Program Course Requirements
The course requirements listed below are designed to provide a solid, common foundation that is useful in all areas of Genomic Analysis. These course requirements have been kept to a minimum since all trainees will also have substantial course requirements from their major departments. However, approximately one course per quarter from the requirements listed below will be expected from the trainees. In addition, the required Ethics course should be taken by the end of the first year as a trainee. If a trainee wishes to substitute an equivalent course for any course listed below, the trainee must obtain the approval of the Advisory Committee by simply showing substantial overlap in the covered material.
Here is a link to the UCLA Catalog of Courses.
Molecular Biology Course Requirements
Trainees are required to take two of the following eight courses: Chemistry & Biochemistry 153A and 153B; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 121; Human Genetics 222; Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics 101, 102, and 159; and Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology 144. However, please note that only one of the three courses Chem 153B, EEB 121, and MCDB 144 may used to satisfy this requirement.
- Chemistry & Biochemistry
- 153A. Biochemistry: Introduction to Structure, Enzymes, and Metabolism. (4) Lecture, four hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Chemistry 14D or 30B, and Life Sciences 2, 3. Structure of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids; enzyme catalysis and principles of metabolism, including glycolysis, citric acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation.
- 153B. Biochemistry: DNA, RNA, and Protein Synthesis. (4) (Not available to students with credit for EEB 121 or MCDB 144.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; tutorial, one hour. Requisite: Biochemistry 153A. Nucleotide metabolism; DNA replication; DNA repair; transcription machinery; regulation of transcription; RNA structure and processing; protein synthesis and processing.
- Human Genetics
- CM122. Mouse Molecular Genetics. (2) (Same as Microbiology CM122.) Lecture, two hours. Requisites: course CM156, Life Sciences 3,4. Emphasis on use of mouse genetic approach to studying fundamental biological questions. Topics include mouse genome and functional genomics, mutagenesis screening and cloning of disease genes, transgenesis and its application in developmental biology, stem cell biology, neurobiology, and modeling human genetic disorders. Reading materials include original papers and reviews. Concurrently scheduled with course CM222. P/NP or letter grading.
- Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
- 101. Introductory Microbiology. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Life Sciences 3, 4. Corequisite: course 101L. Historical foundations of the science; introduction to bacterial structure, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, and ecology.
- 102. Introductory Virology. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Life Sciences 3 and 4. Recommended corequisite: course 102L. Biological properties of bacterial and animal viruses, replication, methods of detection, interactions with host cells and multicellular hosts.
- 159. Advanced Molecular Genetics. (5) Lecture, three hours; discussion, two hours. Requisites: Chemistry & Biochemistry 153A, Life Sciences 4. Integrated conceptual analysis of classical and modern molecular genetics of microbes, with coverage of key papers from elucidation of genetics code to the present. Essential elements of experimental design, analysis of results, and scientific logic.
- Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
- 144. Molecular Biology. (5) (Not available to students with credit for Chem 153B or EEB 121.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Life Sciences 3, 4. Structure of genes and chromosomes; prokaryotic and eukaryotic replication and transcription; repair and recombination; RNA processing.
Probability and Statistics
Trainees are required to take two quarters of probability and statistics. This requirement can be met by any of the sequences Statistics 100A&B, Statistics 110A&B, or Biostatistics 110A&B. In addition, Statistics 180 may be substituted for any of the "B" quarters.
- Statistics
- 100A. Introduction to Probability Theory. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Mathematics 32B, 33B. Probability distributions, random variables and vectors, expectation.
- 100B. Introduction to Mathematical Statistics. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: Statistics 100A. Survey sampling, estimation, testing, data summary, one- and two-sample problems.
- 110A. Applied Statistics. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: Mathematics 32B, 33B. Probability, distributions, expectation, estimation, central limit theorem, confidence intervals, testing.
- 110B. Applied Statistics. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: Statistics 110A. One- and two-sample problems, goodness of fit and contingency tables, correlation and regression, analysis of variance, nonparametrics.
- 180. Introduction to Bayesian Statistics. (4) Lecture, three hours. Requisites: Mathematics 32B, 33B. Introduction to statistical inference based on use of Bayes theorem, covering foundational aspects, current applications, and computational issues. Topics include Stein paradox, nonparametric Bayes, and statistical learning. Examples of applications include protein alignment algorithms and image denoising procedures.
- Biostatistics
- 110A. Basic Biostatistics. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; laboratory, one hour. Requisite: Mathematics 31B. Basic concepts of statistical analysis applied to biological sciences. Topics include random variables, sampling distributions, parameter estimates, statistical inference.
- 110B. Basic Biostatistics. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour; laboratory, one hour. Requisite: Biostatistics 110A. Topics include elementary analysis of variance, simple linear regression; topics related to analysis of variance and experimental designs.
Ethics Course Requirements
Trainees are required to take MIMG 234 by the end of their first year as a trainee. It is highly recommended, but not required, that trainees also take Human Genetics 220. Trainees will also be advised via e-mail about upcoming seminars and symposia at the intersection of genetics and ethics. Trainees are expected to make every attempt to attend these occasional lectures.
- Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics
- 234. Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research. (2) Discussion, two hours. S/U grading. Responsibilities and ethical conduct of investigators in research, data management, mentorship, grant applications, and publications. Responsibilities to peers, sponsoring institutions, and society. Conflicts of interest, disclosure, animal subject welfare, human subject protection, and areas in which investigational goals and certain societal values may conflict.
- Human Genetics
- 220. Ethical Issues in Human Genetics. (2) Discussion, two hours. Topics include consent for genetic research, privacy of genetic information, genetic discrimination, misattribution of parentage, DNA databases, presymptomatic genetic testing, newborn screening, genetic testing of children, preimplantation diagnosis, prenatal diagnosis, manipulation of embryos and cloning, gene therapy, and forensic use of genetic information.
Seminar Requirements
Trainees are required to take one quarter of Human Genetics 282 per year.
- Human Genetics
- 282. Human Genetics Seminar and Journal Club. (1) This seminar course meets weekly on Fridays and it is linked to the Human Genetics seminar series, which is held Monday 11:30-12:30. Participation in both Friday meeting and Monday seminar is required. On Friday the class will discuss one or two papers related to the topic of the Monday seminar. Each student participating in the class will present one paper. This course satisfies the ACCESS seminar requirements.
Core Graduate Course Requirements
Trainees are required to take Human Genetics 236A & B. In addition, trainees must take at least two of the following seven courses: Biomathematics 207A, 207B, 211; Biostatistics 278; Human Genetics 224, 244; and Statistics 254. Trainees will also be advised via e-mail about upcoming seminars and symposia on genomic analysis and interpretation. Trainees are expected to make every attempt to attend these occasional lectures.
- Human Genetics
- 236A. Advanced Human Genetics. (4) Lecture, three hours. Requisites: prior exposure to genetics. In-depth overview of human genetics that forms basis for firm grasp of linkage mapping, genomics, development of animal models to study human disease, and current status of gene therapy.
- 236B. Advanced Human Genetics. (4) Lecture, three hours. Requisites: prior exposure to genetics. This course gives an in-depth overview of methods for analysis of complex traits in human genetics. Topics covered include Segregation, Linkage, Non-Parametric Linkage, and Association analyses from statistical genetics, and an introduction to Microarray technology and analysis. Also discussed are specific examples of the current state of the art in the genetic analysis of complex trait, both successes and failures, e.g., in cancer, psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, etc. Looking forward, the course concludes with a discussion of the ramifications of the genetic dissection of complex disorders and individualized medicine, on the individual and on society.
- 224. Computational Genetics. (4) (Same as Computer Science CM224.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: one statistics course and familiarity with any programming language. Designed for undergraduate and graduate engineering students, as well as students from biological sciences and medical school. Introduction to current quantitative understanding of human genetics and computational interdisciplinary research in genetics. Topics include introduction to genetics, human population history, linkage analysis, association analysis, association study design, isolated and admixed populations, population substructure, human structural variation, model organisms, and genotyping technologies. Computational techniques include those from statistics and computer science.
- 244. Genomic Technologies. (4) Lecture, two hours; discussion, one hour. Central to genetics is the development and application of genome-wide technologies. This course will survey the key technologies that have led to the successful application of genomics to biology with a heavy emphasis on the genome project and functional genomics. The course will focus on the theory behind specific technologies and their current applications.
- Biomathematics
- 207A. Theoretical Genetic Modeling. (4) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisites: undergraduate probability and statistics, linear algebra and advanced calculus. Mathematical models in genetics. Topics include population genetics, genetic epidemiology, gene mapping, design of genetic experiments, DNA sequence analysis, and molecular phylogeny.
- 207B. Applied Genetic Modeling. (4) Lecture, three hours; laboratory, one hour. Requisites: undergraduate probability and statistics. Methods of computer-oriented genetic analysis are emphasized. Topics include segregation analysis, parametric and non-parametric linkage analysis, quantitative methods, and phylogenetics. There is a laboratory for hands-on computer analysis of genetic data; and laboratory reports are required. This course complements Biomathematics 207A; students may take either and are encouraged to take both.
- 211. Mathematical and Statistical Phylogenetics. (4) (Same as Human Genetics M211.) Lecture, three hours; laboratory, one hour. Requisites: Biostatistics 110A & B, Mathematics 170A. Theoretical models in molecular evolution, with focus on phylogenetic techniques. Topics include evolutionary tree reconstruction methods, studies of viral evolution, phylogeography, and coalescent approaches. Examples from evolutionary biology and medicine. Laboratory for hands-on computer analysis of sequence data.
- Biostatistics
- 278. Statistical Analysis of DNA Microarray Data. (4) Lecture, three hours. Requisite: Biostatistics 200C or equivalent. Instruction in use of statistical tools used to analyze microarray data. Structure corresponds to analytical protocol an investigator might follow when working with microarray data.
- Statistics
- 254. Statistical Methods in Computational Biology. (4) (Same as Biomathematics 271.) Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Requisite: Statistics 100A. Training in probability and statistics for students interested in pursuing research in computational biology, genomics, and bioinformatics.
Posted 2002 July 1
Modified 2003 Apr: Changed Ethics requirement. Added descriptions of HG 236B and 244.
Modified 2004 Nov: Included Seminar requirement.
Modified 2005 Apr: Added descriptions of Biostat and Stat.
Modified 2008 Mar: Made HG 244 optional. Added HG 224 and Biomath 211 as options.
Modified 2008 Mar: Made Chem 153AB optional. Added HG 222, MIMG 101, 102, and 159 as options.
Modified 2009 Mar: Removed HG CM121, added HG CM122 in its place.
