CHEM 299 - Spring-Term Special Topics in Chemistry

Credits: 4

Prerequisites vary with topic and instructor. Studies of special topics. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different. Possible topics include medicinal chemistry, materials chemistry, or atmospheric chemistry and the environment.

Spring 2020, CHEM 299-01: Topic: Mechanisms of Stem-Cell Growth and Differentiation (4). Prerequisite: CHEM 241. A practical guide to mammalian stem-cell biology. We explore the molecular underpinnings of stem-cell maintenance with a focus on cellular signaling pathways and stem-cell niche microenvironments, both in the embryo and the adult. We study the biochemistry of directed differentiation and lineage determination and discuss the function of stem cells in adult tissue homeostasis and recovery from injury. Within a laboratory setting, students culture and maintain embryonic stem cells, perform pluripotency assays, and direct embryonic stem cells to differentiate into neural progenitors and cardiac muscle cells. Friend.