Course Information

•MGM 778 Genetic Approaches to the Solution of Biological Problems
Use of genetic approaches to address research problems in cell and developmental biology. Genetic fundamentals build up to modern molecular genetic strategies including genetic screens, reverse genetics, genetic interactions, dominant negative mutants, and more. Several major genetic model organisms are used to illustrate general principles. Offers 18 focus areas covering a wealth of genetics and genomics areas. MGM students are only required to take one semester of MGM 778 (i.e., complete six modules). Fall only, Lew

•MGM 790S Topics in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Course involves discussion of current literature related to seminars in the Tuesday and Thursday Series, as well as presentations by students of their research. Fall and Spring – Requirement: 6 semesters (the first 3 years to complete) Tobin

•MGM 793S First two semesters are lab rotations and includes a lab presentation after each rotation.  The last two semesters are about the lab research once one has affiliated into a lab and includes research and lab presentations.  Fall and Spring – Requirement: 4 semesters (the first 2 years to complete) Tobin

•MGM 701 Foundations of MGM will provide first year MGM Ph.D. students with exposure to the research interests in the department. MGM faculty will provide an overview of their research along with important historical context.  Fall and Spring – Requirement: 2 semesters (first year only) Heaton

•MGM 702 Scientific Writing
Introduction to grant and fellowship writing. Course requires writing assignment of two proposal topics as well as evaluation and critique of proposal by fellow students. Fall only, Marchuk

•MGM 720 Computational Tools in Next Generation Genomic Analysis
Biological data, DNA/RNA/protein, yeast, human – hands on assignment based intensive, semester long, computational training – programming environment, hardware/software, Linux, client/server, user, root, /usr/local/bin, shell, and languages, virtual machines, cloud services, C, Perl, PHP, MySQL, HTML, make, command line tools – blast/fasta/EMBOSS/clustal/rsync/ssh and a dash of sed/awk/grep, genomic sequence, RNA-Seq, text and HTML output formats, prerequisite enthusiasm and consent of instructor. Fall only, Dietrich

•MGM 522 Critical Readings in Genetics and Genomics
Classical and molecular genetic approaches to understanding eukaryotic cell function using unicellular organisms such as yeasts and dictyostelium. Experimental approaches as well as illustrative studies of secretion, cell cycle, signal transduction, and cytoskeleton. Discussion of current literature and student presentations. Spring only, McCusker

•MGM 732 Human Genetics
Topics addressed include segregation, genetic linkage, population genetics, multifactorial inheritance, biochemical genetics, cytogenetics, somatic cell genetics, clinical genetics, positional cloning, complex disease. Lectures plus weekly discussion of assigned papers from the research literature. Spring only
Marchuk

•MGM 552 Virology and Viral Oncology
The basic principles of viral structure and replication, the use of viruses as models for eukaryotic cell function, and the role of viruses in disease are discussed. Spring only, Luftig

•MGM 582 Microbial Pathogenesis
Modern molecular genetic approaches to understanding the pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Underlying mechanisms of pathogenesis and host-parasite relationships that contribute to the infectious disease process.  Spring only, Tobin

•CMB 551 Cell Molecular Biology
This class teaches 24 topics covering a wealth of cell and molecular biology in a flexible modular format. In the course of covering the topic, most modules involve either in-depth critical discussion of primary literature, or an emphasis on developing quantitative/mathematical approaches to the biology, or both. Each module consists of five or six classes. Students may select any six (non-concurrent) modules to take. Each module contributes to 10% of the final grade. At the end of the class, students pair up and devise a research proposal that is honed over a two week period with an assigned faculty coach. All proposals are presented orally to the entire class (students and instructors) in a 2-day symposium in mid-December, contributing 40% of the final grade. Fall only, Lew/Nicchitta

Additional Courses

•BGT 206 Genome Technologies
Introduction to the experimental biology, laboratory and computational methodologies for genetic and protein sequencing, mapping, and expression measurement. Dietrich

•OBGE Course Offerings 
https://medschool.duke.edu/education/biomedical-phd-programs/office-biomedical-graduate-education/student-resources/basic