Community

Researchers in the Developmental and Regenerative Biology group participate in a number of events that bring us together.

Symposium

Each year DRB researchers participate in the Genetics, Development and Evolution Symposium, a day-long event that features outside speakers and provides an excellent forum for graduate students and postdocs to present their primary research.  DRB faculty provide personalized training in presentation skills for this event.

Seminars

Seminars in the MCB Divisional series (Wednesdays, 4 PM) are often of interest to DRB researchers, as are the Marian Koshland lectures, selected by students in the MCB Ph.D program. The annual Novartis lectureship focuses on cancer biology, while the Berkeley Stem Cell Center lectures focuses on topics in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.   The Cancer Research Lab also annually hosts a three-day Advanced Imaging Workshop that brings national and international speakers to discuss the latest methods and instrumentation in biological microscopy.  Finally, a mailing list alerts DRB researchers to other relevant seminars on campus, particularly in the many allied departments whose work interfaces with the interdisciplinary DRB interests.

Retreats

Many DRB researchers attend annual retreats for the Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, or the Division of Genetics, Genomics, and Development. These 3-day retreats are held either on the Pacific coast or in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and provide opportunities to present research, learn about that of other members, and interact with students, postdocs, and faculty in informal settings.  Many DRB researchers also attend the annual 2-day retreat of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center at Asilomar.  Finally, DRB labs meet for a biennial single-day conference in Tilden Park, with a keynote address from a prominent guest speaker.

Coursework

Our faculty staff the following courses with a primary focus on DRB subject matter;

MCB 132: Biology of Human Cancer is designed for students interested in learning about the molecular and cell biology of cancer and how this knowledge is being applied to the prevention, diagnosis and therapy of cancer. Topics covered include tumor pathology and epidemiology; tumor viruses and oncogenes; intracellular signaling; tumor suppressors; multi-step carcinogenesis and tumor progression; genetic instability in cancer; tumor-host interactions; invasion and metastasis; tumor immunology; cancer therapy.

MCB141: Developmental Biology provides an introduction to principles and processes of embryonic and post-embryonic development, stressing mechanisms of cell and tissue interactions, morphogenesis and regulation of gene expression.

MCB 143: Evolution of Genomes, Cells and Development is intended for upper-division undergraduates seeking an interactive course based on modern concepts in evolution and comparative genomics. The course emphasizes the contribution of molecular evolution to a series of seminar events in life’s history: origin of life; origin of cells; origin of eukaryotes; origin of multicellularity; evolution of animal development; human origins.

MCB 200A/B Fundamentals of Molecular and Cell Biology is the intensive course taken by first-year Ph.D. students in the MCB program.  Its content, which covers an integrated perspective on modern biosciences, includes a number of interfaces with DRB subject matter.

MCB 231 Advanced Stem Cell and Developmental Biology sets forth principles of animal development from the classical and recent experimental analysis of induction, localization, patterning mutants, axis formation, regional gene expression, and cell interactions. Early development of selected vertebrates and invertebrates will be described. Basic experimental methods and new approaches will be presented. A weekly discussion section with readings from the research literature is required. Students will prepare a mini grant proposal

An advanced laboratory class in Microscopy of fixed and live cells and tissues, bringing together best practices from faculty experience in the Woods Hole embryology course, is now being prepared.

DRB faculty also give rotating graduate seminar courses (MCB 290) that review recent topics in the field.

Researchers in the Developmental and Regenerative Biology group participate in a number of events that bring us together.