京都大学 京都大学

Global Frontier in Life Science B

Numbering Code G-BIO11 51033 LE68 Year/Term 2022 ・ Intensive, Second semester
Number of Credits 1 Course Type Lecture
Target Year Master's students Target Student
Language English Day/Period Intensive
Instructor name HEJNA, James (Graduate School of Biostudies Specially Appointed Professor)
YAMANO TAKASHI (Graduate School of Biostudies Associate Professor)
CARLTON, Peter (Graduate School of Biostudies Associate Professor)
YAMASHIRO SAWAKO (Graduate School of Biostudies Senior Lecturer)
YAMAOKA SHOHEI (Graduate School of Biostudies Associate Professor)
KOBAYASHI TAEKO (Graduate School of Biostudies Associate Professor)
Outline and Purpose of the Course This class will be conducted exclusively in English. The class will meet on Tuesday mornings from 10:30-12:00. The format will be a ~60 min lecture, followed by a ~30 min. student presentation of a paper or papers covering a subject related to the lecture. Depending on the number of students enrolled, the student presentations may be given by individual students or pairs of students. There is no limit to the class size; in the past, enrollment has been about 10-15 students, which has been conducive to active discussions.

Lectures will cover a wide range of topics, from microalgae to plant biology, live-cell imaging and cell signaling, neural stem cells, the cytoskeleton and cell adhesion, self-non-self recognition, chromosome biology and genetic diseases, generally aligned with the lecturers' research interests. Attention to methodology and experimental design will feature in student presentations.
Course Goals Students will be exposed to a wide range of topics, in English. Working individually or in pairs, or small groups, depending on the class size, they will be able to present a short journal club style talk, to accompany a lecture.
Students will gain practical experience in reading background scientific literature. In lectures, this will be a good opportunity to improve listening skills in a small class format, and a chance to practice scientific discussions. Please feel free to ask questions!
Schedule and Contents The course will cover topics representing the diverse interests of the Graduate School of Biostudies. For example, lectures may cover microalgae, self/non-self recognition, human genetics and epigenetics, evolutionarily conserved or divergent mechanisms and pathways in plants, cytoskeleton, cell adhesion, stem cells, mental health and disease, cell signaling in phototransduction, chromosome behavior in meiosis. A total of 9 lectures are envisioned.
Lectures are scheduled on Tuesday mornings, 10:30-12:00, on Oct.11, 25; Nov. 1,8,15,29; Dec. 6,13,20, but may be subject to change. The first lecture will be devoted to organization, to match students with presentation topics.
Evaluation Methods and Policy Grading will be based on participation and individual progress.
Further details will be announced in the first lecture.
Course Requirements Students who are motivated to work in English are particularly encouraged to attend. A good background in molecular and cellular biology is recommended.
Study outside of Class (preparation and review) For student presentations, it may require 5-10 hours outside of class to prepare the journal club presentation. Additional optional reading may take 1-3 hours per week, depending on English proficiency. For student presentations, guidance will be provided by the particular lecturer for a given topic.
Textbooks Textbooks/References Handouts will generally be provided by the lecturers to accompany the lectures. Supporting literature will be selected by each lecturer, and posted on PandA.
References, etc. None required. Any undergraduate textbook on molecular and cellular biology will provide background information. A good background undergraduate textbook is Alberts et al. The Molecular Biology of the Cell, ed. 6, although the 5th edition is still suitable for much background.
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