This course introduces grad students to a breadth and depth of concepts and theories in modern ecology and evolutionary biology. The couse is co-taught by two BIOL faculty each fall, with different faculty rotating into the course in alternate years, providing expertise in molecular population genetics, genomics, phylogenetics, integrative biology, speciation, microevolution, life-history evolution, and mating systems.

Animals are incredibly diverse, but they all evolved from the same single-celled ancestor that lived hundreds of millions of years ago. This course takes a cell-biological approach to explore key questions in animal evolution such as the origins of multicellularity and differentiation. Students will gain a cutting-edge perspective on current research that integrates cell, developmental, and evolutionary biology to explore animal origins.

This course introduces grad students to a breadth and depth of concepts and theories in modern ecology and evolutionary biology.. The course is taught by a different BIOL faculty each spring, with different faculty rotating into the course in alternate years, providing expertise in molecular population genetics, genomics, phylogenetics, integrative biology, speciation, microevolution, life-history evolution, and mating systems.

This course will provide an in-depth exploration of the field of regenerative biology, focusing on the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying tissue regeneration and repair in animals. We will explore the cellular basis of different types of regeneration and search for shared molecular mechanisms. With an eye towards the future, we¿ll also explore the implications for advancing regenerative medicine.

Independent wet-lab or dry-lab research for Biology majors (and other specific majors), under the supervision of a University of Virginia faculty member who does not have primary affiliation with the Biology Department, with emphasis on experimental design, data acquisition, and data interpretation. See Biology Department website for application instructions. Instructor permission required; prior completion of BIOL 3000, BIOL 3010, or BIOL 3020 strongly recommended. 

This course focuses on how relatively simple model systems provide the clues as to how certain synaptic connections form and lead to specific behaviors. This will be followed by discussion of how this knowledge can be applied to the understanding and treatment of human neural disorders. 25% of the course is standard lectures and the rest, student-led discussion of primary literature. Prereqs: BIOL 3000 & BIOL 3010; BIOL 3050 or PSYC 2200 or 3200

The goal of this course is to provide an original, unknown outcome research experience in developmental biology. After training in basic methods and descriptions of selected research problems, students form teams and investigate a problem of their choosing. Team members work together in the lab, but each writes an independent research proposal, a notebook, and a final project report on which they are graded. Recommended prerequisites: BIOL 3000 and 3010.

This course addresses the impact of the human genome project on understanding human genetic disease, focusing on the invaluable role for animal models of diseases in augmenting evaluation of genomic information to develop strategies for precision medicine. Animal models are an invaluable asset in reaching this goal because they allow experimental manipulations that go far beyond what is possible in human patients.

This course is designed to provide students the opportunity for hands-on learning in experimental sciences leading to a Capstone thesis project and written thesis. Students, working with a primary mentor (and in some cases a secondary mentor), design an original research study or other creative product in self-selected areas of interest, execute the study, analyze the data and report the findings in written form.

Independent research/independent study under the guidance of a primary mentor within the College of Arts and Sciences. Research/study forms the basis for the DMP thesis to be submitted at the end of the fourth year. This course must be taken in the first semester of the fourth year and should encompass the majority of the research for the thesis. Prerequisite: First-semester fourth-year DMP in Human Biology.