Courses in Organismal Biology and Anatomy

30000, 30100 Human Morphology I, II
Ross
Diverse approaches are taken to examine human structure at both the gross and microscopic level. Functional, developmental, and evolutionary perspectives are emphasized in understanding the structure of the body. Lectures, laboratories, and readings will examine: (1) both human and nonhuman vertebrate morphology and (2) general principles useful in the appreciation of structure in any organism. Open to undergraduates.

30200 Gross Anatomy
Staff
Functional anatomy and organogenesis of the human body, based on dissection, lectures, demonstrations and X-ray studies. Specifically organized for the Medical Scientist Training Program, any graduate students and special cases are encouraged to apply. Prereq: consent of instructor.

30300 Advanced Clinical Anatomy
Staff

31300 Key Issues In Early Vertebrate Evolution (=EVOL 30300)
Coates
The course addresses questions about the origin of vertebrates, the interrelationships of major gnathostome clades, and the fish-tetrapod transition. Undergraduate level chordate biology required; familiarity with methods in systematic biology advantageous.

31400, 31500 Vertebrate Paleobiology (=EVOL 30400, 30500)
Coates, Sereno, Shubin
Systematics, morphology, ecology, and evolution of fossil vertebrates. Open to undergraduates.

31600 Bone (=EVOL 31600)
Ross
This course will explore the diversity and evolution of vertebrate mineralized connective tissues in order to investigate developmental mechanisms, adult structure, in vivo function, and structure-function relationships. Mineralized connective tissues perform vital physiological and biomechanical functions in vertebrates that are reflected in their structural properties. Understanding these function-structure relationships is a fundamental goal of much of vertebrate skeletal biomechanics. The relationships between structure and function in vertebrate bone also underlie hypotheses about physiology and behavior of fossil vertebrates, which in turn inform models of the evolution of physiological and biomechanical systems.

32200 Scientific Illustration
Abraczinskas

32500 Vertebrate Neural Systems (=NURB 31600)
Ragsdale, Mason, Issa
This lab-centered course teaches students the fundamental principles of mammalian neuroanatomy. Students learn the major structures and the basic circuitry of the CNS and PNS. somatic, visual, auditory, vestibular and olfactory sensory systems are presented in particular depth. A highlight of this course is that students become practiced at recognizing the nuclear organization and cellular architecture of many regions of brain in rodents, cats and primates.

33400 Advanced Dissection
Staff
Laboratory work on special topics in gross anatomy. Prereq: OBA 30100, 30200, or equivalent and consent of instructor.

33600 Vertebrate Development (=DVBI 35600, EVOL 33600)
Prince, Millen, Ho
This advanced-level course combines lectures, student presentations, and discussion sessions. It covers major topics on the developmental biology of vertebrate embryos (e.g. formation of the germ line, gastrulation, segmentation, nervous system development, limb patterning, organogenesis). The course makes extensive use of the current primary literature and emphasizes experimental approaches including embryology, genetics, and molecular genetics.

33700 Molecular Genetics and the Evolution of Animal Design (=EVOL 33700)
Schmitt-Ott
The purpose of this course is to provide graduate students and undergraduates with a developmental genetic perspective on evolutionary questions that have emerged in various disciplines including developmental biology, paleontology and phylogenetic systematics. Topics range from the evolution of gene regulation to the origin of novelties such as eyes and wings. These subjects will be introduced in lectures, but emphasis will be put on reading, presenting and discussing original research papers. Graduate students and undergraduates will be expected to collaborate in preparing paper presentations. As an introductory text “From DNA to Diversity” by Carroll, Grenier and Weatherbee (2004; 2nd ed.; Blackwell Science) is recommended.

33900 Early Neural Development (=ORGB 33900)
Prince

34200 Biological Fluid Mechanics (=BIOS 22242, EVOL 34200)
LaBarbera
This course introduces fluid mechanics and the interactions between biology and the physics of fluid flow (both air and water). Topics range from the fluid mechanics of blood flow to the physics (and biology) of flight in birds and insects.

34300 Biomechanics Of Organisms (=BIOS 22243, EVOL 34300)
LaBarbera
This course examines how organisms cope with their physical environment. It covers the properties of biological materials (bone, cartilage, tendon, shell, wood, cuticle, etc.), mechanical analysis of morphology, and principles of design optimization. Emphasis is placed on support systems of organisms. Mechanical properties of biomaterials are analyzed in relation to their underlying biochemical organization and biophysical properties. Students carry out self-designed laboratory projects. There is a required laboratory.

34500 Computational Neuroscience I: Single Neuron Computation (=BIOS 24221)
Ulinski, Staff
This course briefly reviews the historical development of computational neuroscience and discusses the functional properties of individual neurons. The electrotonic structure of neurons, functional properties of synapses, and voltage-gated ion channels are discussed. PQ: Prior course in cellular neurobiology or consent of instructor required. Prior or concurrent registration in Math 200.

34600 Computational Neuroscience II: Vision (=BIOS 24222)
Ulinski, Staff
This course considers computational approaches to vision. It discusses the basic anatomy and physiology of the retina and central visual pathways and then examines computational approaches to vision based on linear and non-linear systems theory, information theory and algorithms derived from computer vision. PQ: BIOS 24222 and a prior course in systems neurobiology, or consent of instructor, required. Prior or concurrent registration in MATH 20100 recommended.

34700 Computational Neuroscience III: Cognitive Neuroscience (=BIOS 24223, VPND 33200)
Hatsopoulos
This course is concerned with the relationship of the nervous system to higher order behaviors (e.g., perception, action, attention, learning, memory). Psychophysical, functional imaging, and electrophysiological methods are introduced. Mathematical and statistical methods (e.g., neural networks, information theory, pattern recognition for studying neural encoding in individual neurons and populations of neurons) are discussed. Weekly lab sections allow students to program cognitive neuroscientific experiments and simulations.

35600 Paleobiogeography (=EVOL 45600)
Sereno
This course concerns the development of historical biogeography as a discipline and the advent of more recent quantitative methods. Areas of special interest include the quality of fossil and geologic records, the definition of areas, the relationship of speciation and phylogeny to biogeography, and methods that search for congruence. The course is aimed at defining hypotheses open to test by empirical data or simulation.

37000 Topics In Systematics And Biogeography (=EVOL 47000)
Sereno
A graduate seminar which includes short lectures, one-page summaries of readings, and class discussion. Topics include critical examination of current methods in systematics and historical biogeography, their limits, and applications to biological problems. The course assumes familiarity with the principles of systematics and historical biogeography and requires extensive readings from the current literature.

40000, 40001 Introduction to Integrative Organismal Biology
Coates, Hale, LaBarbera
Integrative organismal biology aims to address questions focused at the organismal level, such as how animals and plants develop, evolve or function, through use of integrative and comparative approaches. This course will introduce students to faculty working in this area, their research and the methods used in their laboratories. Related Courses Taught by OBA Faculty

BIOS 20260 Chordate Evolutionary Biology
Coates and Shubin
Chordate biology emphasizes the diversity and evolution of modern vertebrate life, drawing on a range of sources (from comparative anatomy and embryology to paleontology, biomechanics, and developmental genetics). Much of the work is lab-based, with ample opportunity to gain firsthand experience of the repeated themes of vertebrate bodyplans, as well as some of the extraordinary specializations manifest in living forms. The instructors, who are both actively engaged in vertebrate-centered research, take this course beyond the boundaries of standard textbook content.

BIOS 21236 Genetics of Model Organisms
Bishop, Malamy, Ferguson, Glotzer, Palmer
A small number of organisms have been chosen for extensive study by biologists. The popularity of these organisms derives largely from the fact that their genomes can be easily manipulated, allowing sophisticated characterization of biological function. This course covers modern methods for genetic analysis in budding yeast, Drosophila, C. elegans, Arabidopsis, and the mouse. Case studies demonstrate how particular strengths of each system have been exploited to understand such processes as genetic recombination, pattern formation, and epigenetic regulation of gene expression.

BIOS 22233 Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy
Westneat
This course covers the structure and function of major anatomical systems of vertebrates. Lectures focus on vertebrate diversity, biomechanics, and behavior (from swimming and feeding to running, flying, seeing, and hearing). Labs involve detailed dissection of animals (muscles, organs, brains) and a focus on skull bones in a broad comparative context from fishes to frogs, turtles, alligators, mammals, birds, and humans. Field trip to Field Museum and visit to medical school lab for human dissection required.

BIOS 22244 Introduction to Invertebrate Biology
LaBarbera
This is a survey of the diversity, structure, and evolution of the invertebrate phyla, with emphasis on the major living and fossil invertebrate groups. Structure-function relationships and the influence of body plans on the evolutionary history of the invertebrate phyla are stressed.

BIOS 22260 Vertebrate Structure and Function
Sereno
This course is devoted to vertebrate bones and muscles, with a focus on some of the remarkable functions they perform. The first part takes a close comparative look at the vertebrate skeleton via development and evolution, from lamprey to human. The major functional changes are examined as vertebrates adapted to life in the water, on land, and in the air. The second part takes a close look at muscles and how they work in specific situations, including gapefeeding, swimming, leaping, digging, flying, and walking on two legs. Dissection of preserved vertebrate specimens required.

BIOS 23100 Dinosaur Science
Sereno
This introductory-level (but intensive) class includes a ten-day expedition to South Dakota and Wyoming (departing just after graduation). We study basic geology (e.g., rocks and minerals, stratigraphy, Earth history, mapping skills) and basic evolutionary biology (e.g., vertebrate and especially skeletal anatomy, systematics and large-scale evolutionary patterns). This course provides the knowledge needed to discover and understand the meaning of fossils as they are preserved in the field, which is applied to actual paleontological sites. Participants fly from Chicago to Rapid City, and then travel by van to field sites. There they camp, prospect for, and excavate fossils from the Cretaceous and Jurassic Periods. Field trip required.

BIOS 24203 Introduction to Neuroscience
Sharma, Sherman, Grove
This course is designed to provide a comprehensive introduction
to the structure and function of the mammalian brain.

BIOS 24205 Systems Neuroscience
Ramirez, McCrea
This course introduces vertebrate and invertebrate systems neuroscience with a focus on the anatomy, physiology, and development of sensory and motor control systems. The neural bases of form and motion perception, locomotion, memory and other forms of neural plasticity are examined in detail. We also discuss clinical aspects of neurological disorders. Labs are devoted to mammalian neuroanatomy and electrophysiological recordings from neural circuits in model systems.

BIOS 29407 Mathematical and Statistical Methods for Neuroscience III
Mogul, Ulinski
This course meets requirements for the biological sciences major only for students specializing in neuroscience. This is the third course of a three-quarter sequence that deals with applications of linear and nonlinear control theory. The goal of this course is to help students understand physiological systems, particularly the nervous system.

MGCB 35400 Advanced Developmental Biology
Ferguson, Preuss
This course provides an overview of the fundamental questions of developmental biology, presenting both the classical embryological experiments that defined these questions, and the modern molecular and genetic experiments that have been employed to try to reach mechanistic answers to these questions. The first portion of the course will focus on the mechanism of axis formation in a variety of organisms; the second part of the course will explore selected topics in the field.

MGCB 35500 Developmental Genetics of Non-vertebrate Model Systems
Ferguson, Du, Greenberg
This course explores the use of genetics in three different model systems, C. elegans, Drosophila melanogaster and Arabodopsis thaliana, to elucidate developmental mechanisms. The class will focus on a series of interrelated topics: for each topic, introductory material presented by the lecturer will be followed by student-led discussions of individual papers.

MGCB 35600 Vertebrate Developmental Genetics
Prince, Millen
This advanced-level course combines lectures, student presentations, and discussion sections. It covers major topics in the developmental biology of vertebrate embryos (e.g., formation of the germ line, gastrulation, segmentation, nervous system development, limb patterning, organogenesis). The course makes extensive use of the current primary literature and emphasizes experimental approaches including embryology, genetics, and molecular genetics.

MGCB 35700 Developmental Genetics and Evolution
Schmidt-Ott
This course uses the developmental genetics of established invertebrate and vertebrate model systems as an entry point to explore the developmental basis of evolutionary change. Topics range from the evolution of gene regulation to the origin of novelties such as eyes and wings. We will study original research papers. The purpose of this course is to provide graduate students (and advanced undergraduates) with a developmental genetic perspective on evolutionary questions that have emerged in various disciplines including developmental biology, paleontology and phylogenetic systematics.

MGCB 35800 Developmental Neurobiology
Grove, Zou, Issa
Topics include neural induction, early patterning of the central nervous system, axon guidance and neuronal migration, the development of brain activity, and the mechanisms of plasticity that fine-tune brain function. Approaches will range from molecular to cellular to systems neurobiology. Focus will be on the vertebrate CNS but attention will be given to important lessons from invertebrate systems.

(page top)