures to cover a broad range of topics related to the mechanisms of building a brain. The topics covered range from neural induction in early development, to axonal guidance and synapse formation, to neuro-gial interactions in the adult nervous system.Grading is based on exams and student participation.
• GBS 744- Mucosal Immunology (IMM). Laurie Harrington & Craig Maynard The mucosal immune system is essentially the primary site of interaction between invading pathogens and the immune system. Mucosal immunity has always been a strength of the immunology community at UAB and is rarely covered at most other institutions. This class will provide in-depth analysis of the structural features that distinguish the mucosal immune system from the peripheral immune system. Features of innate and adaptive immunity as they relate to mucosal immune responses will also be covered. The course will involve student presentations on selected topics.
• GBS 752- Intro to Pathobiology (P3). Eason Hildreth This four-week course consists of a series of lectures and case discussion sessions designed to help students explore the fundamental mechanisms and pathologic basis of disease. This course is designed to be an introduction to pathobiology with an emphasis on using clinic examples and experimental studies of disease processes to help anchor the main points. We present general pathology and pathogenic principles in a way that is easy to understand and remember. The material presented here will give students the background knowledge to tackle any complex disease process from a solid scientific foundation.
• GBS 764- Intro to Structural Biology Methods (BSB & MICRO). Jamil Saad Structural biology is central to understanding the function of biological macromolecules and is to relevant to all fields of modern biological science. This course will provide a basic introduction to the elements of structural biology including the levels of protein structure (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary), the basis of structure determination by X-ray crystallography, NMR, and cryo-electron microscopy, and will explore the structure/function relationships in select systems.
• GBS 770- Pathobiology of Cancer.Neda Wick Students will gain an understanding of the pathology of cancer in general and an appreciation of the gross, histologic and molecular pathology of cancers of multiple organs, including the brain, lungs, breast, prostate, colon, bone, bone marrow and lymph nodes.  The students will learn the basis of the pathologic classification of cancers of particular organs, including the gross, microscopic and molecular features that aid in classification.  Then the clinical implications (i.e., prognostication and treatment) of the classification systems will be discussed.  Also, current controversies and topics of research interest may be introduced.  In addition, several lectures will focus on the epidemiology of cancer and translational research in cancer, including animal models of cancer. 
• GBS 782- Molecular Genetics (BSB). Tom Ryan Course studying the structure and function of genes at a molecular level.
• GBSC 718- Epigenetics (GGB). Runhua Liu This course introduces the fundamentals of epigenetic controls and how epigenetic regulation is being investigated and utilized in basic and translational research. Specifically, students learn of changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. Students also gain an understanding of the differences between genetic and epigenetic influences on gene expression; epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene expression; how epigenetic modifications are propagated; and the phenotypic consequences of normal versus abnormal epigenetic regulation in disease, development, and evolution.

April Modules:

• GBS 723- Model Systems for Genetic Analysis (CMDB & GGB). John Hartman and Girish Melkani This course is designed to introduce various genetic model systems to students. The model organisms discussed in this course include bacteria, yeast, plants, worm, fly, killifish, zebrafish, chick, frog and mouse. Students will learn about the basic physiology and genetic manipulation tools for each organism. There will be one lecture highlighting the strength of each model organism. The students will also learn how to use induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in disease models.
• GBS 741- Lymphocyte Biology (IMM). Allan Zajac The objective of this course is to provide first year immunology students with the opportunity to gain a more in-depth understanding of selected aspects of lymphocyte biology. Possible topics include T cell subsets, B cell biology, lymphocyte activation, and transplantation immunology. The course is literature intense, and students are required to read and present numerous scientific papers.
• GBS 753- Intro to Pathobiology & Toxicology (P3). Robert van Waardenburg & Karina Yoon Students taking this course will be expected to have a thorough understanding of normal and abnormal organ system function as discussed in the three-modules described above. Lectures will build on that foundation to cover recent advances in drug design and development based on approaches of molecular pharmacology and molecular medicine. In addition, drug targeting strategies that take advantage of specificity in cellular structure and cell signaling processes will also be discussed.
• GBS 763- Microbial Pathogenesis (MICRO). William Swords & Jessica Scoffield The course in Bacterial Pathogenesis contains introductory lectures that provide an overview of major concepts including virulence factors, and host immune mechanisms. Most of the lectures describe the unique aspects of specific bacterial (and fungal) pathogens. Although many of the most important medical pathogens are covered, the course focuses especially on those bacterial and fungal pathogens studies most intensively at UAB. Each week students will be given a quiz based on the lectures of the preceding week. To answer the questions, an understanding of the lecture material will be needed. The questions are designed to help the students thinking about hypotheses and concepts in Bacterial Pathogenesis.
• GBS 774- Cancer Immunology (CANB). Nabiha Yusuf A summary of key signaling pathways that regulate cancer cell growth, death and behavior will be presented. An intense evaluation of mechanisms involved in pro-and anti-tumor immunology will be presented along with theoretical aspects of cancer immunotherapy.
• GBS 784- Stem Cell Biology (BSB & CMDB). Tom Ryan This course will explore the derivation, manipulation, and differentiation of embryonic, fetal, and adult stem cells in both mice and humans. Topics to be discussed include stem cell self-renewal, teratoma formation, hematopoietic stem cells, neural stem cells, trans-differentiation, nuclear transfer, and reproductive and therapeutic cloning. The course will be a mixture of instructor lectures and interactive journal club style presentations from the current stem cell literature by the students.
• GBSC 727- Neuro Systems (NEURO). Kristina Visscher Systems neuroscience studies how neural circuits and systems work together to create behavior. This course is a short overview of systems neuroscience ideas and concepts, from alpha oscillations to zebra-finch song.

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to class meetings, times, and dates.

At least three advanced courses are required for all GBS students. Typically, advanced courses are 3 credit hours and must have a letter grade (no pass/fail). They must be completed prior to scheduling your dissertation defense. Only 700-level courses count toward this requirement. While 500- and 600-level courses may be taken, they cannot count towards the advanced courses requirement.

Advanced Courses:

• GBS 700- Molecular Neurodegeneration. Jeremy Herskowitz This is an advanced course covering several of the most important molecules involved in neurodegenerative disease, including Aβ, tau, apoE, TDP-43, α-synuclein, LRRK2, prion protein (PrP), and Huntington (HTT). The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of each protein's normal structure/function and how these are altered in neurodegenerative disease.
• GBS 702- You Teach Me. Hubert Tse You Teach Me: Autoimmune Effector Mechanisms and Inflammation in Type 1 and 2 Diabetes. This course will begin with a general overview of Type 1 and 2 diabetes, but in later weeks, students are given the opportunity to teach and describe a particular cell type and/or immune effector molecule that pertains to Type 1 or 2 diabetes pathogenesis. The teaching topic is for the presenter to decide, but the course master will provide guidance and input. Does your favorite immune cell or effector molecule have a role in the pathogenesis of Type 1 or 2 diabetes? You will be surprised at what you uncover.
• GBS 715- Skeletal Development and Disease. Amjad Javed This class is designed for understanding Cellular and Molecular Signaling essential for the normal development and remodeling of skeleton and for learning genetic mechanisms associated with skeletal diseases and pathology.
• GBS 718- Histology of Mammalian Organs and Tissues. Laura Fraser This course will cover the specialized cell biology and microscopic anatomy for each of the mammalian organ systems, as well as consider current research with regards to each system. The objective is to understand how cells organize into tissues and organ systems and how these systems function in the body, as well as appreciate the microscopic appearance of cells, tissues and organs. Prerequisites include completion of the first year of a graduate program and active engagement in research.
• GBS 726- Advanced Medical Genetics. Jessica Denton & Jon Sharer This course will focus on the medical application of advances in genetics and genomics. Topics include chromosome structure and function and major types of chromosomal abnormalities, cancer genetics and cytogenetics, inborn errors of metabolism, current strategies for detection of mutations associated with genetic disorders, genetic risk assessment and population genetics, and genomic approaches to diagnosis and risk stratification.
• GBS 727- Advanced Human Genomics. Greg Cooper This course will cover the conceptual basis, major discoveries, and unsolved problems in human genomics, with an emphasis on disease applications. The goal is to make students conversant with the structures, functions, and natural histories of human genomes, the computational and experimental methods used to establish that knowledge, the applications of genomics to medical research, and the broader impacts of genomic research on the community. Each topic will be covered by an approximately 90-minute lecture from a subject-specific PI coupled to reading of pieces of primary literature. Students will also participate in 3 student-led journal clubs in which one or more papers are discussed in detail with the help of the teaching faculty. We will also perform 3 interactive sessions to teach basic computational skills in Unix, Perl and R. Course meets both on UAB Campus and at Hudson-Alpha in Huntsville.
• GBS 729- Translational Approaches in Neurodegeneration. Jeremy Herskowitz & Ashley Harms With the current emphasis on "bench to bedside" strategies, successful translational research approaches may be helpful for a productive career in academic and industrial settings. This course uses the field of neurodegeneration as a vehicle for conceptualization to the failures, current challenges, and successes of different translational approaches. This course emphasizes active learning principles by placing students into scenarios of direct relevance to a career in science (e.g., emulation of study section discourse, formal critical debate that happens at international symposia, and informal discussions between colleagues).
• GBS 739- Neuropharmacology. Qin Wang Advanced course which will focus on the mechanism of action of CNS-active drugs. The first one-third of the course will consist of lectures that emphasize basic principles of neuropharmacology including neurotransmitter and receptor concepts, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics. The next two-thirds of the course will focus on the mechanism of action of different drug classes, including classical behavioral and biochemical studies, as well as genetic and molecular analyses of drug action. In each section, the instructor will give an overview lecture followed by student presentations. Student performance will be evaluated based on homework, oral presentation and written examination.
• GBS 742- Dendritic Cell Biology. Andre Ballesteros-Tato & Beatric Leon-Ruiz Dendritic cells (DCs) are considered the bridge between the innate and the adaptive immune system. After recognizing pathogens in infected tissues, activated-DCs migrate into the secondary lymphoid organs where they prime pathogen-specific T cell responses. In the absence of DCs, T cell responses are not generated and protective immunity to pathogens, tumors, and vaccines are severely compromised, thus highlighting the importance of DCs in generating effective immune responses. In this course we will provide a comprehensive overview of DC biology, focusing on understanding DC heterogeneity, mechanisms of action and the roles played by the different populations of DCs during viral and allergic responses. The class will also focus on key functional differences between human and mouse DCs and the potential therapeutic use of DCs in immunotherapy.
• GBS 749- Mitochondria in Health, Disease, & Toxicology. Shannon Bailey The course will consist of lectures given by faculty members on specific topics in the field of mitochondrial biology and toxicology. These lectures will be complemented by student presentations of original research articles, which are related to the presented subject matter and that place the discussed topic into the context of human health, disease, and toxicology. This format will allow for students to gain a solid understanding of normal mitochondrial physiology, which they can then use to explore the literature to reveal the importance of mitochondrial dysfunction in human diseases and toxicology responses.
• GBS 754- Autophagy in Disease and Medicine. Jianhua Zhang This advanced course reviews the pathobiology of autophagy and how it is essential for survival, differentiation, development, and homeostasis and how it serves an adaptive role to protect organisms against diverse pathologies, including infections, cancer, neurodegeneration, aging, and heart disease.
• GBS 757- Biology of Disease. Peter Anderson Biology of Disease is a comprehensive course in general pathophysiology designed for graduate students in the GBS program or other science related graduate programs. This course will begin with an overview of general anatomy and histology and then will investigate basic pathophysiologic principles emphasizing pathogenic mechanisms and clinically important diseases where current research areas will be highlighted. The biomedical science students will learn the mechanisms involved in disease processes and will develop an understanding of diseases and clinical medicine to help them converse knowledgeably with medical colleagues and target their research towards clinically relevant issues.
• GBS 758- Cardiovascular Biology. Scott Ballinger & Adam Wende This course will consist of didactic lectures given by faculty members from UAB and guest lecturers from other institutions on a specific topic in the field of cardiovascular biology, which will then be followed up by student presentations of original research articles which are related to the presented subject matter and that place the discussed topic into the context of human health and disease. This format will allow for students to first gain a solid understanding of normal and pathological aspects of cardiovascular physiology, the basic experimental approaches that can be used in bench to bedside studies and the current perspectives on a broad range of current hot topics in the field. In addition, this course has unique components including instruction on how to review a research paper and prepare for an interview for an entry level position (e.g. postdoctoral) in academia and/or industry. These exercises will provide an appreciation of the issues related to a career scientific research. This course will be guided by the Course Director and other faculty members who will assist in the selection of relevant readings and facilitate in-class discussions among the students.
• GBS 765- Hybrid Structural Techniques. Terje Dokland, Peter Prevelige, Jamil Saad, & Mark Walter This course will focus on the use of X-ray crystallography, Cryo-Electron microscopy and Image Reconstruction, NMR, and Mass Spectrometry to obtain structures of biological macromolecules. Each component will be taught separately (Drs Walter, Dokland, Saad, and Prevelige respectively). Each module will focus on insuring the student has a basic understanding of the essential principles of the technique and its practical application. Examples will generally be drawn virology and immunology.
• GBS 775- Cancer Treatment. Karina Yoon & Chris Willey Students will study current theories regarding chemotherapy, radiation therapy, chemoprevention and imaging. Students will also be exposed to state-of-the-art for each of these treatment/diagnostic modalities. This course uses a combination of textbook and literature readings and classroom discussions to provide students with an understanding of the different classes of drugs used to treat cancer. The course focuses on the mechanisms of drug action, the basis for selectivity and therapeutic applications. Traditional as well as novel approaches to therapeutics will be discussed, as well as the role of drug resistance and strategies for its management.
• GBS 778- Cancer Metastasis. Doug Hurst The majority of cancer associated deaths are due to complications arising from metastatic disease. The process of metastasis is highly selective and is the result of a tumor cell completing a series of complex interrelated steps. Despite our improved knowledge of this disease, we still do not fully understand the molecular mechanisms regulating tumor progression and metastasis. This advanced course will cover basic mechanisms of how a tumor cell progresses from growth at the primary site to forming an overt lesion in a secondary organ and techniques used to study this disease.
• GBS 779- Translational Research in Cancer. Eddy Yang This course covers topics on patient-based research efforts that may be important adjuncts to basic science studies. Topics include tissue collection, ex vivo assays, animal models, high-throughput arrays, drug development, epidemiologic studies, basics of clinical trials, and other topics.
• GBS 783- Advanced RNA Biology. David Schneider This course explores the biology, biochemistry, structure and function of RNA at a research level.
• GBS 787 VTA - Hallmarks of Cancer. Romi Gupta This course is designed for students interested in the area of Cancer research. This course will cover a variety of topics that provides complete understanding of the characteristics of the cancer cells and how they differ from normal cells. In particular, we will discuss ten key hallmarks of cancer which constitute a driving force for cancer development and progression. These will include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and promoting invasion and metastasis. Understanding of these hallmarks of cancer is essential to develop effective approaches for cancer therapy. In addition to the lecture, this course will also discuss papers describing seminal discoveries in the area of cancer hallmarks.
• GBS 787 VTE - Systems Biology of Human Microbiota . Tatiana T Marquez-Lago The human microbiota is the collection of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses) that reside within human tissues and biofluids. Such resident microorganisms compose the majority of cells in human bodies and are key contributors to human development, health, and disease. However, most studies focus on genomics and microbiome statistical representations alone, while spatial-temporal analysis, multi-source data integration such as that from DNA sequencing, transcriptomics and metabolomics, as well as modeling, are necessary to predict and understand interactions between microorganisms, human hosts, and the environment. This course will highlight state-of-the-art microbiome/microbiota research and provide essential training in mathematical, computational and systems biology to derive integrative and predictive models of microbiota-host interactions in the context of human health and disease. Students must obtain permission from the course coordinator, Dr. Tatiana Marquez Lago (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to enroll.
• GBSC 703- CB2-101 Intro to Scientific Computing. Malay Masu The purpose of this course is to provide and introduction to main computational skills required for scientific computing. Specifically, the participants are exposed to practical use of standard web available resources and computational tools for the managing molecular biology data. A successful participation includes the development of scripts and programs for analyzing large scale data. 
• GBSC 703- CB2-201 Computational Biology & Bioinformatics. Malay Basu This course will be a 10 day hands-on course of training each day in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. Detailed program of the course will be available here. *For students without solid programming experience attendance of CB2-101 is mandatory before taking this course. *
• GBSC 705- Protein Mass Spectrometry. Matt Renfrow Students participating in this course become familiar with standard analysis of proteins and protein mixtures by analytical mass spectrometry. This includes the analysis of recombinant and native isolations of proteins including the analysis of post translational modifications. The first month of the course will focus on the fundamentals of mass spectrometry and protein analysis and will be open to first year students. The second and third months of the course is followed by an applications section for students who have completed their first year course requirements. Included topics throughout the course include, sample preparation, mass spectrometry instrumentation, mass spectral interpretation, proteomic experimentation, database searching, analysis of protein modifications, targeted analysis of proteins in complex mixtures, and structural techniques in mass spectrometry.
• GBSC 706- NMR Spectroscopy. Wiliam Placzek & Chad Petit The main purpose of this course is to provide fundamental understanding (physics) to graduate students who want to utilize NMR spectroscopy as a major tool in their structural biology research. Students with elementary Quantum Mechanics background will gain the optimum benefit from this course. The course is offered every two years. This course covers basic NMR Theory and Concepts (Nuclear Spin-1/2, Bloch Equations, FT-NMR, Rotating Frame, Various Relaxation Mechanisms, Chemical shits, J couplings, etc.), Density Matrix Theory, Product Operator Description of 2D- and 3D-NMR, Nuclear Overhauser Effect, Conformational Exchange, Solomon-McConnel equations, Residual Dipolar Couplings, NMR spectra of Amino acids, Peptides and Proteins, Solvent Suppression Methods, Random Coil Chemical shifts, 2D-NMR methods for assignments and structure calculations of peptides and small proteins, 3D/4D-NMR methods for assignment and structure studies of large proteins, CYANA Structure-Refinement calculations, NMR of nucleic acids, Protein Dynamics, and study of Protein-Ligand complexes including applications in drug design (STD-NMR, trNOESY, SAR-by-NMR and ILOE).
• GBSC 707- Metabolic Regulation of Gene Expression. Natalia Kedishvili This course will focus on the impact of various metabolites on gene expression, cell growth, and differentiation in health and disease. The key topics for discussion will include the types of biologically active molecules in mammalian tissues, the mechanisms that regulate their concentrations at different stages of life, and the mechanisms by which these bioactive molecules regulate gene transcription through binding to nuclear receptors/transcription factors. Primary literature applicable to these topics will be the basis for discussion. Each section on a specific type of signaling molecule will start with an introductory lecture, followed by student presentations focusing on various aspects of the topic. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the mechanisms of action and diversity of bioactive metabolic compounds that directly affect the expression of proteins at the level of gene transcription as well as mRNA translation during development and in adulthood.
• GBSC 709- Advanced Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine. Thomas Ryan Patient-specific cell therapies promise to transform medicine in the next two decades. In order for these regenerative therapies to be safe and effective, basic mechanisms of stem cell biology must be better understood. The goal of this course is to provide students with the basic science foundation to contribute to this field and to provide examples of translating this information to next generation medical therapies.
• GBSC 710- Advanced Chromatin Biology. Xinyang Zhao & Rui Zhao Chromatin biology may hold the keys for discovery of novel cures for cancer and other chronic genetic diseases. Chromatin state directly influences the development of regenerative medicine. Over the last few years, there has been an explosion of new insights into chromatin biology. This course will focus on four key topics: chromatin structure and gene regulation, chromatin in cancer biology, chromatin in developmental biology, and practical approaches in chromatin research. Special emphasis will be on the molecular mechanisms and biochemical approaches. The format will be 1/2 lecture and 1/3 student presentations. Primary literature related to these topics will be assigned for discussion. The goal of this course is to help students to understand the cutting edge knowledge in chromatin biology and to be able to address questions on chromatin in their own research.
• GBSC 712- Evolution of Immunity. Rodney King Every form of multicellular life on earth has the capacity to carry out host defense. In higher order vertebrates the necessity for immunity against pathogens has given rise to an elaborate and complex system that involves a variety of specialized cell types and effector molecules. How did this complex system evolve? This course will explore immunity across the animal kingdom with a special emphasis on points of convergent and divergent evolution of immune mechanisms and strategies.
• GBSC 714- Applications of Microscopy. Alexa Mattheyses This course will provide GBS students and postdoctoral fellows with an in-depth background in the theory of modern microscopy analyses for researchers in the biomedical sciences complemented with hands-on practical exercises. The course will cover a wide range of fundamental and cutting-edge approaches with training in experimental design and technical limitations, specimen preparation, diverse uses of bright-field, simple epifluorescence, single and multiphoton confocal, high resolution, live-cell, and intravital microscopy. The course will also provide training in specialized applications such as particle tracking and co-localization, photo-activation, Ca2+ imaging, FRET, FRAP, FLIM, and TIRF, and methods for quantitative data analyses. The course will also cover image preparation for publication and ethical issues related to image manipulation. Permission from both Mentor & Course Director is required to take this course. 
• GBSC 715- Molecular Basis of Disease. Yabing Chen This is an advanced, graduate course that explores the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie the causes, symptoms, and complications of various diseases, including diabetes, autoimmune diseases, atherosclerosis, and cancer. An integrative approach to the clinical, pathologic, biochemical, and molecular perspectives of diseases is introduced. This will help the students to understand how metabolic pathways, cell cycle regulation, signal transduction, transcription factors, and protein glycosylation impacts on our ability to understand and treat human disease. Requirement: This course is designed for graduate students admitted to campus-wide PhD programs in the biomedical and basic sciences, post-doctoral fellows, medical students, residents, staff, and members of the faculty interested in the latest advances and approaches in understanding and treating human disease.
• GBSC 717- Crystallography-Protein. Todd Green & Champion Deivanayagan Xray crystallography is an important technique to resolve protein/DNA structures and it requires specialized training. Covered in this will not only be the theoretical aspects, but there will also be hands-on training sessions on each topic. Some topics covered: protein crystallization, data collection and reduction, structure solution, refinement and how to report structures.
• GBSC 721- Brain Tumor Biology. Anita Hjelmeland Brain Tumor Signaling, Biology & Therapeutics Course. This course will review the types of adult and pediatric brain tumors with a focus on 3 major components: 1-cellular genetics and signaling, 2-pro-tumorigenic cellular biology, and 3-preclinical models and clinical treatments. AT the end of the course, the student should have a thorough understanding of the changes in tumor vs. normal tissue that promote cancer initiation and growth. The student should understand how these changes provide the foundation for current and cutting edge treatment strategies. The focus will be on gliomas, but other tumors will be discussed.
• GBSC 724- Metabolomics. Stephen Barnes The goal of the course is to provide training on the new vision of the chemical composition of the metabolome, its impact on phenotypes in normal health and disease, how to design experiments that reduce systematic variation and deal with the effects of the microbiome, recovery of the metabolome from body fluids/excreta, cells and tissues, analytical methods used in metabolomics, post-acquisition data processing and univariate and multivariate statistical analysis, metabolite confirmation, unknown (new) metabolite identification, pathway analysis, targeted quantitative analysis of specific pathways, use of stable-isotopically labeled precursors to measure pathway dynamics, metabolomics in human and animal models of disease (atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, eye diseases, immune diseases and neurodegeneration), metabolomics in situ (imaging mass spectrometry and direct analysis in the clinic and the operating room) and integration of metabolomics with other Omics (genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics).
• GBSC 725- Cancer & Microenvironment. Ryan Miller & Andrea Comba The growth and progression of cancer is closely regulated by the tumor microenvironment. Through this course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the tumor microenvironment by studying topics that include, for example, the cellular and acellular composition of the microenvironment, mechanisms of communication between tumor and host cells and how the tumor microenvironment promotes tumor growth, metastasis and drug resistance. Students will also learn the in vitro and in vivo models utilized for studying the tumor microenvironment and current approaches for targeting the tumor microenvironment for cancer therapy.
• GBSC 728- Cancer Genomics, Epigenetics & Therapeutics. Sooryanarayana Varambally Recent advances in high throughput technologies have enabled researchers to decipher the genomic and epigenetic alterations in cancer in great detail. In this course, students will learn the technologies used for investigating the genomic and epigenetic alterations in cancer and effect of these changes on cancer progression and potential application of understanding these changes. The goal of this course is to provide students with an exposure to a wide range of high throughput technologies used in cancer genomic research, basic and translational genomic and epigenetics research. In addition, the course will highlight the major discoveries in the area of gene mutations and gene fusions, as well as therapeutic targeting some of the critical molecular alteration. This course will give exposures to students to state-of-the-art cancer research topics, promote scientific literacy, discussion skills, and critical research integration skills. In addition, students will also gain experience in presentation and ideas to develop new projects in cancer genomics and epigenetics research areas.
• GBSC 730- Respiratory Tract Pathogens. Ed Swords This course will examine major bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens that infect the respiratory tract in human, each using different mechanisms in attempts to evade host defenses. It will also introduce fundamental aspects of respiratory tract anatomy, lung function, and the clinical approach to patients suspected to have pneumonia. Classes will consist of an introduce to each topic provided by the faculty preceptor, followed by a critical analysis of the primary literature in the form of presentations by individual students and in-class discussion.
• GBSC 732- Advanced Study of Renal Physiology. Subhashini Bolisetty The objective of this course is to increase familiarity with classic renal physiology terminology, improve understanding of mechanisms for evaluating renal function, and to become familiar with the forefronts in research related to renal physiology and disease.
• GBSC 734- Experimental Model Systems, Scientific Stringency and Qualification Exam Preparation. Hui Hu This advanced course is designed to help students gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of a broad range of experimental model systems used in immunology studies. All enroll students will give a brief presentation of their research projects in the beginning weeks. Then, based on the students’ research interests/projects, the experimental model systems that are involved or have the potential to be involved will be identified to form specific topics for the rest of the course.
• GBSC 735- Discoveries in Molecular Biology. Tom Ryan The aim of the course is to familiarize students with landmark, historical discoveries in biological research. The course will focus on seminal publications in different disciplines, predominantly but not limited to: biochemistry, cell biology and genetics. The course will be organized as student-led discussions of selected papers. In-depth analysis of the presented literature will facilitate gaining broadened knowledge of selected fields and improve capability of critically reading manuscripts. For each publication, special emphasis will be placed on examining the experimental design, interpretation of results, and organization and reporting of the findings. Classes will consist of an instructor-led introduction to the topic and presentation of a historical perspective followed by a group discussion of the paper. An important goal of the course is to help students understand and appreciate principal discoveries.
• GBSC 736- Electron Microscopy: Methods & Applications to Cell & Structural Biology. Terje Dokland This advanced course will provide a comprehensive introduction to modern electron microscopy (EM) and three-dimensional reconstruction as applied to cell and structural biology. The course will cover both theoretical and practical aspects, and will incorporate practical use and hands-on training in preparation and imaging of particulate samples in negative stain and cryo-EM on the FEI Tecnai F20 electron microscope. The course will also cover processing of data for single-particle 3D reconstruction by EMAN and Relion. Standard samples will be used, but there will also be opportunity to work on own samples. Grading is based on homework, a final exam and completion of the practical portion of the course. 
• GBSC 738.VTA- Genomics in Medicine. Sara Cooper This course will be almost completely literature-based. Each student will read and present several papers (at least 6) throughout the course. All students will participate in weekly discussion of the papers. The papers will be broadly focused on applications and implications of clinical sequencing. We will discuss the technical aspects of using next generation sequencing in a clinical settings, existing projects that have successfully applied these techniques and others that have faced challenges, as well as the legal, ethical and social implications of this work. Proposed topics of discussion will be genome and exome sequencing for rare disease diagnosis, genomics for gene discovery in complex disease, precision oncology, and pharmacogenomics. A total of at least twenty papers will be read and discussed over the 10 sessions. The overall goal of this course is to integrate students understanding of technology, genetic disease, and treatment options.
• GBSC 740- Advanced Topics in Bacterial Pathogenesis. Carlos Orihuela The Advanced Topics in Bacterial Pathogenesis course provides a detailed examination of major concepts related to host-pathogen interactions. Its primary focus will be the molecular mechanisms responsible for subversion of host defense by pathogenic bacteria. Select topics will be covered in two parts on different dates: 1) a general presentation by expert faculty on Wednesday, 2) student presentations on assigned subtopics in form of a 10-15 minute PowerPoint presentation and handout the following Monday. The final grade in the course will be based on student presentations, handouts, and participation in discussions. Time may change, once class begins, if ALL are in agreement. Contact course director for more information.
• GBSC 741- Fundamentals of Renal Physiology. Kelly Hyndman This course objective is to provide detailed understanding of renal physiology through a series of lectures, histology analyses, small group discussion, workshop based study problems, and simulations. 
• GBSC 743- Glycobiology. Jan Novak Glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of glycans. Glycans modulate or mediate a wide variety of cellular functions. Glycoproteins and polysaccharides are also important components of bacterial cells and glycoproteins play important roles in biology of some viruses. The primary aim of this course is to provide a current overview of the fundamental facts, concepts, and methods in Glycobiology with emphasis on aspects relevant to human health and disease. The course will combine faculty lectures, student presentations of selected papers, and discussions. The course will be taught by faculty who have studied different aspects of glycobiology and made seminal discoveries in the field.
• GBSC 745- Biology of Respiratory Disease. Jessy Deshane This course consists of a series of clinical, basic science and journal club formatted lectures designed to provide students with a broad and in-depth knowledge of disease states of the respiratory systems. Lecturers may integrate recent advances in their own laboratories into their lectures; others will use a more classical approach. Handouts and slide presentations will be provided.
• GBSC 746- Gene Editing. Thomas Ryan The purpose of this course is to explore the current research and future therapeutic applications of gene editing technologies, including ZFNs, TALENS, and CRISPR. The format of each class will be a combination of didactic lecture and interactive class discussion directed by the Course Director focused on each day’s topic. Reading materials covering each day’s preselected topics will be provided by the Course Director in advance of each class. 
• GBSC 748- Cellular Metabolism in Health Disease. Kirill Popov The main goal of this course is to help students to understand the major concepts of metabolism and its regulation under normal circumstances, as well as under certain pathological conditions such as obesity, diabetes, or cancer, for example. Course consists of four major blocks covering: metabolism of carbohydrates and its regulation; metabolism of lipids and its regulation; metabolism of proteins and its regulation; and metabolic interrelationships in health and disease. It involves lectures and in-class exercises. Grading is based on the results of in-class exercises and on the results of written exams. 
• INFO 701- Introduction to Bioinformatics. Zechen Chong Introduction to bioinformatics and computational biology, with emphasis on concepts and application of informatics tools to molecular biology. It covers biological sequence analysis, gene prediction, genome annotation, gene expression analysis, protein structure prediction, evolutionary biology and comparative genomics, bioinformatics databases, cloud computing, basic R-based data analysis, simple programming skills using Perl, Linux/Unix environment and command lines, visual analytics, and social/legal aspects of open science. It will have a class research project component.
• INFO 702- Algorithms in Bioinformatics. Andre Leier This course introduces various fundamental algorithms and computational concepts for solving questions in bioinformatics and functional genomics. These include graph algorithms, dynamic programming, combinatorial algorithms, randomized algorithms, pattern matching, classification and clustering algorithms, hidden Markov models and more. Each concept will be introduced in the context of a concrete biological or genomic application. A broad range of topics will be covered, ranging from gene identification, genome reconstruction, microarray data analysis, phylogeny reconstruction, sequence alignments, to variant detection.
• INFO 703- Biological Data Management. Jake Chen The introduction of biological data management concepts, theories, and applications. Basic concepts such as relational data representation, relational database modeling, and relational database queries will be introduced in the context of SQL and relational algebra. Advanced concepts including ontology representation and database development workflow will be introduced. Emerging big data concepts and tools, including Hadoop and NoSQL, will be introduced in the context of managing semi-structured and unstructured data. Application of biological data management in biology will be covered using case studies of high-impact widely used biological databases. A class project will be required of all participants.
• INFO 704- Next-gen Sequ Data Analysis. Zechen Chong The introduction of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and the various new genomics applications. Basic analysis begins with NGS data representations using FASTQ, BAM, and VCF files. Major NGS applications in the characterization of DNA, RNA, methylation, ChIP, and chromatin structure analysis will be described. Topics will cover alignment, whole genome de novo assembly, variant detection, third generation sequencing technologies, functional genomics, metagenomics, single cell genomics, genetic diseases and cancer genomics. NGS workflows and translational applications in disease biology and genome medicine will also be emphasized.
• INFO 751- Systems Biomedicine of Human Microbiota. Tatiana Marquez Lago The human microbiota is the collection of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses) that reside within human tissues and biofluids. Such resident microorganisms compose the majority of cells in human bodies and are key contributors to human development, health, and disease. However, most studies focus on genomics and microbiome statistical representations alone, while spatial-temporal analysis, multi-source data integration and modeling are necessary to predict and understand interactions between microorganisms, human hosts, and the environment. This course will highlight state-of-the-art microbiome/microbiota research and provide essential training in mathematical, computational and systems biology to derive integrative and predictive models of microbiota-host interactions in the context of human health and disease.
• INFO 762- Biomedical Applications of Natural Language. John Osborne Students will be introduced to Natural Language Processing (NLP) including core linguistic tasks such as tokenization, lemmatization/stemming, Part of Speech tagging, parsing and chunking. Applications covered include Named Entity Recognition, semantic role labeling, word sense disambiguation, normalization, information retrieval, question answering and text classification. Applications and data will have a biomedical focus, but no biology or medical background is required.
• INFO 796- Biomedical Informatics Methods I. Wayne Liang Biomedical informatics is the art and science of collecting, representing and analyzing patient and biomedical information and translating insights from the information into better health and new medical discoveries. The spectrum of informatics applications ranges from molecules (bioinformatics) to individuals and populations (clinical and public health informatics). We will examine the scientific field and research methods that form the foundation for biomedical informatics research. The course will include didactics, readings, hands-on tool explorations, and a summative work product. This foundational course is intended for informatics majors and students in allied fields (e.g., health, biological, or computer sciences) who are interested in exploring the field of informatics.
• INFO 797- Biomedical Informatics Methods II. Amy Wang Biomedical informatics is the art and science of collecting, representing and analyzing patient and biomedical information and translating insights from the information into better health and new medical discoveries. The spectrum of informatics applications ranges from molecules (bioinformatics) to individuals and populations (clinical and public health informatics). We will examine the scientific field and research methods that form the foundation for biomedical informatics research. The course will include didactics, readings, and applications in applying research methods, culminating in a research plan in grant proposal format and review by a mock panel. This foundational course is intended for informatics majors and students in allied fields (e.g., health, biological, or computer sciences) who are interested in exploring the field of informatics. It is primarily intended for students who will pursue research careers in biomedical informatics and is the second course in a two-part series.
• BME 723- Wound Healing. Dale Feldman Study of principles of healing, methods to enhance, and clinical applications. Emphasis will be on Tissue Engineering for skin and bone applications.
• BME 770- Quantitative Physiology. Lufang Zhou Physiological system is very complicated and requires knowledge of fundamental principles and utilization of quantitative tools and experimental measurements to comprehend. This is especially the case when the system is under transition from physiological condition to pathophysiological conditions. This course begins with the review of fundamental principles of physiology and cell basic functions and homeostasis, followed by the description of the major human organ systems. It also discusses how to use principles from engineering kinetics and transport processes and mathematical approaches (e.g., ordinary and partial differential equations and Laplace transform) to quantitatively understand the human body. This interdisciplinary course in biomedical engineering, mathematics and physiology will advance the students’ comprehensive and quantitative understanding of human physiology. 
• BME 772- Cellular Therapy. Xiaoguang (Margaret) Liu In recent years, cellular therapy has become a new approach to treat heart disease and stroke, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other pathological conditions. This course will introduce students the advanced novel research field, its clinical application, and the great potential for commercialization. It is targeted to let the students understand the fundamental mechanism of cellular therapies, get familiar the progress of several successful therapies using human T cells and stem cells, and learn the challenges and opportunities in future biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Specifically, this course will cover T cell culture, iPSC cell culture, host cell engineering, cell line development, multi-Omics technologies, biomanufacturing and purification, therapeutic function, quality control, progress and challenges of clinical trials, and good manufacturing practice. In addition, the students with different backgrounds will be encouraged to collaborate and develop independent thinking and research abilities by doing specific projects. The students are expected to get familiar with the research achievement, clinical progress and the industrial requirements of cellular therapy, which will benefit their future academic research and industrial career development. This interdisciplinary course in biomedical engineering, bioengineering and biomolecular engineering will advance the students' exposure to cellular therapy, and will be a timely addition ot broaden the skill set of the students and prepare them for emerging technologies.
• BME 780- Biomolecular Modeling. Yuhua Song Computational structural biology course for graduate students; biomolecular modeling principles and applications; hands-on learning of molecular modeling software and its application to project(s). 

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to semester(s) offered and frequency, times, and dates. This list does not include special topic courses. You may check the class schedule each semester to discover when a class you are interested in is offered.

Exceptions and Special Circumstances
The following exceptions and special circumstances require the student to complete the Advanced Course Verification Form.

• 2 credit hour course: A 2 credit hour course may be used as an advanced course, if your theme director(s) agrees and the course results in a letter grade (no pass/fail).
• Off-site courses: One of the advanced courses can be an off-site course, such as those offered by Cold Spring Harbor; however, you must receive prior approval from your theme director and mentor.
• Non-GBS courses: Graduate courses offered by other UAB Schools require prior mentor approval.
• HudsonAlpha: If your permanent lab is at HudsonAlpha you can take courses at UAH, if prior approval is given by your mentor and theme director.

The following are 2 hour advanced courses that require additional work to be approved as an advanced course. Students must complete the Advanced Course Verification form for the following courses to be applied as advanced credit.

Advanced + Courses:

• GBS 789 - Evolutionary Developmental Biology. Chenbei Chang The class is aimed at introducing the concepts of evolution and describing how changes in gene expression and function during embryonic development represent the central molecular mechanism underlying evolution.
• GBSC 704 - Cryo-Electron Microscopy. Terje Dokland This is a two-week practical course in high resolution electron microscopy (EM) with emphasis on cryo-EM and the preparation and observation of frozen-hydrated particulate samples such as protein complexes, viruses, and whole bacterial cells. The first week will cover some theoretical aspects and general EM theory in morning lectures, followed by practicals and demos in the afternoon. The second week will consist of independent, hands-on practical work on the Tecnai F20 cryo-electron microscope. Students have the opportunity to work on their own samples.

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to semester(s) offered and frequency, times, and dates.

At least three advanced courses are required for all GBS students. Typically, advanced courses are 3 credit hours and must have a letter grade (no pass/fail). They must be completed prior to scheduling your dissertation defense. Only 700-level courses count toward this requirement. While 500- and 600-level courses may be taken, they cannot count towards the advanced courses requirement.

Advanced Courses:

• GBS 700- Molecular Neurodegeneration. Jeremy Herskowitz This is an advanced course covering several of the most important molecules involved in neurodegenerative disease, including Aβ, tau, apoE, TDP-43, α-synuclein, LRRK2, prion protein (PrP), and Huntington (HTT). The goal is to develop a deeper understanding of each protein's normal structure/function and how these are altered in neurodegenerative disease.
• GBS 702- You Teach Me. TBD You Teach Me: Autoimmune Effector Mechanisms and Inflammation in Type 1 and 2 Diabetes. This course will begin with a general overview of Type 1 and 2 diabetes, but in later weeks, students are given the opportunity to teach and describe a particular cell type and/or immune effector molecule that pertains to Type 1 or 2 diabetes pathogenesis. The teaching topic is for the presenter to decide, but the course master will provide guidance and input. Does your favorite immune cell or effector molecule have a role in the pathogenesis of Type 1 or 2 diabetes? You will be surprised at what you uncover.
• GBS 715- Skeletal Development and Disease. Amjad Javed This class is designed for understanding Cellular and Molecular Signaling essential for the normal development and remodeling of skeleton and for learning genetic mechanisms associated with skeletal diseases and pathology.
• GBS 718- Histology of Mammalian Organs and Tissues. Laura Fraser This course will cover the specialized cell biology and microscopic anatomy for each of the mammalian organ systems, as well as consider current research with regards to each system. The objective is to understand how cells organize into tissues and organ systems and how these systems function in the body, as well as appreciate the microscopic appearance of cells, tissues and organs. Prerequisites include completion of the first year of a graduate program and active engagement in research.
• GBS 726- Advanced Medical Genetics. Jessica Denton & Jon Sharer This course will focus on the medical application of advances in genetics and genomics. Topics include chromosome structure and function and major types of chromosomal abnormalities, cancer genetics and cytogenetics, inborn errors of metabolism, current strategies for detection of mutations associated with genetic disorders, genetic risk assessment and population genetics, and genomic approaches to diagnosis and risk stratification.
• GBS 727- Advanced Human Genomics. Greg Cooper This course will cover the conceptual basis, major discoveries, and unsolved problems in human genomics, with an emphasis on disease applications. The goal is to make students conversant with the structures, functions, and natural histories of human genomes, the computational and experimental methods used to establish that knowledge, the applications of genomics to medical research, and the broader impacts of genomic research on the community. Each topic will be covered by an approximately 90-minute lecture from a subject-specific PI coupled to reading of pieces of primary literature. Students will also participate in 3 student-led journal clubs in which one or more papers are discussed in detail with the help of the teaching faculty. We will also perform 3 interactive sessions to teach basic computational skills in Unix, Perl and R. Course meets both on UAB Campus and at Hudson-Alpha in Huntsville.
• GBS 729- Translational Approaches in Neurodegeneration. Jeremy Herskowitz & Ashley Harms With the current emphasis on "bench to bedside" strategies, successful translational research approaches may be helpful for a productive career in academic and industrial settings. This course uses the field of neurodegeneration as a vehicle for conceptualization to the failures, current challenges, and successes of different translational approaches. This course emphasizes active learning principles by placing students into scenarios of direct relevance to a career in science (e.g., emulation of study section discourse, formal critical debate that happens at international symposia, and informal discussions between colleagues).
• GBS 739- Neuropharmacology. Qin Wang Advanced course which will focus on the mechanism of action of CNS-active drugs. The first one-third of the course will consist of lectures that emphasize basic principles of neuropharmacology including neurotransmitter and receptor concepts, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and pharmacogenomics. The next two-thirds of the course will focus on the mechanism of action of different drug classes, including classical behavioral and biochemical studies, as well as genetic and molecular analyses of drug action. In each section, the instructor will give an overview lecture followed by student presentations. Student performance will be evaluated based on homework, oral presentation and written examination.
• GBS 749- Mitochondria in Health, Disease, & Toxicology. Shannon Bailey The course will consist of lectures given by faculty members on specific topics in the field of mitochondrial biology and toxicology. These lectures will be complemented by student presentations of original research articles, which are related to the presented subject matter and that place the discussed topic into the context of human health, disease, and toxicology. This format will allow for students to gain a solid understanding of normal mitochondrial physiology, which they can then use to explore the literature to reveal the importance of mitochondrial dysfunction in human diseases and toxicology responses.
• GBS 754- Autophagy in Disease and Medicine. Jianhua Zhang This advanced course reviews the pathobiology of autophagy and how it is essential for survival, differentiation, development, and homeostasis and how it serves an adaptive role to protect organisms against diverse pathologies, including infections, cancer, neurodegeneration, aging, and heart disease.
• GBS 757- Biology of Disease. Peter Anderson Biology of Disease is a comprehensive course in general pathophysiology designed for graduate students in the GBS program or other science related graduate programs. This course will begin with an overview of general anatomy and histology and then will investigate basic pathophysiologic principles emphasizing pathogenic mechanisms and clinically important diseases where current research areas will be highlighted. The biomedical science students will learn the mechanisms involved in disease processes and will develop an understanding of diseases and clinical medicine to help them converse knowledgeably with medical colleagues and target their research towards clinically relevant issues.
• GBS 758- Cardiovascular Biology. Scott Ballinger & Adam Wende This course will consist of didactic lectures given by faculty members from UAB and guest lecturers from other institutions on a specific topic in the field of cardiovascular biology, which will then be followed up by student presentations of original research articles which are related to the presented subject matter and that place the discussed topic into the context of human health and disease. This format will allow for students to first gain a solid understanding of normal and pathological aspects of cardiovascular physiology, the basic experimental approaches that can be used in bench to bedside studies and the current perspectives on a broad range of current hot topics in the field. In addition, this course has unique components including instruction on how to review a research paper and prepare for an interview for an entry level position (e.g. postdoctoral) in academia and/or industry. These exercises will provide an appreciation of the issues related to a career scientific research. This course will be guided by the Course Director and other faculty members who will assist in the selection of relevant readings and facilitate in-class discussions among the students.
• GBS 765- Hybrid Structural Techniques. Terje Dokland, Peter Prevelige, Jamil Saad, & Mark Walter This course will focus on the use of X-ray crystallography, Cryo-Electron microscopy and Image Reconstruction, NMR, and Mass Spectrometry to obtain structures of biological macromolecules. Each component will be taught separately (Drs Walter, Dokland, Saad, and Prevelige respectively). Each module will focus on insuring the student has a basic understanding of the essential principles of the technique and its practical application. Examples will generally be drawn virology and immunology.
• GBS 775- Cancer Treatment. Karina Yoon & Chris Willey Students will study current theories regarding chemotherapy, radiation therapy, chemoprevention and imaging. Students will also be exposed to state-of-the-art for each of these treatment/diagnostic modalities. This course uses a combination of textbook and literature readings and classroom discussions to provide students with an understanding of the different classes of drugs used to treat cancer. The course focuses on the mechanisms of drug action, the basis for selectivity and therapeutic applications. Traditional as well as novel approaches to therapeutics will be discussed, as well as the role of drug resistance and strategies for its management.
• GBS 778- Cancer Metastasis. TBD The majority of cancer associated deaths are due to complications arising from metastatic disease. The process of metastasis is highly selective and is the result of a tumor cell completing a series of complex interrelated steps. Despite our improved knowledge of this disease, we still do not fully understand the molecular mechanisms regulating tumor progression and metastasis. This advanced course will cover basic mechanisms of how a tumor cell progresses from growth at the primary site to forming an overt lesion in a secondary organ and techniques used to study this disease.
• GBS 779- Translational Research in Cancer. Eddy Yang This course covers topics on patient-based research efforts that may be important adjuncts to basic science studies. Topics include tissue collection, ex vivo assays, animal models, high-throughput arrays, drug development, epidemiologic studies, basics of clinical trials, and other topics.
• GBS 783- Advanced RNA Biology. David Schneider This course explores the biology, biochemistry, structure and function of RNA at a research level.
• GBS 787 VTA - Hallmarks of Cancer. Romi Gupta This course is designed for students interested in the area of Cancer research. This course will cover a variety of topics that provides complete understanding of the characteristics of the cancer cells and how they differ from normal cells. In particular, we will discuss ten key hallmarks of cancer which constitute a driving force for cancer development and progression. These will include sustaining proliferative signaling, evading growth suppressors, resisting cell death, enabling replicative immortality, inducing angiogenesis, and promoting invasion and metastasis. Understanding of these hallmarks of cancer is essential to develop effective approaches for cancer therapy. In addition to the lecture, this course will also discuss papers describing seminal discoveries in the area of cancer hallmarks.
• GBS 787 VTE - Systems Biology of Human Microbiota . Tatiana T Marquez-Lago The human microbiota is the collection of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses) that reside within human tissues and biofluids. Such resident microorganisms compose the majority of cells in human bodies and are key contributors to human development, health, and disease. However, most studies focus on genomics and microbiome statistical representations alone, while spatial-temporal analysis, multi-source data integration such as that from DNA sequencing, transcriptomics and metabolomics, as well as modeling, are necessary to predict and understand interactions between microorganisms, human hosts, and the environment. This course will highlight state-of-the-art microbiome/microbiota research and provide essential training in mathematical, computational and systems biology to derive integrative and predictive models of microbiota-host interactions in the context of human health and disease. Students must obtain permission from the course coordinator, Dr. Tatiana Marquez Lago (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), to enroll.
• GBSC 703- CB2-101 Intro to Scientific Computing. TBD The purpose of this course is to provide and introduction to main computational skills required for scientific computing. Specifically, the participants are exposed to practical use of standard web available resources and computational tools for the managing molecular biology data. A successful participation includes the development of scripts and programs for analyzing large scale data. 
• GBSC 703- CB2-201 Computational Biology & Bioinformatics. TBD This course will be a 10 day hands-on course of training each day in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. Detailed program of the course will be available here. *For students without solid programming experience attendance of CB2-101 is mandatory before taking this course. *
• GBSC 705- Protein Mass Spectrometry. Matt Renfrow Students participating in this course become familiar with standard analysis of proteins and protein mixtures by analytical mass spectrometry. This includes the analysis of recombinant and native isolations of proteins including the analysis of post translational modifications. The first month of the course will focus on the fundamentals of mass spectrometry and protein analysis and will be open to first year students. The second and third months of the course is followed by an applications section for students who have completed their first year course requirements. Included topics throughout the course include, sample preparation, mass spectrometry instrumentation, mass spectral interpretation, proteomic experimentation, database searching, analysis of protein modifications, targeted analysis of proteins in complex mixtures, and structural techniques in mass spectrometry.
• GBSC 706- NMR Spectroscopy. Wiliam Placzek & Chad Petit The main purpose of this course is to provide fundamental understanding (physics) to graduate students who want to utilize NMR spectroscopy as a major tool in their structural biology research. Students with elementary Quantum Mechanics background will gain the optimum benefit from this course. The course is offered every two years. This course covers basic NMR Theory and Concepts (Nuclear Spin-1/2, Bloch Equations, FT-NMR, Rotating Frame, Various Relaxation Mechanisms, Chemical shits, J couplings, etc.), Density Matrix Theory, Product Operator Description of 2D- and 3D-NMR, Nuclear Overhauser Effect, Conformational Exchange, Solomon-McConnel equations, Residual Dipolar Couplings, NMR spectra of Amino acids, Peptides and Proteins, Solvent Suppression Methods, Random Coil Chemical shifts, 2D-NMR methods for assignments and structure calculations of peptides and small proteins, 3D/4D-NMR methods for assignment and structure studies of large proteins, CYANA Structure-Refinement calculations, NMR of nucleic acids, Protein Dynamics, and study of Protein-Ligand complexes including applications in drug design (STD-NMR, trNOESY, SAR-by-NMR and ILOE).
• GBSC 707- Metabolic Regulation of Gene Expression. Natalia Kedishvili This course will focus on the impact of varies, thle to these topics will be the basis for discussion. Each section on a specific type of signaling molecule will start with an introductory lecture, followed by student presentations focusing on various aspects of the topic. The goal of this course is to familiarize students with the mechanisms of action and diversity of bioactive metabolic compounds that directly affect the expression of proteins at the level of gene transcription as well as mRNA translation during development and in adulthood.
• GBSC 709- Advanced Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine. Thomas Ryan & Kejin Hu Patient-specific cell therapies promise to transform medicine in the next two decades. In order for these regenerative therapies to be safe and effective, basic mechanisms of stem cell biology must be better understood. The goal of this course is to provide students with the basic science foundation to contribute to this field and to provide examples of translating this information to next generation medical therapies.
• GBSC 710- Advanced Chromatin Biology. Xinyang Zhao & Rui Zhao Chromatin biology may hold the keys for discovery of novel cures for cancer and other chronic genetic diseases. Chromatin state directly influences the development of regenerative medicine. Over the last few years, there has been an explosion of new insights into chromatin biology. This course will focus on four key topics: chromatin structure and gene regulation, chromatin in cancer biology, chromatin in developmental biology, and practical approaches in chromatin research. Special emphasis will be on the molecular mechanisms and biochemical approaches. The format will be 1/2 lecture and 1/3 student presentations. Primary literature related to these topics will be assigned for discussion. The goal of this course is to help students to understand the cutting edge knowledge in chromatin biology and to be able to address questions on chromatin in their own research.
• GBSC 712- Evolution of Immunity. Rodney King Every form of multicellular life on earth has the capacity to carry out host defense. In higher order vertebrates the necessity for immunity against pathogens has given rise to an elaborate and complex system that involves a variety of specialized cell types and effector molecules. How did this complex system evolve? This course will explore immunity across the animal kingdom with a special emphasis on points of convergent and divergent evolution of immune mechanisms and strategies.
• GBSC 714- Applications of Microscopy. Alexa Mattheyses This course will provide GBS students and postdoctoral fellows with an in-depth background in the theory of modern microscopy analyses for researchers in the biomedical sciences complemented with hands-on practical exercises. The course will cover a wide range of fundamental and cutting-edge approaches with training in experimental design and technical limitations, specimen preparation, diverse uses of bright-field, simple epifluorescence, single and multiphoton confocal, high resolution, live-cell, and intravital microscopy. The course will also provide training in specialized applications such as particle tracking and co-localization, photo-activation, Ca2+ imaging, FRET, FRAP, FLIM, and TIRF, and methods for quantitative data analyses. The course will also cover image preparation for publication and ethical issues related to image manipulation. Permission from both Mentor & Course Director is required to take this course. 
• GBSC 715- Molecular Basis of Disease. Yabing Chen This is an advanced, graduate course that explores the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie the causes, symptoms, and complications of various diseases, including diabetes, autoimmune diseases, atherosclerosis, and cancer. An integrative approach to the clinical, pathologic, biochemical, and molecular perspectives of diseases is introduced. This will help the students to understand how metabolic pathways, cell cycle regulation, signal transduction, transcription factors, and protein glycosylation impacts on our ability to understand and treat human disease. Requirement: This course is designed for graduate students admitted to campus-wide PhD programs in the biomedical and basic sciences, post-doctoral fellows, medical students, residents, staff, and members of the faculty interested in the latest advances and approaches in understanding and treating human disease.
• GBSC 717- Crystallography-Protein. Todd Green & Champion Deivanayagan Xray crystallography is an important technique to resolve protein/DNA structures and it requires specialized training. Covered in this will not only be the theoretical aspects, but there will also be hands-on training sessions on each topic. Some topics covered: protein crystallization, data collection and reduction, structure solution, refinement and how to report structures.
• GBSC 720- Virology. Nicholas Lennemann This journal club will consist of primary research paper presentations and discussions covering current papers addressing any aspect of virology. Possible topics include virus structure, genetics, genomics, evolution, life cycle, replication, molecular mechanisms, virus-host interactions, immune response, epidemiology, pathogenesis, prophylaxis, and treatment. 
• GBSC 721- Brain Tumor Biology. Anita Hjelmeland Brain Tumor Signaling, Biology & Therapeutics Course. This course will review the types of adult and pediatric brain tumors with a focus on 3 major components: 1-cellular genetics and signaling, 2-pro-tumorigenic cellular biology, and 3-preclinical models and clinical treatments. AT the end of the course, the student should have a thorough understanding of the changes in tumor vs. normal tissue that promote cancer initiation and growth. The student should understand how these changes provide the foundation for current and cutting edge treatment strategies. The focus will be on gliomas, but other tumors will be discussed.
• GBSC 724- Metabolomics. Stephen Barnes The goal of the course is to provide training on the new vision of the chemical composition of the metabolome, its impact on phenotypes in normal health and disease, how to design experiments that reduce systematic variation and deal with the effects of the microbiome, recovery of the metabolome from body fluids/excreta, cells and tissues, analytical methods used in metabolomics, post-acquisition data processing and univariate and multivariate statistical analysis, metabolite confirmation, unknown (new) metabolite identification, pathway analysis, targeted quantitative analysis of specific pathways, use of stable-isotopically labeled precursors to measure pathway dynamics, metabolomics in human and animal models of disease (atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, eye diseases, immune diseases and neurodegeneration), metabolomics in situ (imaging mass spectrometry and direct analysis in the clinic and the operating room) and integration of metabolomics with other Omics (genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics).
• GBSC 725- Cancer & Microenvironment. Andrea Comba & Ryan Miller The growth and progression of cancer is closely regulated by the tumor microenvironment. Through this course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the tumor microenvironment by studying topics that include, for example, the cellular and acellular composition of the microenvironment, mechanisms of communication between tumor and host cells and how the tumor microenvironment promotes tumor growth, metastasis and drug resistance. Students will also learn the in vitro and in vivo models utilized for studying the tumor microenvironment and current approaches for targeting the tumor microenvironment for cancer therapy.
• GBSC 728- Cancer Genomics, Epigenetics & Therapeutics. Sooryanarayana Varambally Recent advances in high throughput technologies have enabled researchers to decipher the genomic and epigenetic alterations in cancer in great detail. In this course, students will learn the technologies used for investigating the genomic and epigenetic alterations in cancer and effect of these changes on cancer progression and potential application of understanding these changes. The goal of this course is to provide students with an exposure to a wide range of high throughput technologies used in cancer genomic research, basic and translational genomic and epigenetics research. In addition, the course will highlight the major discoveries in the area of gene mutations and gene fusions, as well as therapeutic targeting some of the critical molecular alteration. This course will give exposures to students to state-of-the-art cancer research topics, promote scientific literacy, discussion skills, and critical research integration skills. In addition, students will also gain experience in presentation and ideas to develop new projects in cancer genomics and epigenetics research areas.
• GBSC 730- Respiratory Tract Pathogens. Ed Swords This course will examine major bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens that infect the respiratory tract in human, each using different mechanisms in attempts to evade host defenses. It will also introduce fundamental aspects of respiratory tract anatomy, lung function, and the clinical approach to patients suspected to have pneumonia. Classes will consist of an introduce to each topic provided by the faculty preceptor, followed by a critical analysis of the primary literature in the form of presentations by individual students and in-class discussion.
• GBSC 732- Advanced Study of Renal Physiology. Subhashini Bolisetty The objective of this course is to increase familiarity with classic renal physiology terminology, improve understanding of mechanisms for evaluating renal function, and to become familiar with the forefronts in research related to renal physiology and disease.
• GBSC 734- Experimental Model Systems, Scientific Stringency and Qualification Exam Preparation. Hui Hu This advanced course is designed to help students gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of a broad range of experimental model systems used in immunology studies. All enroll students will give a brief presentation of their research projects in the beginning weeks. Then, based on the students’ research interests/projects, the experimental model systems that are involved or have the potential to be involved will be identified to form specific topics for the rest of the course.
• GBSC 735- Discoveries in Molecular Biology. Marek Napierala & Jill Butler The aim of the course is to familiarize students with landmark, historical discoveries in biological research. The course will focus on seminal publications in different disciplines, predominantly but not limited to: biochemistry, cell biology and genetics. The course will be organized as student-led discussions of selected papers. In-depth analysis of the presented literature will facilitate gaining broadened knowledge of selected fields and improve capability of critically reading manuscripts. For each publication, special emphasis will be placed on examining the experimental design, interpretation of results, and organization and reporting of the findings. Classes will consist of an instructor-led introduction to the topic and presentation of a historical perspective followed by a group discussion of the paper. An important goal of the course is to help students understand and appreciate principal discoveries.
• GBSC 736- Electron Microscopy: Methods & Applications to Cell & Structural Biology. Terje Dokland This advanced course will provide a comprehensive introduction to modern electron microscopy (EM) and three-dimensional reconstruction as applied to cell and structural biology. The course will cover both theoretical and practical aspects, and will incorporate practical use and hands-on training in preparation and imaging of particulate samples in negative stain and cryo-EM on the FEI Tecnai F20 electron microscope. The course will also cover processing of data for single-particle 3D reconstruction by EMAN and Relion. Standard samples will be used, but there will also be opportunity to work on own samples. Grading is based on homework, a final exam and completion of the practical portion of the course. 
• GBSC 738.VTA- Genomics in Medicine. Sara Cooper This course will be almost completely literature-based. Each student will read and present several papers (at least 6) throughout the course. All students will participate in weekly discussion of the papers. The papers will be broadly focused on applications and implications of clinical sequencing. We will discuss the technical aspects of using next generation sequencing in a clinical settings, existing projects that have successfully applied these techniques and others that have faced challenges, as well as the legal, ethical and social implications of this work. Proposed topics of discussion will be genome and exome sequencing for rare disease diagnosis, genomics for gene discovery in complex disease, precision oncology, and pharmacogenomics. A total of at least twenty papers will be read and discussed over the 10 sessions. The overall goal of this course is to integrate students understanding of technology, genetic disease, and treatment options.
• GBSC 740- Advanced Topics in Bacterial Pathogenesis. Carlos Orihuela The Advanced Topics in Bacterial Pathogenesis course provides a detailed examination of major concepts related to host-pathogen interactions. Its primary focus will be the molecular mechanisms responsible for subversion of host defense by pathogenic bacteria. Select topics will be covered in two parts on different dates: 1) a general presentation by expert faculty on Wednesday, 2) student presentations on assigned subtopics in form of a 10-15 minute PowerPoint presentation and handout the following Monday. The final grade in the course will be based on student presentations, handouts, and participation in discussions. Time may change, once class begins, if ALL are in agreement. Contact course director for more information.
• GBSC 741- Fundamentals of Renal Physiology. Kelly Hyndman This course objective is to provide detailed understanding of renal physiology through a series of lectures, histology analyses, small group discussion, workshop based study problems, and simulations. 
• GBSC 743- Glycobiology. Jan Novak Glycobiology is the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of glycans. Glycans modulate or mediate a wide variety of cellular functions. Glycoproteins and polysaccharides are also important components of bacterial cells and glycoproteins play important roles in biology of some viruses. The primary aim of this course is to provide a current overview of the fundamental facts, concepts, and methods in Glycobiology with emphasis on aspects relevant to human health and disease. The course will combine faculty lectures, student presentations of selected papers, and discussions. The course will be taught by faculty who have studied different aspects of glycobiology and made seminal discoveries in the field.
• GBSC 745- Biology of Respiratory Disease. Jessy Deshane This course consists of a series of clinical, basic science and journal club formatted lectures designed to provide students with a broad and in-depth knowledge of disease states of the respiratory systems. Lecturers may integrate recent advances in their own laboratories into their lectures; others will use a more classical approach. Handouts and slide presentations will be provided.
• GBSC 746- Gene Editing. Thomas Ryan The purpose of this course is to explore the current research and future therapeutic applications of gene editing technologies, including ZFNs, TALENS, and CRISPR. The format of each class will be a combination of didactic lecture and interactive class discussion directed by the Course Director focused on each day’s topic. Reading materials covering each day’s preselected topics will be provided by the Course Director in advance of each class. 
• GBSC 748- Cellular Metabolism in Health Disease. Kirill Popov The main goal of this course is to help students to understand the major concepts of metabolism and its regulation under normal circumstances, as well as under certain pathological conditions such as obesity, diabetes, or cancer, for example. Course consists of four major blocks covering: metabolism of carbohydrates and its regulation; metabolism of lipids and its regulation; metabolism of proteins and its regulation; and metabolic interrelationships in health and disease. It involves lectures and in-class exercises. Grading is based on the results of in-class exercises and on the results of written exams. 
• INFO 701- Introduction to Bioinformatics. Zechen Chong Introduction to bioinformatics and computational biology, with emphasis on concepts and application of informatics tools to molecular biology. It covers biological sequence analysis, gene prediction, genome annotation, gene expression analysis, protein structure prediction, evolutionary biology and comparative genomics, bioinformatics databases, cloud computing, basic R-based data analysis, simple programming skills using Perl, Linux/Unix environment and command lines, visual analytics, and social/legal aspects of open science. It will have a class research project component.
• INFO 702- Algorithms in Bioinformatics. Andre Leier This course introduces various fundamental algorithms and computational concepts for solving questions in bioinformatics and functional genomics. These include graph algorithms, dynamic programming, combinatorial algorithms, randomized algorithms, pattern matching, classification and clustering algorithms, hidden Markov models and more. Each concept will be introduced in the context of a concrete biological or genomic application. A broad range of topics will be covered, ranging from gene identification, genome reconstruction, microarray data analysis, phylogeny reconstruction, sequence alignments, to variant detection.
• INFO 703- Biological Data Management. Jake Chen The introduction of biological data management concepts, theories, and applications. Basic concepts such as relational data representation, relational database modeling, and relational database queries will be introduced in the context of SQL and relational algebra. Advanced concepts including ontology representation and database development workflow will be introduced. Emerging big data concepts and tools, including Hadoop and NoSQL, will be introduced in the context of managing semi-structured and unstructured data. Application of biological data management in biology will be covered using case studies of high-impact widely used biological databases. A class project will be required of all participants.
• INFO 704- Next-gen Sequ Data Analysis. Zechen Chong The introduction of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and the various new genomics applications. Basic analysis begins with NGS data representations using FASTQ, BAM, and VCF files. Major NGS applications in the characterization of DNA, RNA, methylation, ChIP, and chromatin structure analysis will be described. Topics will cover alignment, whole genome de novo assembly, variant detection, third generation sequencing technologies, functional genomics, metagenomics, single cell genomics, genetic diseases and cancer genomics. NGS workflows and translational applications in disease biology and genome medicine will also be emphasized.
• INFO 751- Systems Biomedicine of Human Microbiota. Tatiana Marquez Lago The human microbiota is the collection of microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses) that reside within human tissues and biofluids. Such resident microorganisms compose the majority of cells in human bodies and are key contributors to human development, health, and disease. However, most studies focus on genomics and microbiome statistical representations alone, while spatial-temporal analysis, multi-source data integration and modeling are necessary to predict and understand interactions between microorganisms, human hosts, and the environment. This course will highlight state-of-the-art microbiome/microbiota research and provide essential training in mathematical, computational and systems biology to derive integrative and predictive models of microbiota-host interactions in the context of human health and disease.
• INFO 762- Biomedical Applications of Natural Language. John Osborne Students will be introduced to Natural Language Processing (NLP) including core linguistic tasks such as tokenization, lemmatization/stemming, Part of Speech tagging, parsing and chunking. Applications covered include Named Entity Recognition, semantic role labeling, word sense disambiguation, normalization, information retrieval, question answering and text classification. Applications and data will have a biomedical focus, but no biology or medical background is required.
• INFO 796- Biomedical Informatics Methods I. Wayne Liang Biomedical informatics is the art and science of collecting, representing and analyzing patient and biomedical information and translating insights from the information into better health and new medical discoveries. The spectrum of informatics applications ranges from molecules (bioinformatics) to individuals and populations (clinical and public health informatics). We will examine the scientific field and research methods that form the foundation for biomedical informatics research. The course will include didactics, readings, hands-on tool explorations, and a summative work product. This foundational course is intended for informatics majors and students in allied fields (e.g., health, biological, or computer sciences) who are interested in exploring the field of informatics.
• INFO 797- Biomedical Informatics Methods II. Amy Wang Biomedical informatics is the art and science of collecting, representing and analyzing patient and biomedical information and translating insights from the information into better health and new medical discoveries. The spectrum of informatics applications ranges from molecules (bioinformatics) to individuals and populations (clinical and public health informatics). We will examine the scientific field and research methods that form the foundation for biomedical informatics research. The course will include didactics, readings, and applications in applying research methods, culminating in a research plan in grant proposal format and review by a mock panel. This foundational course is intended for informatics majors and students in allied fields (e.g., health, biological, or computer sciences) who are interested in exploring the field of informatics. It is primarily intended for students who will pursue research careers in biomedical informatics and is the second course in a two-part series.
• BME 723- Wound Healing. Dale Feldman Study of principles of healing, methods to enhance, and clinical applications. Emphasis will be on Tissue Engineering for skin and bone applications.
• BME 770- Quantitative Physiology. Lufang Zhou Physiological system is very complicated and requires knowledge of fundamental principles and utilization of quantitative tools and experimental measurements to comprehend. This is especially the case when the system is under transition from physiological condition to pathophysiological conditions. This course begins with the review of fundamental principles of physiology and cell basic functions and homeostasis, followed by the description of the major human organ systems. It also discusses how to use principles from engineering kinetics and transport processes and mathematical approaches (e.g., ordinary and partial differential equations and Laplace transform) to quantitatively understand the human body. This interdisciplinary course in biomedical engineering, mathematics and physiology will advance the students’ comprehensive and quantitative understanding of human physiology. 
• BME 772- Cellular Therapy. Xiaoguang (Margaret) Liu In recent years, cellular therapy has become a new approach to treat heart disease and stroke, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and other pathological conditions. This course will introduce students the advanced novel research field, its clinical application, and the great potential for commercialization. It is targeted to let the students understand the fundamental mechanism of cellular therapies, get familiar the progress of several successful therapies using human T cells and stem cells, and learn the challenges and opportunities in future biopharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Specifically, this course will cover T cell culture, iPSC cell culture, host cell engineering, cell line development, multi-Omics technologies, biomanufacturing and purification, therapeutic function, quality control, progress and challenges of clinical trials, and good manufacturing practice. In addition, the students with different backgrounds will be encouraged to collaborate and develop independent thinking and research abilities by doing specific projects. The students are expected to get familiar with the research achievement, clinical progress and the industrial requirements of cellular therapy, which will benefit their future academic research and industrial career development. This interdisciplinary course in biomedical engineering, bioengineering and biomolecular engineering will advance the students' exposure to cellular therapy, and will be a timely addition ot broaden the skill set of the students and prepare them for emerging technologies.
• BME 780- Biomolecular Modeling. Yuhua Song Computational structural biology course for graduate students; biomolecular modeling principles and applications; hands-on learning of molecular modeling software and its application to project(s). 

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to semester(s) offered and frequency, times, and dates. This list does not include special topic courses. You may check the class schedule each semester to discover when a class you are interested in is offered.

Exceptions and Special Circumstances
The following exceptions and special circumstances require the student to complete the Advanced Course Verification Form.

• 2 credit hour course: A 2 credit hour course may be used as an advanced course, if your theme director(s) agrees and the course results in a letter grade (no pass/fail).
• Off-site courses: One of the advanced courses can be an off-site course, such as those offered by Cold Spring Harbor; however, you must receive prior approval from your theme director and mentor.
• Non-GBS courses: Graduate courses offered by other UAB Schools require prior mentor approval.
• HudsonAlpha: If your permanent lab is at HudsonAlpha you can take courses at UAH, if prior approval is given by your mentor and theme director.

Students are to participate in seminars that teach assessment of scientific literature and how to critically think. Please see theme specific requirements as seminar requirements vary between themes.

Seminars:

• GBS 737- Student Summer Seminar Series in Neuroscience. Michelle Gray, Neda Wick & Ryan Miller Seminar series presented by UAB neuroscience students.
• GBS 777- Cancer Biology Seminar. Lalita Shevde-Samant & Soory Varambally Seminars on various topics in cancer biology or other biomedical science topics. Students will attend a minimum of 12 seminars offered by a Joint Health Sciences department/theme, keeping a journal that includes each seminar date, title and a brief synopsis of each seminar.
• GBS 792- CMDB Seminar. Jianbo Wang & John Parant Seminars on various topics in cellular and molecular biology or other biomedical science topics. Students will attend a seminar offered by a Joint Health Sciences department/theme, keeping a journal that includes each seminar date, title and a brief synopsis of the seminar.
• GBSC 701.VTC- Translational Cardiovascular Science. Sumanth Prabhu This course will cover a wide array of basic, clinical, and translational topics in cardiovascular medicine and research that will give the student a broad appreciation of cutting-edge cardiovascular science. Seminars will be given by a variety of scientists and clinicians and will broadly focus on the following focus areas, Cardiac Reparative and Regenerative Medicine; Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Prevention; Heart Failure and Transplantation; Heart Rhythm and Arrhythmias; Valvular and Congenital Disease; and Vascular and Ischemic Heart Disease. The course will be of interest to students concentrating in either the basic or population sciences. 
• GBSC 701.VTD- GGB Works in Progress Seminar. TBD The purpose of the Genetics ,Genomics, and Bioinformatics Works In Progress (WIP) seminar series is for UAB trainees to present their unpublished data, generate constructive feedback regarding interpretation of the their data and future directions, and to inform the UAB Genetics community of new techniques and procedures being conducted by their peers.
• GBSC 701.VTE CCTS Drug Discovery Seminar Series. TBD  This course introduces an overview of the drug discovery and development process, followed by more in-depth lectures about the different technical domains that need to work together to result in a drug that can be used in patients. This ranges, among others, from target identification to how to apply for an Investigational New Drug application with the FDA. In addition to the scientific concepts, business development and Intellectual Property will be discussed as well, as they are pertinent to the success of a drug discovery and development program. Topics are presented by UAB and SR scientists who are experts in their respective fields. 
• NBL 703- Neurobiology Seminar Series. Scott Cruikshank Current research topics in neurobiology presented by visiting scholars and campus faculty.

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to semester(s) offered and frequency, times, and dates.

Students are required to satisfy training obligations in bioethics, statistics, and scientific writing during their training. To fulfill these requirements, students must select a course from each of the following sections.

Grant Writing/Scientific Writing:

• GBS 716- Grantsmanship & Scientific Writing. Jim Collawn The objective of this course is to teach students how to effectively write grant proposals. This course will provide hands-on training in the preparation of a grant application and demonstrate effective strategies for assembling a successful proposal. With guidance from the faculty, the students will write an NIH-style proposal on their dissertation research topic. After the proposal is complete, each grant will be reviewed in a mock NIH study section. Based on the comments from the study section, the student will revise the application and submit the proposal to his/her thesis committee as admittance into candidacy. Spring semester.
• GBS 725- Grant Writing: Crafting a Research Proposal. Anna Thalacker Mercer This course is designed to educate students on the best practices of research proposal preparation and review. Several grant mechanisms will be discussed, but the primary focus will be on preparation of NIH "F30/F31 style" proposals. These are six page research strategies focused on the research project of each student. Each week, the class will meet and discuss individual portions of the proposal (e.g. Aims, Significance, Strategy), and student will draft those sections during the intervening week. By the tenth week of the course, students will submit a complete research portion of an F30/F31 grant. These proposals will be reviewed by peers as well as by faculty members of a "live" study section to be held on the last day of class. After completion of the course, students will have substantial critiques of their proposals in hand. It is expected that students will revise these proposals and submit them to committee members as the written portion of the student's qualifying exam. Long term benefits of careful, critical grant preparation extend to many future career paths. Near term benefits of this course are to improve students' writing skills and progress into written qualifying exam. Finally, it is expected that these proposals will be submitted to one or more extramural funding agencies to support the students' training. Fall semesters.
• GBS 725.VTA- Crafting a Predoctoral Research Proposal. Zsuzsanna Bebok & Anna Thalacker-Mercer Clear and concise communication is necessary for success in science. A scientist must craft his/her presentation or proposal to be understood by the audience to whom it is presented. In preparing a grant proposal, the objective is to convince the reader that the project has an overall goal, it has significant scientific merit, is innovative and that the investigator has well defined aims and approaches to succeed.
• GBS 768- Communicating Science: Reading, Writing, & Presenting. Sunnie Thompson This first year graduate level course will teach students how to make formal scientific oral presentations and how to write a paper for publication in a scientific journal. Spring semester.
• GBSC 726- Science Communication & Review. Anita Hjelmeland & Haosheng Sun This course will familiarize students on major components of science communication and review: 1) how to prepare an elevator talk; 2) how to prepare and present a research poster; 3) how to write and review an NIH training grant; 4) how to provide a scientific and lay oral presentation; 4) how to use social media for scientific communication; and 5) how to write and review scientific articles. The course will offer the opportunity for students to be fluent and effective communicators and scientific reviewers. Summer semester.
• GRD 709- Writing Fellowship Applications. Stefanie Varghese. By successfully completing this course, a trainee should be able to i) write a complete grant application for submission to an external funding agency; ii) submit the grant for funding; and iii) understand grant-related administrative oversight. Documented submission of a completed grant application for mock study section review will be used to measure attainment of learning objectives. Spring semester.

Biostatistics:

• GBSC 731- Intro to Biostats. Richard Reynolds This course is intended to provide graduate students with an introduction to biostatistics. The emphasis in this course will be upon understanding statistical concepts and applying and interpreting tests of statistical inference. Content will include but not be limited to: choosing the correct test for a given research design, data and data files, data screening, scaling, visual representations of data, descriptive statistics, correlation and simple regression, sampling distributions, and the assumptions associated with and the application of selected inferential statistical procedures (including t-tests, Chi-square, and ANOVA). The R statistical computing language will be employed to assist in the analysis of data for this course. Fall semester.
• BST 611- Intermediate Statistical Analysis I. Suzanne Perumean-Chaney. This course is designed to prepare non-biostatistics students in identifying and conducting statistical analyses as degree candidates working on a thesis/dissertation, as academic researchers, or as employees of public health agencies and related private companies. BST 611 will introduce you to basic statistical concepts, statistical methods, and data analyses. You will also learn how to interpret statistical software output and how to communicate results. Course is applicable to students who want an applied experience conducting basic bivariate statistical analyses. Although the course examples tend to be applicable to public health and medicine, the course material is open to all fields of research. Fall semester.
• BST 612- Intermediate Statistical Analysis II. Suzanne Perumean-Chaney. This course is designed to prepare non-biostatistics students in identifying and conducting statistical analyses as degree candidates working on a thesis/dissertation, as academic researchers, or as employees of public health agencies and related private companies. BST 612 will extend the concepts/statistical methods learned in BST 611 from bivariate to multivariate research questions. You will also learn how to interpret statistical software output and how to communicate results. Course is applicable to students who want an applied experience conducting basic multivariate statistical analyses. Although the course examples tend to be applicable to public health and medicine, the course material is open to all fields of research. Spring semester. Prerequisite- BST 611
• BY 755- Statistics and Modeling for Biologists. Greer Dolby This is an introductory course for graduate students for application and implementation of statistical analyses in the biological sciences. The course will cover many topics covered in the first two semesters of introductory statistics, from samples means to linear regression. All analyses will be completed either by hand or with the statistical program R. Each class meeting will consist of both lecture and working practice problems in R. At the end of the course, students should feel well versed enough to apply basic statistical concepts to data collected from their own experiments. Students will also gain some basic knowledge of the R programming language in order to store, manipulate, graph, and analyze data. Fall, online.
• PY 716- Introduction to Statistics. Olivio Clay The goals of the course are for the student to: (1) learn how to use statistics to answer research questions, (2) be able to determine which analysis is most appropriate and (3) be able to explain the results of inferential tests. This course will focus on developing general analysis skills that can be applied within any area of psychology. Topics covered include: probability, measurement, descriptive statistics, sampling distributions, null hypothesis significance testing, means comparisons, correlation, regression, reliability, validity, categorical data analysis, and nonparametric methods. Fall semester.

Bioethics:

• GRD 717- Principles of Scientific Integrity (Bioethics). Lisa Curtis This course is comprised of online modules that the student completes autonomously, then the student attends a one-day workshop and participates in activities and case studies regarding the content learned through the modules. Offered every semester.

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to semester(s) offered and frequency, times, and dates.

The following courses are required by each theme. Please see the theme training plans for more details.

Biochemistry & Structural Biology:

• GBSC 742.VTA- BSB Student Theme Meeting. Thomas Ryan & William Placzek.

This course is to provide support for all BSSB theme students.

Cancer Biology:

• GBS 777- Cancer Biology Seminar. Lalita Shevde-Samant & Soory Varambally

Seminars on various topics in cancer biology or other biomedical science topics. Students will attend a minimum of 12 seminars offered by a Joint Health Sciences department/theme, keeping a journal that includes each seminar date, title and a brief synopsis of each seminar.

Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology:

• GBS 792- CMDB Seminar.  John Parant & Jianbo Wang Seminars on various topics in cellular and molecular biology or other biomedical science topics. Students will attend a seminar offered by a Joint Health Sciences department/theme, keeping a journal that includes each seminar date, title and a brief synopsis of the seminar.

Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics:

• GBSC 742.VTD- GGB Student Theme Meeting. Elizabeth Worthey & Deann Wallis. This course is to provide support for all GGB theme students.

Immunology:

• GBSC 742.VTE- IMM Student Theme Meeting. Louis Justement, Craig Maynard & Laurie Harrington. This course is to provide support for all IMM theme students.

Microbiology:

• GBSC 742.VTF- MIC Student Theme Meeting. Janet Yother & Sunnie Thompson. This course is to provide support for all MIC theme students.

Neuroscience:

• GBS 730- Intro to Neurobiology (Dauphin Island Course). Christianne Strang Hands on experiments and classroom lectures onsite at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Students live onsite the entire course.
• GBS 737- Student Summer Seminar Series in Neuroscience. Michelle Gray, Neda Wick, Ryan Miller Seminar series presented by UAB neuroscience students. Two students present each week.
• NBL 703- Neurobiology Seminar Series. Scott Cruikshank Current research topics in neurobiology presented by visiting scholars and campus faculty.

Pathobiology, Pharmacology, & Physiology:

• GBSC 742.VTH- P3 Student Theme Meeting. Robert van Waardenburg & Selvarangan Ponnazhagan. This course is to provide support for all PBMM theme students.

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to semester(s) offered and frequency, times, and dates.

The following courses may only be utilized for students in special circumstances off-campus. Registration requires prior approval.

Off-Campus Courses:

• GBSC 737.VTA- Advanced. David Schneider
• GBSC 737.VTB- Journal Club. David Schneider
• GBSC 737.VTC- Seminar. David Schneider

Hudson Alpha Courses:

• GBSC 738.VTA- Genomics in Medicine. Sara Cooper This course will be almost completely literature-based. Each student will read and present several papers (at least 6) throughout the course. All students will participate in weekly discussion of the papers. The papers will be broadly focused on applications and implications of clinical sequencing. We will discuss the technical aspects of using next generation sequencing in a clinical settings, existing projects that have successfully applied these techniques and others that have faced challenges, as well as the legal, ethical and social implications of this work. Proposed topics of discussion will be genome and exome sequencing for rare disease diagnosis, genomics for gene discovery in complex disease, precision oncology, and pharmacogenomics. A total of at least twenty papers will be read and discussed over the 10 sessions. The overall goal of this course is to integrate students understanding of technology, genetic disease, and treatment options.
• GBSC 738.VTB- Ethical Considerations in Genomic Era. Thomas May HudsonAlpha. Students will discuss issues of Responsible Conduct of Research covering important topics such as mentorship, falsification of data, responsible reporting of data, the ethics of authorship, human subjects research, ethical use of animal models. These topics will be discussed in the context of ongoing genetic and genomic research.

Please contact the course director for course details in regards to semester(s) offered and frequency, times, and dates.

All GBS students are required to be actively involved in research every semester in the program.

Concurrent with first-year coursework, students will participate in research rotations in three to four different laboratories of their choosing. These rotations are meant for students to gain practical experience in a variety of the techniques and types of scientific questions being addressed in the different theme areas and to aid students in selecting a research focus and their thesis advisor. Toward the end of the first year, students will choose your permanent mentor and lab home.

Research Rotations:

• GBS 795- Lab Rotation 1. David Schneider
• GBS 796- Lab Rotation 2. David Schneider
• GBS 797- Lab Rotation 3. David Schneider
• GBS 794- Lab Rotation 4. David Schneider