Image of some mouse embryonic stem cells with fluorescent marker.
Instructor(s)
Dr. Matthew Guenther
Dr. Roshan Kumar
MIT Course Number
7.342
As Taught In
Fall 2006
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Description
In this course, we will address how transcriptional regulators both prohibit and drive differentiation during the course of development. How does a stem cell know when to remain a stem cell and when to become a specific cell type? Are there global differences in the way the genome is read in multipotent and terminally differentiated cells? We will explore how stem cell pluripotency is preserved, how master regulators of cell-fate decisions execute developmental programs, and how chromatin regulators control undifferentiated versus differentiated states. Additionally, we will discuss how aberrant regulation of transcriptional regulators produces disorders such as developmental defects and cancer.
This course is one of many Advanced Undergraduate Seminars offered by the Biology Department at MIT. These seminars are tailored for students with an interest in using primary research literature to discuss and learn about current biological research in a highly interactive setting. Many instructors of the Advanced Undergraduate Seminars are postdoctoral scientists with a strong interest in teaching.