Course Descriptions

To develop insights into the practice of biomedical research and medical practice, MBS students must attend one research seminar, journal club, or grand round of their choice per week. Students prepare a written summary of the main points discussed in each event attended. The student’s faculty advisor will monitor the student’s participation.

This course covers biochemistry in three parts:

• Part 1 - Examines the biochemical composition and structure of the four basic types of biological macromolecules: carbohydrates, nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Part 1 also introduces enzymes and the composition and function of dietary nutrients and vitamins.
• Part 2 – Studies how genetic information flows from its storage as DNA sequence to its expression as functional RNA and protein molecules.
• Part 3 – Shows how metabolic pathways are used to convert food molecules into energy and chemical intermediates used for biosynthesis of our cellular materials.

To introduce students to the molecular basis of life, this course is organized around the “mother of all biological questions” – how does life arise from stochastic associations between molecules acting in networks? The course presents the basic properties of living things, the composition and properties of biomolecules, and how each individual property arises through diffusion, mass action, and affinity.

This course covers topics such as gross anatomy, histology, embryology, and neuroanatomy.

Students learn about the structure, function, and biogenesis of cellular organelles and the cytoskeleton, including its regulation and dynamic interactions.

This course studies the general principles of cell physiology, the chemical and physical structure of membranes, membrane transport and electrical phenomena, action potentials, muscle contraction, energy transduction, nerve impulse conduction, and synaptic transmission.

This course focuses on human nervous system physiology, including the physiology of vision, taste, and smell; mechanoreceptors, nociception, and pain; and spinal reflexes, the hypothalamus, and the autonomic nervous system. Prerequisite: MBS 605.

Students learn about cardiovascular systems, including the heart’s pumping and electrical activities, the vascular system, regulation of blood pressure, and response to stress. Prerequisite: MBS 605.

This pathobiology course focuses on essential nomenclature, causes of disease, cell injury and adaption, tissue regeneration and repair, neoplasia, and the pathogenesis of diseases in major organs.

This course provides an introduction to structural biology and illustrates how understanding the relationship between structure and function of biological macromolecules drives drug discovery.

This course aims to integrate basic knowledge in mitochondrial structure and function with our current understanding of the role mitochondria play in human health and disease

This 1-credit course consists of nine 50-minute lectures. It deals specifically with human embryology, focusing on the first 8 weeks of development beginning with fertilization. Development of the embryo is then followed from blastocyst formation through implantation in the uterus, formation of the embryonic disc, gastrulation, neurulation, and establishment of the basic body form. The focus then shifts to initial development of the major organ systems (heart, lungs, pharynx, gut and gut derivatives, kidneys and gonads, musculoskeletal system), and the course finishes with a session on teratology and parturition at the end of the fetal period.

This course is designed to provide graduate students with a dissection-based anatomy elective that covers the abdomen, pelvis and perineum. The students will be divided into two groups (orange or green) and will dissect every other dissection. After they finish their dissection, they will present that material to the other color group the following week who will then perform the next dissection. This will strengthen their knowledge of the area by using peer teaching. At the conclusion of the course, the students should be able to identify and discuss the anatomy of the abdomen, pelvis and perineum including the bones, muscles, organs, innervation, blood supply and functional aspects. Clinical conditions associated with the anatomy of the regions will also be assessed.

This course consists of rotations (minimum two or three hours a week for each credit hour) in selected labs. Students are rigorously monitored by faculty advisors and present their work at a rotation symposium at the end of the semester.

This course consists of shadowing University of Miami Miller School of Medicine physicians (minimum two or three hours a week for each credit hour). Students are rigorously monitored by faculty advisors and present their work at a rotation symposium at the end of the semester.

This workshop covers topics such as survival skills, responsible conduct of research (RCR), learning skills, lab and animal safety, ethics, and the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI).