Biological Sciences

This course teaches basic knowledge and techniques used in animal cell biology, through performing the following animal cell and molecular biology experiments: RNA and protein extraction from rat tissues/cell culture pellets, quantification of transcript (RT-qPCR) and protein (Western-Blotting) expression, and observation of protein expression on rat tissues/cell culture by confocal microscopy.

Recommended Prerequisites: Basic Concepts in Cell Biology; Basic Concepts in Genetics; Advanced Cell Biology, and Laboratory in Foundation of Biology. 

This course introduces fundamental methods and techniques for analyzing both biotic interactions and abiotic conditions in diverse marine ecosystems. Through a combination of laboratory work and field studies, students gain hands-on experience in experimental design, data collection, and analysis. Topics include measurement of abiotic factors, assessment of species interactions and community structure, evaluation of biodiversity and similarity indices, and investigation of behavioral and ecological patterns. The course also explores the effects of human activities on marine environments and examines strategies for ecosystem restoration, rehabilitation, and conservation.

This course examines the core concepts and research techniques of modern evolutionary biology, including natural selection, evolutionary genetics, macroevolution, and applications of evolutionary ideas to practical questions such as human health. 

This course is intended for undergraduate students in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences who have some background knowledge in Neurobiology and Behavioral science. This class covers the basics of cognitive neuroscience. Cognitive Neuroscience is a subfield of neuroscience that examines behavioral and neurobiological foundations underlying cognitive functions including perception, movement, attention, learning and memory, emotion, language, decision-making, and social cognition.  

Students will explore the methodology of cognitive neuroscience and its applications to investigation of human behavior and decision. The course focuses on 8 major functions of the brain: Perception, Movement, Attention, Emotion, Memory, Executive functions, Decision-making, Social cognition. Students are expected to actively participate in questions and answers, debates, and discussions during class. 

This advanced topics course covers neuro- and neuroscience-related topics via a combination of 1 hour lecture and 1.5-hour student discussions. The weekly topics are presented by the professor and guest lecturers. Topics may include Neuroscience Research and Treatment of Brain Disorders, Sensory Processing and Integration, The Neurobiology of Cancer, Cell-cell Interactions in Neuroimmunology, Panel Discussions, etc. 

This course provides a fundamental introduction to a wide range of modern biophysics. This is a multidisciplinary scientific area where a number of theoretical and experimental methods from physics are used to understand and examine biological systems. The course begins from the fundamental biological building blocks, including proteins, DNA/RNA, and membranes. It discusses their structure and interactions both on a molecular level and their role in large systems such as the structure of the cell, the movement of organisms and the signaling of nerves. The course describes the fundamental physical mechanisms for interaction and transport that biological organisms use, and introduces modern experimental techniques for obtaining structural and thermodynamical biophysical information at the nanoscale.

This course is taught by researchers belonging to the Sections of Functional Genomics and of Biomolecular Science and provides a broad overview of both the fundamental knowledge and the rapidly developing and exciting topics in molecular microbiology. Emphasis is placed on the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial stress physiology, which is essential for bacterial survival in the environment, and thereby tolerance and resistance to antibiotics. The course involves lectures as well as theoretical excises (colloquium) where in-depth discussion of recent research articles are presented by the students with guidance from the instructors. Finally, in the laboratory exercise part, relevant critical and cutting-edge techniques are used to investigate research problems that are currently being studied in the laboratory. This comprehensive course thus provides a strong platform for students who wish to pursue or already are pursuing a research career in molecular microbiology and also in areas connected with general microbiology.

The course examines the molecular aspects of viral entry, replication, and assembly in host cells. It also covers mechanisms by which viruses manipulate the hosts to multiply and cause disease.

This course examines the fundamental processes in the marine environment with an emphasis on interdisciplinary linkages in the functioning of marine ecosystems. Topics include: the role of fluid dynamics in the lives of marine animals and in shaping the physical marine environment, and interdisciplinary studies of marine ecosystems.

This course introduces the biology of fungi, which play important roles in most ecosystems, as decomposers, parasites or symbionts. It covers the immense diversity in the fungal kingdom, their ecology and nutritional modes, as well as their life cycles and genetics. As fungi play important roles in society and in circular economy, the course also considers applied aspects of fungi. The course has a practical component where students work experimentally with fungi in the lab and learn to recognize characteristic species in their natural habitat during a one-week field course.