Time and Place
Lecture: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00 to 2:20 pm, 192 Lincoln Hall
Discussion Sections: AD1, Wednesdays 6:00 to 6:50 pm; AD3, Thursdays 9:00 to 9:50 am; AD4, Thursdays 12:00 to 12:50 pm, all three sections are held at Room 164, Noyes Laboratory; AD2, Tuesday 9:00 to 9:50 am (Rm 214, Davenport Hall).
Text
Required:
- Principles of Development, 3rd Ed. by Lewis Wolpert
Background Reading (on reserve in the Biology Library):
- Gilbert - Developmental Biology 6th, 7th Edition
- Alberts et. al. - Molecular Biology of the Cell 4th Edition
- Lodish et. al. - Molecular Cell Biology, 4th Edition
Instructors
| Name | Contact Information | Office Hours |
| Dr. Huey Hing | C626, Chem & Life Sciences Bdg | Thursdays 2:30-3:30 pm or |
| hing@life.uiuc.edu | by appointment | |
| 265-0692 | ||
| Dr. Phillip Newmark | C622, Chem & Life Sciences Bdg | Fridays 10:00-11:00 am |
| pnewmark@life.uiuc.edu | ||
| 244-4674 | ||
| Dr. Jon Henry | 423 Medical Sciences Building | To Be Announced |
| j-henry4@life.uiuc.edu | ||
| 333-4449 | ||
| Dr. Humphrey Yao | 3806 VMBSB | To Be Announced |
| hhyao@express.cites.uiuc.edu | ||
| 333-9362 | ||
| Teaching Assistants | ||
| Weitao Chen | C615, Chem & Life Sciences Bdg | Tuesdays 4:00-5:00 pm |
| wchen8@uiuc.edu | C605 Chem & Life Science Bldg | |
| 244-9346 | ||
| Ivraym Barsoum | Tuesdays 11:00-12:30 pm | |
| mcb_410@yahoo.com | C605 Chem & Life Science Bldg | |
| 328-2407 |
Course Philosophy and Objectives
The course objective is to provide a comprehensive one-semester survey of developmental biology at a cellular and molecular level. Basic concepts will be presented with a focus on contemporary methods and observations as well as seminal experiments. The focus of the course is on developmental processes found in eukaryotic organisms. This course is designed for graduate students and undergraduates with a sincere interest in the discipline. Download a copy of the course syllabus.
Prerequisites
Because of the extent of material covered in this course, students will be expected to begin with a basic knowledge and understanding of molecular cell biology and certain investigative techniques. The course prerequisite is MCB 400 or MCB 252 & 354. Lecture time will not be spent reviewing prerequisite material. Students who have not taken the prerequisite courses or who do not have equivalent background preparation are discouraged from taking this course.
Textbooks
The Wolpert text is required and you will have weekly reading assignments. The assigned readings should be done before lecture or discussion. Many lectures will be delivered with the assumption that you are already familiar with the contents of the assigned readings; if you are not familiar with the assigned readings it may be difficult to follow the lectures.
All readings, including all class handouts, journal articles, and materials covered in discussions are subject to examination.
Lectures
The lectures are designed to introduce concepts and the experimental evidence from which they are derived. They will also discuss contemporary research and unsolved problems. It is essential that you attend all lectures as material will be presented that is not in the texts.
Discussion Sections
Attendance at your assigned discussion time (once per week) is mandatory. The weekly discussion sections will be used to review material and work on review questions and homework problems that are available for download on this website (see Discussion link). 100 points of your final grade will come from materials completed in discussion. These 100 points will come from 10 homework assignments (10 points per homework). More information on the discussion sections can be found on the website and the discussion syllabus.
Exams and Grading
There will be four 80 minute exams given in lecture during the semester. Each exam will cover only the material presented since the previous exam. The exams will cover all of the information disseminated during the class (lectures, readings) as well as discussion (review questions and practice problems). Questions will generally be analytical in nature. Each exam will count for 100 points for a total of 400 points towards your final grade. No exams will be dropped.