BIOL-UA 924 (2023-2024 Spring)
Course: BIOL-UA 924 Special Topics: Genetic Circuits: Genetic Circuits
Course description:
Gene regulatory networks, or "genetic circuits", underlie myriad cellular and developmental physiological processes. In this course, we will build a bottom-up understanding of the dynamics and functions of genetic circuits by analyzing paradigmatic examples. First, we will learn to computationally simulate the dynamics of gene expression and regulation by using simple mass-action kinetics and dynamical systems theory. Next, we will apply this to understand the dynamics and functions of gene regulatory "motifs" such as negative autoregulation and feed-forward systems. Finally, we will integrate this knowledge to understand the mechanistic basis for complex genetic circuits such as bistable switches, oscillators, and excitable circuits. One semester of calculus is a pre-requisite for this course.