Download a PDF of the syllabus with detailed course policies.
We will use current (and some classic) literature to explore concepts in signal transduction and mechanics in the context of morphogenesis. This is an area of active research, so it can be argued that the best way to learn about it is to dive into the literature.
We will cover one paper per week, and will do so in some depth. This means we are choosing depth over breadth in the course. The hope is that the papers we do read serve as case studies for more general concepts. Thus, as you encounter new systems from the massive diversity of developmental biology, you can study them with the concepts we cover in class.
The papers can be downloaded from the course website well in advance of our discussions of them. The in-class coverage of each paper begins on Tuesday, when I will give a lecture about the model system to provide you with some of the requisite background for parsing the paper. We will have an in-class discussion about the paper the following Thursday. You will further explore the papers through three or four homework assignments throughout the term.
The class will end with final projects. For the last two weeks of the course, each student will give a 15 minute presentation about a paper of his or her choosing. I must ok the paper ahead of time, and am happy to offer suggestions.
Finally, we may change the papers we study later in the course depending on how in-class discussions proceed and student interest.