Organogenesis - BMED 590
Organogenesis is the study of how organ systems develop and the cells that comprise them are induced, maintained and contribute to the overall organization of an organism. This course will challenge you to bring together all of your accumulated knowledge from molecular genetics, evolution, biochemistry, physiology and cell biology on the fundamental problems of development.
The main objective of this course is for you to learn some fundamentals and current topics in developmental biology, specifically focusing on how organs are formed from initial inductions to morphogenesis. This course is designed to be as student-driven as possible. Primarily, we will discuss how cells differentiate from the single cell to specific organ systems. Another goal is to prepare you to think critically, propose experiments, and to present, assess and describe scientific data.
By the end of the class, you should be able to:
- Discuss the important questions in developmental biology including how organisms get from an egg to a multicellular organism.
- Distinguish among embryonic tissue layers and what organs develop from each.
- Explain many of the core principles of organogenesis including, differential gene expression, cell-cell communication, axis specification, morphogenesis, and possibly a bit about gametogenesis.