Course Descriptions

This course considers the genetic, molecular, and cellular processes that lead from egg to embryo to mature organism. Development is the complex cascade of progressive and typically irreversible changes during which cells become specialized and fashioned into functional fabrics with predictable organization along the major body axis. It accomplishes two basic functions: it generates cellular diversity and order within each generation and provides continuity of life from one generation to the next. This course will emphasize the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying pattern formation and cellular specialization and will present model organisms used in the study of developmental processes. You will acquire an understanding of the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in embryogenesis, organ system development, and differentiation, the variation in developmental pathways of representative invertebrates and vertebrates, and a modern understanding of how development shapes our understanding of human health, disease, and ethical decision making.