BIOL3320 · Biology

Developmental Biology

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

Developmental Biology is the discipline that studies the processes by which a single cell, the fertilized egg, divides, differentiates, and progressively gives rise to a complex organism formed by billions of cells with highly specialized functions. This process fascinated Aristotle over 2,300 years ago and continues to be the source of some of the most challenging questions in Biology. Given that their DNA is identical, how do your muscle cells and neurons acquire their complex phenotypes? What signals are integrated so that a small cluster of relatively homogeneous cells gives rise to a limb? How are identity and positional memory encoded, and what mechanisms are activated to regenerate the original shape after injury? This course will cover essential concepts in genetics, cell signaling, and comparative embryology, which are foundational to the study of development. We will also focus on understanding critical experimental approaches and the relevance of model organisms for studying the embryo.