Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the Student Link for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• GMS FA 760: Research in Forensic Anthropology
  This course is designed to facilitate the students' thesis research. Var cr, Fall sem.
• GMS FA 761: Research in Forensic Anthropology
  This course is designed to facilitate the students' thesis research. Var cr, Spring sem.
• GMS FA 790: History, Method, and Theory in Biological Anthropology
  This course will cover the theoretical and methodological principles of the major areas of biological anthropology. Initially focusing on the history of biological anthropology and evolutionary theory, the course will expand to cover skeletal biology, forensic anthropology, and contemporary human variation. The last section will address the philosophy of science and anthropology and practical issues such as presenting and publishing papers and preparing grant proposals. It is intended that this course provide students with a thorough understanding of the correlation between the developments of the discipline of biological anthropology, evolutionary theory, and the practice of forensic anthropology in the United States. 3 cr, Fall sem.
• GMS FA 800: Field Methods in Forensic Anthropology
  This course will provide students with a sound basis for archaeological methods applied to a variety of forensic settings. Students will learn core concepts from academic archaeology and how forensic archaeology differs from traditional methods. 3 cr
• GMS FA 802: Applied Forensic Anthropology
  Students will gain extensive experience in forensic anthropological casework, to include experience in generating analytical notes and report preparation. Students will be exposed to a variety of casework situations that forensic anthropologists encounter in medical examiner offices, international realms, government laboratories and field situations. 3 cr
• GMS FA 804: Experimental Design and Statistics for Forensic Anthropologists
  The goal of this course is to provide a working understanding of experimental design and statistical analyses that are appropriate for various types of anthropological based experiments and for the analysis of skeletal remains for unknown individuals. Significant emphasis will be placed on discussions of Bayes Theorem and the use of factor analysis in the development and use of the FORE Disc database used extensively by forensic anthropologists to determine sex, age, stature and ancestry of unidentified skeletal remains. 3 cr
• GMS FA 805: Advanced Crime Scene Investigation
  This hands-on and lecture-based course will provide students with methods and underlying theories related to specialized aspects of crime scene processing. Topics will include techniques and principles utilized in search and recovery of human remains. Forensic entomology, mechanisms of human decomposition, use of ground penetrating radar, soil composition, excavation, telltale disturbances in flora and the presence of animal activity will be examined. A semester-long practical exercise will include the search and recovery of mock remains and the reconstruction of events. 2 cr
• GMS FA 806: Advanced Human Osteology
  This course builds on the topics covered in GMS FA 712 Human Osteology by exploring human osteology in greater depth and will include lectures and extensive experience with radiographical material. 4 cr
• GMS FA 807: Taphonomy
  This course will provide students with an advanced basis for vertebrate taphonomy, both with specific focus upon forensic settings but also with a broader understanding of taphonomic processes covering archaeology, paleoecology, and zooarchaeology. 3 cr, Fall & Spring sem.
• GMS FA 808: Forensic Trauma Analysis
  This course provides an overview of contemporary methods in crime scene processing and forensic mass disaster investigation. The course is offered in the spring semester of the 2nd year. FA-718 and FA-806 are prerequisites for this course. Students will participate in individualized hands-on techniques for fingerprinting, tire and tool mark impressions, recovery of remains, collection and preservation of evidence and crime scene mapping. Fall 3 cr.
• GMS FA 810: Mortuary Archaeology
  This course will provide students with an advanced theoretical basis for cross-cultural comparison of mortuary behavior and its archaeological interpretation. The topics will cover the history of archaeological though in this topics, processual and post-processual theoretical frameworks, the prehistory of burial, regional archaeological studies, modern Western burial practices and symbolism, gender and class difference, trophy taking, cannibalism, beliefs in undead and how they affect mortuary practices, military memorialization and warfare, ethical issues involved in the analysis of cemeteries and human remains, repatriation, and modern homicide investigation of serial killings and body movement. 3 cr, Fall & Spring sem.
• GMS FC 706: Molecular Metabolism
  This optional module of the Foundations in Biomedical Sciences curriculum focuses on the biochemical, cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate cell and tissue-specific fuel metabolism. The course will present an integrated view of biochemistry and the control of cellular and organismal functions with regard to nutrient utilization. Classes include small group discussions of key papers. Mechanisms that allow cells to survive variations in nutrient supply (starvation, feeding, nutrient excess/stress) and how these mechanisms contribute to metabolic derangements contribute to disease pathogenesis (e.g. diabetes, obesity, cancer) will be discussed. 2 cr, Spring sem.
• GMS FC 708: Professional Development Skills
  This course introduces basic professional development skills for PhD students in the following areas:communication skills, research compliance/law/bioethics, and personal professional development.
• GMS FC 709: Research Design and Statistical Methods for Biomedical Sciences
  The overall objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of basic concepts of research design and data analysis in the biomedical sciences. The primary didactic areas to be covered include framing hypotheses and objectives, the use of experimental designs and, to a lesser degree, non-experimental designs, problems of differential and non-differential error (including bias and confounding), foundational principles of data description and analysis (independent vs. correlated, parametric and non-parametric, measures of central tendency and dispersion), effect estimation, the use and limitations of statistical testing, and univariable and multivariable modeling. The course employs both didactic sessions and in-class discussion. 3 cr., Spring sem. Co-listed as NU709.
• GMS FC 711: Foundations in Biomedical Sciences I: Protein Structure, Catalysis and Interaction
  The first module of the Foundations in Biomedical Science course "Protein structure, catalysis and interactions" will provide students with a quantitative understanding of protein structure, function, posttranslational modification and the turnover of proteins in the cell. In addition, students will gain facility with thermodynamics, catalysis, kinetics and binding equilibria as they apply to proteins and also to other molecules in biological systems (e.g. nucleic acids, lipids, vitamins, etc.). This course is part of a series of four core integrated courses and additional elective courses aimed towards first year Ph.D. students in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. The four cores will be integrated in content and structure, and therefore are intended to be taken as a complete, progressive sequence. 3 cr, Fall sem.
• GMS FC 712: Foundations in Biomedical Sciences II: Structure and Function of the Genome
  The second module of the Foundations in Biomedical Sciences course will focus on the mechanisms of biological processes that influence the inheritance, regulation, and utilization of genes. Genetic and genomic, molecular, cell biological, and biochemical experimental approaches to understanding these processes will be explored. In addition, we will discuss the possibilities of utilizing these technologies in medical treatments. This course is part of a series of four core integrated courses and additional elective courses aimed towards first year Ph.D. students in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. The four cores will be integrated in content and structure, and therefore are intended to be taken as a complete, progressive sequence. 3 cr, Fall sem.
• GMS FC 713: Foundations in Biomedical Sciences III: Architecture and Dynamics of the Cell
  The third module of the Foundations in Biomedical Sciences course will focus on the movement of proteins and membranes with the cell, the secretory process, the cytoskeletal framework of the cell and the resulting cell-cell interaction and communication with the matrix. Molecular, cell biological, and biochemical experimental approaches to understanding these processes will be explored. In addition, we will discuss the possibilities of utilizing these technologies in medical treatments. This course is part of a series of four core integrated courses and additional elective courses aimed to-wards first year Ph.D. students in the Division of Graduate Medical Science. The four cores will be integrated in content and structure, and therefore are intended to be taken as a complete, progressive sequence. 3 cr, Spring sem.
• GMS FC 714: Foundations in Biomedical Sciences IV: Mechanisms of Cell Communication
  The fourth module of the Foundations in Biomedical Sciences course will focus on the mechanisms of cell communication. This module will begin by discussing overarching concepts before examining the specific types of molecules that initiate and transduce signals. Examples of cell signaling and subsequent cellular responses will then be considered in different contexts to provide a framework on which future learning can be applied. As the module progresses, the complexity of the systems explored will increase from individual cells to multicellular environments such as tissues, organs, and organisms. In addition, normal processes as well as the dysregulation of cell-cell communication is disease will be studied. This course is part of a series of four core integrated courses and additional elective courses aimed towards first year Ph.D. students in the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. The four cores will be integrated in content and structure, and therefore are intended to be taken as a complete progressive sequence. 3 cr, Spring sem.
• GMS FC 715: Translational Genetics and Genomics
  Modern human genetics has evolved at a tremendous pace, with the promise of an affordable complete genome sequence for every individual just around the corner. While the raw information has increased exponentially, its translation to patient care has not kept pace. We will discuss exciting recent advances in human genetics and genomics, with illustrative examples of their translation into improvements in diagnosis and treatment of patients. We will also discuss ethical and societal challenges of this rapidly evolving field. Our course is aimed at first or second year Ph.D. students, and will be taught by faculty in a variety of departments through traditional lectures and discussion sections. Students will be evaluated on their ability to explain the translational research process and demonstrate how individual research findings build on one another to move a field forward to ultimately impact patient care. 3 cr, Spring sem.
• GMS FC 717: Physiology of Specialized Cells
  This course is one of the elective course modules (Module V) of the Foundations in Biomedical Sciences curriculum. Knowledge of cellular and molecular physiology is critical to understanding the higher order of functioning of tissues, organs, and organs systems. The objective of the course is to discuss the specialized adaptations of cells that help them to function in their respective tissues and organs. This course will also provide a framework to bridge the gap between the biochemistry and the molecular and cellular biology that students have acquired in the core modules (I through IV) and organ physiology and pharmacology that will be addressed in the second year. 3 cr, Spring sem.

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