Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology

ROBERT DURONIO, Director

Professors

Steven L. Bachenheimer, Alterations to Cell-Cycle and Signal Transduction Pathways following Herpes Simplex Virus Infection

Albert S. Baldwin, Regulation of Gene Expression, Control of Oncogenesis and Apoptosis

Victoria Bautch, Molecular Genetics of Blood Vessel Formation in Mouse Models

Kerry S. Bloom, Mechanisms of Chromosome Segregation in Yeast, Chromosome and Spindle Dynamics

Robert B. Bourret, Molecular Mechanisms of Signal Transduction in Bacteria

Janne G. Cannon, Bacterial Pathogenesis, Antigenic Variation in Pathogenic Bacteria

Adrienne D. Cox, Ras Family Oncogenes and Signaling, Cellular Radiation Response, Lipid Modification and Drug Development

Stephen T. Crews, Neurogenomics and Developmental Neuroscience, Cell Migration and Fusion, Brain Development and Behavior

Jeffery L. Dangl, Plant Disease Resistance and Cell-Death Control, Plant Genomics, Bacterial Pathogenesis and Genomics, Type III Secretion Systems

Channing J. Der, Oncogenes, Ras Superfamily Protein, Signal Transduction

Bob Duronio, Genetics of Cell-Cycle Control during Drosophila Development

Beverly J. Errede, Yeast Molecular Genetics, MAP-Kinease Activation Pathways, Regulation of Cell Differentiation

Rosann A. Farber, Cancer Genetics, Human Molecular Genetics, Somatic-Cell Genetics, Microsatellite Instability

Jeffrey A. Frelinger, Molecular Immunogenetics, Function of the Major Histocompatibility Complex in Virus Infection

Jack D. Griffith, HIV, Transcription, Electron Microscopy

Alan Jones, Arabidopsis, Hormone Perception, Regulation of Growth and Development, Programmed Cell Death

Joseph Kieber, Molecular Genetic Analysis of Hormone Signaling in Arabidopsis

Ryszard Kole, Antisense Oligonucleotides as Chemotherapeutic Agents, RNA Processing, RNA-Protein Interactions

Anthony LaMantia, Control of Gene Expression in the Developing and Adult Central Nervous System

Susan T. Lord, Fibrinogen Structure-Function Analysis, Fibrinogen in Vascular Disease, Modeling Cardiovascular Disease in Mice

Nobuyo Maeda, Genetics Modeling of Atherosclerosis in Mice

Terry Magnuson, Mammalian Genetics, Epigenetics, Genomics

Mark W Majesky, Molecular Basis of Coronary Vessel Development

William F. Marzluff, Regulation of RNA Metabolism in Animal Cells

Gregory A. Matera, Biogenesis of Small Ribonucleoproteins in Health and Disease

Steven W. Matson, Biochemistry and Genetics of DNA Helicases from E. coli and Yeast

Ann G. Matthysse, Genetics of Bacterial Adhesion to Plant Surfaces, Genetics and Biochemistry of Cellulose Synthesis

Deborah O'Brien, Molecular Regulation of Mammalian Spermatogenesis and Fertilization

Leslie V. Parise, Adhesion Receptors and Signaling in Platelets, Sickle Cells and Cancer

Mark Peifer, Cell Adhesion, Signal Transduction and Cancer

Daniel Pomp, Genetic Architecture of Complex Trait Predisposition

Patricia J. Pukkila, Molecular Mechanisms of Chromosome Pairing and Meiosis

R. Jude Samulski, Development of Virus-Based Delivery Systems for Use in Human Gene Therapy

Aziz Sancar, Structure and Function of DNA Repair Enzymes, Biological Clock

Gwendolyn B. Sancar, Regulation of DNA Damage, Stress-Inducible Genes in Eukaryotes

Carolyn Sartor, Role of EGFR and HER2 in radiation response of breast cancer.

Oliver Smithies, Targeted Modification of Genes for Use in Gene Therapy

Lishan Su, T cells during Normal and Pathogenic Hematolymphopoiesis

Patrick Sullivan, Complex Traits in Humans, Psychiatric Genetics, Pharmacogenetics, Twin Studies, Schizophrenia, Major Depression, Nicotine Dependence

Ronald I. Swanstrom, Retroviruses, Molecular Biology of the AIDS Virus

Jenny P. Ting, Transcriptional Regulation of Eukaryotic Genes, Discovery of New Genes in Inflammation and Apoptosis, Functional Genomics and Application to Immunologic and Neurologic Diseases, Chemotherapy, Signal Transduction and Cell Death

Terry A. Van Dyke, Regulation of Cell-Growth Control

Yue Xiong, Cancer Biology, Mammalian Cell Cycle, Tumor Suppressor Genes

Bernard E. Weissman, Tumor Suppressor Genes, Cancer Genetics

Yi Zhang, Chromatin Dynamics, Gene Expression, Cancer

Associate Professors

Shawn Ahmed, Telomere Replication and Germline Immortality in C. elegans

Manzoor Bhat, Genetic and Molecular characterization of Neuron-Glial Interactions in Drosophila and Mouse Model Systems

Patrick Brennwald, Examination of Problems in Membrane Trafficking and Cell Polarity using Genetics

Frank L. Conlon, Mesodermal Patterning and Heart Development, T-box Genes

Blossom Damania, Viral Oncogenes and Transcription Factors Encoded by Kaposi's Sarcoma-Sssociated Herpesvirus

Dirk P. Dittmer, Anti-Lymphoma Therapies

Eric T. Everett, Genetics of Acquired and Congenital Disorders of Craniofacial Development

Bob Goldstein, Generation of Cell Diversity in Early Development of C. elegans

Sarah R. Grant, Plant-Pathogen Interactions

Beverly H. Koller, Generating Animal Models of Human Diseases

Fernando Pardo-Manuel de Villena, Meiotic Drive, Chromosome Segregation, Non-Mendelian Genetics

Charles Perou, Genomic and Molecular Classification of Human Tumors

Larysa Pevny, Transcriptional Mechanisms that Maintain Neural Stem/Progenitor Cell Fate

Lillie L. Searles, RNA Processing Control in Drosophila, Developmental Genetics.

Jeff J. Sekelsky, Genetics of Genome Instability in Drosophila

Dale Ramsden, V(D)J Recombination, DNA Double Strand Break Repair

Jason W. Reed, Plant Development, Auxin signaling, Light Responses

Norman E. Sharpless, Tumor Suppressor Genes, Genetics of Cancer and Aging

David Threadgill, Disease Susceptibility, Mutagenesis, Colon Cancer, Genetic Engineering, Microarrays, Gut Flora

Todd Vision, Genome Evolution and the Architecture of Complex Traits

Ellen R. Weiss, Regulation of G-Protein-Coupled Receptor Signal Transduction Pathways

Brent W. Weston, Molecular Genetics of Glycosyltransferases, Tumor Cell and Leukocyte Adhesion

Kirk Wilhelmsen, Genetic Mapping, Neurodegenerative Diseases

Yanping Zhang, Genetics and Mechanisms of Cancer Cell Growth and Division

Assistant Professors

Miriam Braunstein, Microbial Genetics, Pathogenesis of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Protein Export

Jay Brenman, Neuronal Dendrite Development using Drosophila Genetics

Christina Burch, Experimental Evolution in Microorganisms

Kathleen Caron, Genetically Engineered Animal Models in the Study of Human Disease

Jeanette Gowen Cook, Regulation of DNA Replication In Mammalian Cells

Gregory P. Copenhaver, Regulation of Meiotic Recombination in Higher Eukaryotes

Ian Davis, Mechanisms of Transcription Factor Deregulation in Cancer Development.

Morgan Giddings, Computational Proteomics and Systems Biology

Mark Heise, Genetics of Arbovirus Virulence and Immune Evasion

Corbin D. Jones, Population Genetics and Evolution in Drosophila

Tal Kafri, HIV-I Vectors for Gene Therapy and Functional Genomic Applications

William Kim, Exploration of the Role of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor in Tumorigenesis

Ethan Lange, Complex Disease Models, Statistical Genetics

Jason Lieb, Exploring Specificity and Function in Protein-Genome Interactions using DNA Microarrays

Sarah Liljegren, Cell Separation during Arabidopsis Flower Development

C. Ryan Miller, Preclinical Experimental Therapeutics and Biomarker Research in Gliomas

Karen L. Mohlke, Human Genetics and Genomics, Diabetes, Complex Diseases

John Rawls, Host-microbial Interactions in the Zebrafish Digestive Tract

W. Kimryn Rathmell, Genetics of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Steve Rogers, Cyoskeletal Dynamics and Function

Brian Strahl, Histone Modifications and Gene Regulation

Eleni Tzima, Mechanisms of Vascular Endothelial Cell Signaling and Angiogenesis in Response to Hemodynamic Stimuli

Adjunct Associate Professor

Michael A. Resnick (40) Roles of Various DNA Repair in Meiosis

The Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology is an interdepartmental predoctoral training program leading to a Ph.D. degree in genetics and molecular biology. The goal of this program is to train students to be creative, sophisticated research scientists within the disciplines of genetics and molecular biology. To this end we emphasize acquisition of a foundation of knowledge, accumulation of the laboratory skills required for implementing research objectives and development of the ability to formulate experimental approaches to solving contemporary problems in the biological sciences. During their first year, students enroll in graduate-level courses and participate in laboratory rotations. Subsequently, students select a faculty research advisor and establish an advisory committee. Research work is done in the laboratory facilities of the individual faculty member and is supported primarily by faculty research grants.

The curriculum faculty have appointments in 13 departments in the School of Medicine, the School of Dentistry and the College of Arts and Sciences. The faculty represent diverse research interests that use the tools of genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry to address fundamental question in the areas of cell cycle regulation, chromosome structure, development and disease models, DNA repair and recombination, genome stability, evolutionary genetics, genomics, human genetics, neurobiology, pathogens and immunity, signal transduction, transcription and gene regulation and virology. Students are able to choose from a variety of biological systems and questions for their thesis research.

Requirements for Admission for Graduate Work

Applications from students with good academic records and interest in research careers in genetics and molecular biology are favorably considered. Applicants preferably have majored or minored in one of the following disciplines: genetics, biology (zoology or botany), microbiology, chemistry, mathematics, physics or biophysics. They usually have taken calculus and organic and physical chemistry, although these are not essential. Applicants are accepted to begin their initial studies in the fall. They must apply to the program through a new unified application program known as the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program (BBSP). Students apply for graduate study in the biological or biomedical sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill. Students interested in any of the BBSP research areas apply to BBSP and those whose application portfolio places them highest on the admission list are asked to visit Chapel Hill for interviews. Students who are ultimately admitted to UNC make no formal commitment to a Ph.D. program. After completing their first year of study students leave BBSP and join a thesis lab and matriculate into one of 12 participating Ph.D. programs. During their first year BBSP students are part of small, interest-based groups led by several faculty members. These groups meet frequently and provide a research community for students until they join a degree granting program. The application consists of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, transcripts of records, three letters of recommendation and a statement of purpose, all submitted through the Web-based application system of The Graduate School. Those whose application portfolio places them highest on the admission list are asked to visit Chapel Hill for interviews. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible, preferably before January 1. (Applicants seeking a master's degree are not considered for admission.)

Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree

In addition to the dissertation requirements of The Graduate School (four full semesters of credit including at least six hours of doctoral dissertation; a written preliminary examination, an oral examination and a dissertation), students in the Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology must meet the following requirements: complete four didactic courses (three of which are required: GNET 621, GNET 631, GNET 641 and one selected from the following: GNET 632, GNET 622, GNET 624 and one bioinformatics module), one seminar course in which at least one-third of the final grade is based upon class participation, act as a teaching assistant for one semester; participate in a student seminar series as an attendee in the first and second years and as a presenter in the later years, participate in the curriculum's retreat and attend the weekly seminar series sponsored by the curriculum and the Carolina Center for Genome Sciences. Students are required to rotate through at least three laboratories before choosing a thesis advisor. It is strongly recommended that students attend national meetings in order to better understand how their research fits with progress in their field.

Financial Aid

Stipends for predoctoral students are available from an NIH predoctoral training grant and from the University. Tuition, student fees and graduate student health insurance are also covered by the training grant and the University.

Courses for Graduates and Advanced Undergraduates

425 [122] HUMAN GENETICS (BIOL 425) (3). Prerequisite, BIOL 202. Pedigree analysis, inheritance of complex traits, DNA damage and repair, human genome organization, DNA fingerprinting, the genes of hereditary diseases, chromosomal aberrations, cancer and oncogenes, immunogenetics and tissue transplants. Three lecture hours a week. Spring. Maroni.

505 [105] MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (BIOC 505) (3). Prerequisite, BIOC 100 or equivalent. Mechanisms of replication, transcription and translation of genetic material in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems; gene sequence and organization; biochemical genetics; and regulatory mechanisms. Three lecture hours a week. Fall. Crews, Van Dyke, Xiong, Marzluff.

621 [112] PRINCIPLES OF GENETIC ANALYSIS 1 (BIOL 621) (3). Prerequisite for undergraduates, BIOL 202; for graduate students, an undergraduate genetics course or permission of the instructor. This course covers basic genetic principles and how genetic analyses are used to address basic questions regarding the structure and function of cells and organisms. Fall. Duronio.

622 [113] PRINCIPLES OF GENETIC ANALYSIS IN MAMMALS (BIOL 622). (4). Prerequisite, GNET 621. This course emphasizes genetic processes that are unique to mammals and that are relevant to human health. Spring. Pardo-Manuel de Villena.

624 [160] DEVELOPMENTAL GENETICS (BIOL 624) (3). Prerequisites, BIOL 202 and 205, and permission of the instructor required for undergraduates. Genetic and molecular control of plant and animal development. Extensive reading from primary literature. Fall. Bautch, Reed.

631 [110] ADVANCED MOLECULAR BIOLOGY I (BIOC 631, MCRO 631, PHCO 631, BIOL 631) (3). Prerequisites for undergraduates, at least one undergraduate course in both biochemistry and genetics. DNA structure, function and interactions in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems, including chromosome structure, replication, recombination, repair and genome fluidity. Three lecture hours a week. Fall. Griffith, Ramsden, A. Sancar.

632 [111] ADVANCED MOLECULAR BIOLOGY II (BIOC 632, MCRO 632, PHCO 632, BIOL 632) (3). Prerequisites for undergraduates, at least one undergraduate course in both biochemistry and genetics. The purpose of this course is to provide historical, basic and current information about the flow and regulation of genetic information from DNA to RNA in a variety of biological systems. Three lecture hours a week. Spring. Baldwin, Strahl, Marzluff.

635 [125] CLINICAL AND COUNSELING ASPECTS OF HUMAN GENETICS (BIOL 529) (3). Prerequisites, BIOL 425 or GNET 634 and permission of the instructor. Topics in clinical genetics including pedigree analysis, counseling/ethical issues, genetic testing, screening and issues in human research. Taught in a small group format. Active student participation is expected. Spring. Roche.

636 [150] ELEMENTS OF PROBABILITY AND STATISTICAL INFERENCE (BIOS 550) (4). Prerequisite, integral calculus. Fundamentals of probability theory; descriptive statistics; fundamentals of statistical inference, including estimation and hypothesis testing. Three lecture hours a week. Fall. Biostatistics staff.

641 BIOINFORMATICS: A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION (4). This course provides and introduction to basic genome informatics, including genome databases, sequence analysis, gene expression analysis, protein structural analysis and managing the scientific literature.

Courses for Graduates

623 [161] DEVELOPMENTAL GENETICS SEMINAR (1). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Presentations of current research or relevant papers from the literature on development by students will be followed by open forum discussion of relevant points, and critique of presentation skills. Two hours per week. Fall and spring. Bautch.

625 [270] SEMINAR IN GENETICS (BIOL 625) (2). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. Two seminar hours per week. Fall and spring. Bautch, Maroni, Petes, Peifer, Pukkila, Searles, Sekelsky.

680 [280] MODELING HUMAN DISEASES IN MICE (1). Prerequisite, permission of the instructor. This course will provide an overview of the use of the mouse as an experimental model for determining factors, both genetic and environmental, that contribute to human diseases. One seminar hour a week. Spring. Koller.

701/702 [201/202] GENETIC LECTURE SERIES (1). Open to genetics students only. Diverse but current topics in all aspects of genetics. Relates new techniques and current research of notables in the field of genetics. Fall and spring. Staff and invited guest lecturers.

703 [275] GENETICS SYSTEMS (BIOL 822) (1). Required of all candidates for the degree in genetics. A course to provide public lecture experience to advanced genetics students. Students present personal research seminars based on their individual dissertation projects. Lectures are privately critiqued by fellow students and genetics faculty. Fall and spring. Genetics staff.

850 [350] TRAINING IN GENETIC TEACHING (3). Prerequisites, two courses in genetics and permission of the instructor. Principles of genetic pedagogy. Students are responsible for assistance in teaching genetics and work under the supervision of the faculty, with whom they have regular discussion of methods, content and evaluation of performance. (Throughout the year.) Staff.

905 [305] RESEARCH IN GENETICS (BIOL 921) (Var.). May be continued for credit two or more semesters. Hours and credits to be arranged. (Throughout the year.) Genetics staff.

993 [393] MASTER'S THESIS (3 or more). (Special permission required.) Students are not accepted directly into the M.S. program. (Throughout the year.) Staff.

994 [394] DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (3 or more). Fall, spring and summer. Staff.