COURSE UNIT TITLE

: DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

DEGREE PROGRAMMES

Description of Individual Course Units

Course Unit Code Course Unit Title Type Of Course D U L ECTS
TBG 6111 DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY ELECTIVE 2 0 0 8

Offered By

Medical Biology and Genetics

Level of Course Unit

Third Cycle Programmes (Doctorate Degree)

Course Coordinator

ASISTANT PROFESSOR HATICE GÜNEŞ ÖZHAN

Offered to

Medical Biology and Genetics

Course Objective

- To understand the essential principles of development at the level of genes, cells and intercellular communication
- To examine the cell specification principles and early embryonic development stages in different organisms
- To understand organ formation (organogenesis)
- To study the concepts of stem cells, sex determination, metamorphosis, regeneration and aging
- To figure out the associations between developmental biology and genetic disorders, medicine, ecology and evolution

Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit

1   To realize the fundamental concepts and principles of developmental biology and the significance of genes, DNA and RNA in development
2   To understand the molecular mechanisms of gametogenesis, fertilization and early developmental stages
3   To study and compare the different progression mechanisms of cell fate determination and early developmental stages in various invertebrate (nematodes, fruit flies; echinoderms etc.) and vertebrate (amphibians, fish, birds and mammals) animals
4   To understand the steps of organogenesis by learning the formation of germ layers, neurogenesis and sex determination
5   To be able to develop answers aimed at questions on relationship between developmental biology and regeneration, medicine and therapeutic applications
6   To be able to design experiments that reveal the site and mechanisms of action of a molecule with a potential role in development
7   To acquire the ability to access, present and discuss the knowledge on genes and steps of development via scientific articles

Mode of Delivery

Face -to- Face

Prerequisites and Co-requisites

None

Recomended Optional Programme Components

None

Course Contents

Week Subject Description
1 Introduction to developmental biology; Relationship of Genes, DNA and RNA with development
2 Relationship of Genes, DNA and RNA with development and techniques
3 Cell-cell communication in development
4 Fertilization and beginning of a new organism Early development in certain invertebrates
5 Early development in the fruit fly Drosophila: Axis specification
6 Early development in tunicates, amphibians and fish
7 Early development in birds and mammals
8 Mid-term exam Formation of the ectoderm: Central nervous system and epidermis
9 Formation of the ectoderm: Neural crest
10 Development of the mesoderm and the endoderm
11 Germ line and sex determination
12 Metamorphosis, regeneration and aging
13 Human genetics, congenital defects and cancer
14 Relationship of development and ecology
15 Relationship of evolution and development (Evo-Devo)
16 Final Exam

Recomended or Required Reading

Textbook(s): Developmental Biology, 10. Edition. Scott F. Gilbert
Online version: http://10e.devbio.com/
Supplementary Book(s): Essential Developmental Biology, JMW. Slack, 2. Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, 2005.

Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods

1. PowerPoint lecture presentations: Lecture subjects will be covered as PowerPoint presentations schematized and simplified for easy visual comprehension.
2. Research article presentation assignment: Students will choose recent research articles about essential or current developmental biology topics, present the key points of the article as a short presentation and discuss those with the audience. All presentations will be held together on a predetermined date outside of lecture hours.
3. Group project work: Designing a project to answer a question in developmental biology and writing a short project proposal

Assessment Methods

SORTING NUMBER SHORT CODE LONG CODE FORMULA
1 MTE MIDTERM EXAM
2 ASG ASSIGNMENT
3 FIN FINAL EXAM
4 FCG FINAL COURSE GRADE MTE * 0.25 + ASG * 0.45 +FIN* 0.30
5 RST RESIT
6 FCGR FINAL COURSE GRADE (RESIT) MTE * 0.25 + ASG * 0.45 +RST* 0.30

Further Notes About Assessment Methods

An interactive participation of students is expected during the lectures.

Assessment Criteria

Mid-term and final exams: A high percentage (70%) of correct answers, showing that the lecture topics are well digested, is expected.
Oral presentation: The student is expected to understand and present the selected paper, state how well the paper sets forth the scientific question and put forward an idea on future perspectives.
Project work: The group work is expected to make a clear statement of the question of the project draft, suggest feasible experiments to answer the question and comprise of individual contributions.

Language of Instruction

Turkish

Course Policies and Rules

To be announced.

Contact Details for the Lecturer(s)

Tel: 412 6557 Mobile: 0531 272 23 99
E-mail: gunes.ozhan@deu.edu.tr, gunesozhan@yahoo.com

Office Hours

To be announced.

Work Placement(s)

None

Workload Calculation

Activities Number Time (hours) Total Work Load (hours)
Lectures 15 2 30
Preparations before/after weekly lectures 15 4 60
Preparation for midterm exam 1 10 10
Preparation for final exam 1 8 8
Preparing assignments 3 8 24
Preparing presentations 3 8 24
Project Preparation 5 8 40
Final 1 3 3
Midterm 1 3 3
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours) 202

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

PO/LOPO.1PO.2PO.3PO.4PO.5PO.6PO.7PO.8PO.9
LO.112345
LO.212345
LO.312345
LO.4345
LO.512345
LO.612345
LO.712345

CONTACT INFORMATION
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Cumhuriyet Bulvarı No: 144 35210 Alsancak / İZMİR
Phone: +90(232) 412 12 12 - Fax: +90 (232) 464 81 35

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