Biological Sciences

In this internship, students work closely with their host organization for up to 12 hours per week over the course of a semester. Final assessment is comprised of a mentor evaluation, a self-evaluation/reflection, and an organizational report.

This course examines the molecular basis of human congenital pathologies and the alterations that trigger these pathologies. It explores biochemical aspects of the physiological and pathological processes of humans including the function of different organs and systems.  

Selected aspects of physiological processes in health and disease: from the integrative function of single cells to whole systems physiology. A core emphasis is on the experimental basis for our foundational knowledge of how physiological systems function and their regulation. Topics may include: cell and epithelial physiology, ion channels and transporters and their regulation, cell signalling and communication, endocrine and neuroendocrine physiology, sensory physiology, control and co-ordination of movement, control of feeding and responses to stress.

Viruses are responsible for numerous human illnesses and millions of deaths annually. Some of the most feared, widespread and devastating human diseases such as influenza, measles and AIDS are caused by viruses. Similarly, viruses cause a number of recently emerging diseases, including Ebola hemorrhagic fever, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Zika virus infection and influenza pandemics. This course explores the complex biology of viruses, their multiplication cycle and pathogenesis, how they are structured, what strategies they use to enter their host cells, how they express and replicate their genomes, how they produce new virions, how they have evolved, and how host cells respond to viral infection.

This course is designed to help students establish a solid understanding of how cells and nutrients contribute to health and body functions by interacting with each other. The students are provided with an introduction to key concepts relevant to molecular and cell biology and cellular nutrient metabolism, and have the opportunity to learn and discuss how cells handle nutrients and how nutrients contribute to cellular health and functioning. Nutritional science is highly interdisciplinary. This class concerns a part of the broad array of topics relevant to nutrition, particularly with focuses on the molecular and cellular aspects of food components essential to the body.

Prerequisite: General biology

This course provides a background on the essentials of planet Earth's natural dynamics, and which processes are currently altered through human activity, by explaining how geological processes have shaped the Earth into its present state, and how current human activities are interfering with natural processes in Earth's ecosystems. Why the Earth's surface looks the way it does can largely be understood from Earth's internal structure dynamics. Aspects of the Geosphere that are discussed in class include the formation of planet Earth, the rock cycle, geological time, the inner Earth, plate tectonics, deformation, mountain building, and sedimentation and sedimentary basins. Emphasis is placed on the role of geological observations as evidence of processes that contributed to shaping the surface of the Earth. In addition, the course discusses the diversity of Earth's ecosystem and the importance of conserving biodiversity. The scientific aspects of global climate change are addressed, along with the way climate change is discussed and presented in the popular media.