life science business plan

How to Write a Business Plan for Your Biotech Startup

Last Updated on 

August 9, 2022

Do you always need a written business plan? Keeping track of every part of your business in your head is an impossible task, and the components of cash flow–sales, costs, expenses, assets, liabilities, capital, and profits–are much easier to understand and manage when laid out in an organized way.

Not only that, having everything documented will help show others that you have a good idea on your hands, one worthy of investment—whether that be labor or capital.

There are many different types of business plans, however, each type generally falls under one of two categories: traditional or lean startup. Whichever you choose, writing a business plan can give you a roadmap, guiding you through each stage of starting and managing your company, and can help convince people to invest in or lend to you.

That said, does a business plan guarantee success? Sadly, it does not. If all you needed to succeed was a business plan, then everyone with a business plan would be successful. Nonetheless, it is an excellent exercise and decision-making tool, and will help you flesh out a solid business strategy. In fact, scientific studies have shown that many successful businesses planned ahead.

In this article, we’ll review the traditional business plan format used to outline the company’s mission statement, structure, products or services, growth strategy, and more—information that will all be necessary if you’re going to secure outside investment, such as investor funding and business loans. Furthermore, we’ll provide a few examples of business plan templates we stand behind.

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How Does a Business Plan Help?

If you’e starting a small business, your business plan can be a highly useful tool to help you run your business. It can be the blueprint for how you structure, run, and grow your company.

They’re also an excellent way to flesh out key elements of your company, such as capital needs, product-to-market fit, competition, marketing plans, and potential to make a profit. Documenting all this will give you a much better grasp on your chances for success.

Most importantly, traditional business plans are an essential part to securing funding or bringing on new business partners. By providing in-depth detail on how you plan to operate your business, you make it that much more attractive to prospective investors or lenders.

This is because any investor is more likely to put their money and resources into someone who has made the effort to think out and document how the business will run—the business owner is more likely to be viewed as committed, thoughtful, and strategic.

Furthermore, creating a business plan lets you spot opportunities and challenges as you grow. This is due, in large part, to the fact that business plans have become less static.

(It used to be the case that many business plans were long, formal, and static documents that did not change much.)

Nowadays, many business owners revisit and revise their business plan as the company grows, as they gather new and different information and experience, and as the market changes. This allows for more flexibility and strategic planning and pivoting.

Now, some people may see writing a business plan as a chore or necessary “evil” required to attract financing or investors.

It may be seen as a chore, but it should also be seen as a low-cost—if not free—way to explore the viability of your potential business and avoid costly mistakes. At the end of the day, it’s not just about funding, it’s about the process.

By writing a plan out, you show not only yourself but those around you that you have a good idea on your hands, one worthy of time, effort, and money.

What Does Your Business Plan Need to Include?

Traditional business plans, or standard business plans, are highly detailed and provide a comprehensive look at the inner workings of your business.

These types of plans are necessary when requesting funding from an prospective investor or lender. They can be dozens of pages long, and usually take more time to write than other types of business plans, such as a lean startup plan.

Lean startup plans are typically shorter, focusing on key elements from a high-level. They are useful tools for measuring performance regularly and tracking your financials and milestones against what you projected so you can respond to opportunities and react to challenges quickly.

This type of business plan is faster to write, but doesn’t always provide enough information to potential investors or lenders. Nonetheless, it is a great option for startups looking to move quickly and decisively.

When writing a traditional business plan, the outline should include these topics:

Executive summary

Company description.

• Company structure & management
• Products or services
• Market analysis
• Sales & marketing plan
• Funding request
• Financial plan & projections

The order in which the topics are included is not incredibly important. The level of detail is what investors are looking at. Let’s briefly review each section.

This is one of the most important sections of your business plan, as many investors will make a decision to invest in your business based on this summary.

Often, these investors won’t read the rest of the business plan unless your executive summary is convincing enough. It shouldn’t be longer than one page, and should provide a high-level overview of your business idea that persuades an investor to continue reading.

Your executive summary should include every section described below, but condensed to include the most important information so a busy reviewer can get the idea quickly.

This is where you’ll go into detail about your business concept and company, explaining what you do, why you do it, and the problems you plan to solve.

You should include information regarding your business’s structure, goals and objectives, as well as the consumers or businesses you plan on serving. You can also include your cultural philosophy, principles, and ideals.

All this should be written to explain why your business is a good investment bet.

Company Structure & Management

If you plan on raising money from investors, they will want to know how you structure your business and who runs it. This means determining how your business is structured legally, and including that information in your business plan.

State whether or not you are or plan to incorporate as a C-corporation, S-corporation, or limited liability company (LLC), and show who will be running each part of the business and describe how each member will contribute to the company..

Documenting the legal structure and management team in your business plan regardless of fundraising strategies will ultimately be helpful, as you will have all your business entity information recorded for any future needs.

Products or Services

Explain what you plan to sell and why. How will it benefit your customers or the businesses you plan to serve? In the life sciences sector, sharing how you plan to handle intellectual property is incredibly important.

If you’re performing research and development, you’ll want to include comprehensive details.

Market Analysis

Many investors will want to know an analysis of your target market, the size and growth of that market, and why you’re targeting it.

Market research—specifically, researching your competitors—should give you a good idea of what your target industry and market looks like. It will show you what other businesses are doing and whether or not it’s working.

This type of competitive analysis will also help you understand their strengths and weaknesses, and how you can position yourself.

Looking for themes and trends can help you get an idea of what successful companies do, why they do it, and how you can improve on it. Including this information in your business plan will help investors see how your business fits into the target market, and whether or not you have any competitive advantages.

Sales & Marketing Plans

Creating these two documents is extremely important because it will define how exactly you will market to customers, as well as how you will convince them to purchase the product or service you’re offering.

While sales strategies and marketing strategies are somewhat different, they are often talked about together, as sales and marketing departments work closely to achieve business goals.

Although there is no single way to approach creating a marketing strategy, there are some best practices that many entrepreneurs in various industries typically follow. These best practices include:

Include your marketing and sales strategy in your business plan by outlining your current marketing plan. Explain what your ideal customer demographics are and why, show how your strategy fits that actual or potential customer, and include your value propositions. Incorporate how you plan to attract and retain their business as well.

As well, this section should also describe how you’ll actually make a sale. Refer back to this section when describing your financial projections.

Funding Requests

If you’re looking for outside investments to fund or finance your company, you’ll need to include a funding request section. If you’re not planning to ask, you can skip this section entirely.

Although investors are an excellent resource (large cash injections, wide network to leverage), there are other ways to fund your business without using investors.

Use this section to include important information on your business’s funding needs, as well as future financial plans and projections.

Include how much funding you may need and when you’ll need it, whether you prefer equity or debt, the terms you’d like, and the length of time this request will cover. Furthermore, describe how you’ll use your funds.

Specify whether it’s for hiring and salaries, equipment and supplies, or bills that need to be paid. (It could be for all of these.)

Include a description of your future financial plans. It should include any loan repayment schedules and plans to sell the business. You’ll also want to include your exit strategy , letting investors know how they will be able to exit the deal should they wish.

An exit strategy can be a number of things, from initial public offering (IPO) or merger and acquisition (M&A) to a management buyout.  

Financial Plan & Projections

The financial plan section is used to illustrate your projected financial position, as well as a number of financial statements.

It can be used to supplement your funding request and should show your company’s stability.

You’ll want to include the most important views of your financials, to showcase your business’s financial health. If you have income statements , balance sheets , and cash flow statements you can provide, make sure you do.

Depending on your audience, it may also be helpful to provide a financial forecast for the next five years. Include projected income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets, and describe your projected cash-flow statement.

It can identify gaps or negative cash flow, helping you adjust your operations accordingly. Lastly, match these projections with your requested funding so investors understand why you’re requesting that specific amount.

Business Plan Template Examples

You can use a business plan template to write an effective business plan. These templates typically provide step-by-step instructions, or enough detail about each section, to help guide you through the process.

We’ve gone ahead and collected a few resources we believe in, and have provided them here for you:

• USBA Business Plan Template
• Bplans Business Plan Template for Small Business and Entrepreneurs
• Shopify Free Business Plan Template
• My Own Business Free Business Plan Template
• Score Business Plan Template for Startup Businesses

In conclusion

As tedious as it may sound, writing a great business plan can help convince others that you have a viable business idea on your hands.

With an excellent business plan, you’ll likely have an easier time getting people to work with you, whether as a fellow founder, an employee, or as an investor.

Lastly, even if you’re not actively seeking out funding, it’s an excellent exercise that will leave you understanding your business inside and out.

These articles are designed to be informational and do not represent legal advice. Before making any legal or financial business decisions, you should consult with a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.

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Best 20 Biotechnology Business Ideas with High Profit

• November 19, 2023
• by Next What Business Research Team

Biotechnology, a transformative field at the intersection of biology and technology, is driving innovation and reshaping industries. Entrepreneurs keen on venturing into the dynamic realm of biotechnology have a spectrum of opportunities to explore. From healthcare breakthroughs to sustainable solutions, here are some of the best biotechnology business ideas poised to make a significant impact:

What is Biotechnology?

Biotechnology is a dynamic and interdisciplinary field. It harnesses the principles of biology and technology to manipulate living organisms, cells, and biological systems for the betterment of humanity. The field of biotechnology involves a wide spectrum of applications, ranging from healthcare and agriculture to industry and the environment. Here’s an overview of the fundamental aspects of biotechnology:

a) Genetic Manipulation

Biotechnology often involves the alteration of genetic material, whether in microorganisms, plants, or animals. This can be achieved through techniques like genetic engineering, CRISPR-Cas9, and gene cloning.

b) Cell Culture and Tissue Engineering

Biotechnologists cultivate and manipulate cells in controlled environments to study their behaviour or create tissues for medical applications. This is crucial in regenerative medicine and the development of artificial organs.

c) Protein Expression

Biotechnology plays a vital role in the expression and production of proteins, including enzymes and therapeutic proteins. Recombinant DNA technology is commonly used to introduce foreign genes into host organisms for protein synthesis.

Applications of Biotechnology

Some of the major applications of biotechnology are the following:

• Pharmaceuticals: Biotechnology contributes to the development of biopharmaceuticals, including vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and gene therapies.
• Diagnosis and Treatment: Molecular diagnostics, personalized medicine, and targeted therapies are outcomes of biotechnological advancements.

Agriculture

• Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): Biotechnology enhances crop traits for improved yield, resistance to pests, and adaptation to environmental conditions.
• Biofertilizers and Biopesticides: Microbial biotechnology provides eco-friendly solutions for soil fertility and pest management.
• Enzyme Technology: Industrial processes benefit from biocatalysts, such as enzymes, for efficient and sustainable production.
• Bioprocessing: Fermentation and other bioprocessing techniques are employed for the production of biofuels, chemicals, and materials.

Environmental Management

• Bioremediation: Biotechnological approaches aid in the cleanup of pollutants and contaminants in soil, water, and air.
• Waste Treatment: Microbial biotechnology contributes to the treatment of wastewater and the conversion of organic waste into useful products.

Research and Development

• Genomic Studies: Biotechnology facilitates genomic research, allowing scientists to sequence, analyze, and understand the genetic makeup of organisms.
• Stem Cell Research: Advances in biotechnology play a crucial role in stem cell research, with implications for regenerative medicine.

Why Start a Biotechnology Business?

Starting a biotechnology business is not merely a business venture. It is a commitment to shaping the future of science, healthcare, and sustainability. Entrepreneurs in the biotechnology sector are driven by a confluence of factors that make this field uniquely compelling. Here are compelling reasons to consider starting a biotechnology business:

• Biotechnology has the power to revolutionize industries
• Provide medical solutions
• Biotechnology in agriculture offers solutions for sustainable farming, crop improvement, and environmentally friendly practices.
• Provide cleaner, greener Solutions
• Biotechnology businesses can contribute to global health by developing vaccines, treatments, and diagnostic tools that address prevalent diseases and health disparities.
• Intellectual Satisfaction
• High growth potential

List of 20 Biotechnology Business Ideas

1. genetic testing services.

Offering genetic testing services that provide individuals with insights into their genetic makeup, health risks, and ancestry. This can include testing for hereditary diseases, personalized nutrition plans, and even genealogy services.

• Empower individuals to make informed health decisions.
• Taps into the growing interest in personalized medicine.

2. Precision Medicine Development

You can focus on the development of precision medicine, tailoring medical treatments to individual characteristics. It can be genetic makeup and targeted therapies for cancer and other diseases.

• Enhances treatment efficacy while minimizing side effects.
• Positions the business at the forefront of medical innovation.

3. Agri clinic

A small-scale Agri clinic or agribusiness centre is one of the best businesses in the biotechnology industry to start on agricultural land. Establishing agri clinics that provide agricultural consultancy services to farmers. This can include crop management advice, soil testing, nutrient deficiency charts, seed testing, pest control strategies, and the introduction of innovative farming techniques.

• Supports farmers with expert guidance.
• Creates a channel for disseminating agricultural innovations.

4. Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing

Establishing a biopharmaceutical manufacturing unit to produce biologics, including monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and other therapeutic proteins. This is a critical sector within the pharmaceutical industry.

• Addresses the increasing demand for biologically derived drugs.
• Offers opportunities for collaboration with pharmaceutical companies.

5. Biodegradable Plastics Production

Leveraging biotechnology to develop and produce biodegradable plastics as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastics. This contributes to the reduction of plastic pollution.

• Aligns with global sustainability goals.
• Addresses environmental concerns associated with plastic waste.

6. Biofertilizer Manufacturing

This is one of the best-emerging businesses in the biotechnology industry. Biofertilizers are living microorganisms of bacterial, fungal, and algal origin. The awareness of using biofertilizers, among farmers is increasing rapidly. Biofertilizer manufacturing is very popular among profitable biotech business ideas in the agriculture sector. Apart from this, biofertilizers are essential items for organic farming. Some of the most popular biofertilizers are Rhizobium, Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Blue-green Algae, Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms, etc.

• Improves soil health and fertility.
• Reduces reliance on chemical fertilizers.

7. Biopesticide Manufacturing

Biopesticides are Plant Protection Products that contain Biological Control Agents (BCAs) as microbial, pheromones, and plant extracts. They are typically used in combination with conventional chemical pesticides in the framework of the Pest Integrated Management (IPM) to safeguard the health of the roots, the plant growth, and the quality of the crop, to reduce the occurrence of resistance and to lower residue levels.

• Addresses environmental concerns associated with chemical pesticides.
• Promotes integrated pest management.

8. Compost Fertilizer Production

You can initiate a compost fertilizer production unit in small towns, rural areas, and urban areas. You can start this business with crop waste, vegetable waste, and kitchen waste. Additionally, you can start the unit with a small capital investment. Read More…

• Converts organic waste into valuable fertilizer.
• Enhances soil structure and water retention.

9. Synthetic Biology Applications

Exploring synthetic biology applications to engineer biological systems for various purposes, such as biofuel production, industrial processes, and environmental remediation.

Offers innovative solutions to complex challenges. Explores the potential of bioengineering in diverse industries.

10. Stem Cell Therapy Clinics

Establishing clinics that specialize in stem cell therapies for various medical conditions. This includes regenerative medicine applications for tissue repair and disease treatment.

• Capitalizes on the growing interest in regenerative medicine.
• Addresses a range of medical conditions with innovative therapies.

11. Bioinformatics Services

Overview: Providing bioinformatics services that analyze and interpret biological data, especially in genomics and proteomics. This can include data management, analysis, and interpretation for research institutions and biotech companies.

Supports advancements in genomics and personalized medicine. Serves as a crucial component in drug discovery and development.

12. Agricultural Biotechnology Solutions

Developing biotechnology solutions for agriculture, such as genetically modified crops for enhanced yield, disease resistance, and nutritional value. This can also include sustainable agricultural practices.

Addresses food security challenges. Promotes environmentally friendly farming practices.

13. Microbial Bioremediation Services

Offering services that utilize microbial bioremediation to clean up environmental pollutants. This can include the remediation of oil spills, wastewater treatment, and soil restoration.

• Provides eco-friendly solutions to environmental challenges.
• Aligns with sustainability and corporate responsibility initiatives.

14. Neurotechnology Innovations

Venturing into neurotechnology to develop innovations such as brain-machine interfaces, neurostimulation devices, and diagnostic tools for neurological disorders.

• Contributes to advancements in neuroscience and neurology.
• Addresses the growing prevalence of neurological conditions.

15. Biodiesel Production

Bio-diesel production units can be established on a small-scale basis at any place where the main raw material Jatropha oil is easily available. Setting up a biodiesel production unit that utilizes crops or waste to produce biofuels. This promotes sustainable energy sources and reduces dependence on fossil fuels.

• Contributes to renewable energy solutions.
• Utilizes agricultural resources efficiently.

16. Food Processing

You can consider integrating biotechnological processes into food processing units. This can include developing genetically modified crops for enhanced nutritional content or using enzymes for food preservation.

17. Hybrid Seeds

The production of high-yield seeds is one of the most profitable businesses in the biotechnology industry. Good quality vegetable seeds, fruit seeds, and flower seeds are in high demand.

• Addresses the demand for high-yielding and resilient crop varieties.
• Supports sustainable agriculture practices.

18. Specialty Medicine Manufacturing

A Medicinal product is defined as any substance or combination of substances presented for treating or preventing disease in human beings. Any substance or combination of substances that may be administered to human beings to make a medical diagnosis or to restore, correct, or modify physiological functions in human beings is likewise considered a medicinal product.

• Provides targeted healthcare solutions for livestock.
• Explores the potential of biopharmaceuticals in animal health.

19. Vaccine Manufacturing

You can think of establishing a vaccine manufacturing unit for livestock to prevent and control diseases. This contributes to the overall health and productivity of agricultural animals. This business demands substantial capital investment even to start on a small scale.

• Enhances animal welfare and productivity.
• Addresses health challenges in the agricultural sector.

20. Vermicompost Production

You can Create a vermicompost production facility that utilizes earthworms to convert organic waste into nutrient-rich vermicompost. This supports organic farming practices. It is sometimes superior to chemical fertilizers for better crop growth and safe food production. The business is very profitable. You can start with a small capital investment.

• Produces high-quality organic fertilizer.
• Promotes sustainable waste management.

Related:  Top Agriculture Business Ideas 

Frequently Asked Questions

What qualifications or expertise do i need to start a biotechnology business.

Answer: While a background in biology, biochemistry, or related fields is advantageous, an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for innovation are key. Collaborating with experts and staying informed about the latest advancements in biotechnology is essential.

How can I secure funding for a biotechnology startup?

Explore various funding options, including venture capital, government grants, angel investors, and partnerships with research institutions. A robust business plan outlining the potential impact of your biotechnology solution can attract investors.

Are there regulatory considerations for launching a biopharmaceutical manufacturing unit?

Yes, regulatory compliance is crucial. Work closely with regulatory authorities to ensure adherence to safety, quality, and ethical standards. Engage with professionals experienced in navigating the regulatory landscape.

What challenges might I face in the production of biodegradable plastics?

Challenges may include finding sustainable raw materials, achieving cost-effective production, and ensuring the biodegradability of the final product. Research and development are key to overcoming these challenges.

How can I stay updated on the latest advancements in bioinformatics for my services?

Subscribe to scientific journals, attend conferences, and engage with online forums and communities in the field of bioinformatics. Establish collaborations with researchers and institutions to stay at the forefront of advancements.

Is there public acceptance of genetically modified crops in agriculture?

Public acceptance can vary. Transparent communication about the benefits, safety measures, and ethical considerations of genetically modified crops is essential. Engaging with communities and addressing concerns contributes to public trust.

What are the ethical considerations in stem cell therapy clinics?

Ethical considerations include informed consent, patient privacy, and responsible use of stem cells. Adhere to ethical guidelines and collaborate with healthcare professionals to ensure ethical practices in stem cell therapies.

How can I ensure the environmental safety of microbial bioremediation services?

Conduct thorough research on the specific microorganisms used in bioremediation, their environmental impact, and potential risks. Collaborate with environmental scientists and regulatory bodies to implement safe and effective bioremediation solutions.

Are there intellectual property considerations in biotechnology businesses?

Yes, protecting intellectual property is crucial. Consider patents for novel inventions, trademarks for branding, and trade secrets for confidential processes. Consult with intellectual property professionals to safeguard your innovations.

How can I navigate the challenges of launching neurotechnology innovations?

Neurotechnology faces challenges related to ethical concerns, regulatory approval, and the complexity of the human brain. Collaborate with neuroscientists, ethicists, and regulatory experts to address these challenges responsibly.

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Business Plans for Scientists

Every business plan is different, and you shouldn’t feel obliged to stick to any particular format. If you can make a better case for your business by changing the format, then do so. After all, the point of the business plan is to state what your business will be doing and why it will be successful. Making the document look and feel like a standard business plan is secondary. Whatever you do, just make sure you include all the necessary information.

In general, I like my scientific business plans to include the following sections:

• Company Overview – The company overview should be a one to three sentence description of your company. This should be very similar to your elevator pitch. It should be to the point, effectively get the readers attention, and explain the company as concisely as possible.
• Mission Statement – Your company’s mission statement should effectively state the purpose of the company. Don’t brush this off. Write a mission statement that will be able to guide the strategy and high-level decision making down the road. A mission statement is not a marketing tool, but it should read well.
• Management – Introduce your management team. Give some background on them and highlight their strengths as it pertains to the venture and their position within it. A poor management team can easily drive away investors, so be sure that your team looks good both on paper and in person. You should have enough talent on your team to realize your objectives. If there are any key skill gaps that will be addressed through outsourcing, be sure to address those in your operating plan.
• Market Analysis – This is where you really start to get into the meat and potatoes of the document, so to speak. The market analysis should give information on competition, market size, trends, challenges and opportunities the market presents, etc. As appropriate, you’ll need to be both descriptive and quantitative, and you will definitely need to back up your numbers. Do your homework, include references as appropriate, and make sure you back up your statements.
• Scientific Background – This is where you start talking about your product specifically. Since scientific products are highly technical in nature, you will need to show that your product will work as you claim and also that it will meet the needs of the market that you have just identified. If you can, reference published literature. If you’ve built a working prototype, show some results of testing.
• Marketing Plan – How will you market your product? How will you position your product within the marketplace to achieve the projected market share and hit your targets? What marketing channels will you use? You’ve addressed the market in your market analysis, but this is where you address how your company will interact with that market.
• Operating Plan – How your new biotech business will operate. You don’t have to go into minutiae, but if there are any important considerations, make sure to include them. Address operational difficulties and areas that would not be considered obvious. Again, if you plan on outsourcing anything be sure to address that here.
• Projections – The projections, which can also be referred to as the “financial plan”, etc., is where you will make the case that your venture is worth investing in. Extend your projections out to a relevant but not-too-distant time point. What should that time point be? That will be different for every company and would be based on your projected product development time, how long you project until your product goes to market, and what the life cycle of the product will be, and any other relevant factors. Revenues always involve some guesswork, but make sure that your cost estimates are very close. Also, don’t overestimate your revenues or no one will believe that you’re capable of hitting your targets. It’s better to have a slightly worse financial outlook that’s defensible
• Long Term Vision – Are there any important long-term goals or achievements for your life science start-up that would be important to partners or investors? Do you have plans for expansion into new markets to build on successes in your company’s early years? Those are some things to think about when writing a long-term vision.
• Disclaimer – Ever read a corporate financial statement where they give a disclaimer about “forward-looking statements”? You need to include something similar to protect yourself from liability. It won’t be a full section, per se, but it should constitute some small print at the end of the body of the document. Basically, your disclaimer should state that projections are subject to risks, not guaranteed, and that you nor your company are liable if they turn out to be incorrect.

Keep in mind this is just how I frame many of the scientific business plans that I write. I don’t even always stick to this format, so you shouldn’t feel obliged to either. This is merely a guideline.

A few other tips… Graphs, charts, and supporting data that is too long to put in the body of the business plan should go into figures and appendices. You’ll probably want a copyright notice in the footer. Don’t forget to include trademark symbols next to any slogans or names that you plan on claiming.

Some may want to include a section about risks and projected difficulties to show that you understand your limitations, are addressing them, and have contingency plans in case any of them become problems. I sit on the fence about this. While I certainly think you need to have thought about these issues in the event that they are asked, I don’t always think that including them in a business plan is a good idea. The business plan is supposed to sell people on the idea of your business, and listing all the drawbacks doesn’t do that. If there are obvious risks or obstacles, however, then you should definitely address them.

At the end of the day, your life science start-up should be able to create a business plan that is every bit as “bulletproof” as your idea. If you’re not a veteran at starting companies then there are likely issues you haven’t thought of. The creation of a business plan is a good way to expose those issues so you can address them before attempting to attract investors or launching your company and having unrecognized issues impact your bottom line. Remember that the business plan should show the value and merits of your idea, your understanding of the marketplace, and your ability to execute and realize commercial value. For maximum effect, don’t hesitate to modify the format and structure of the business plan to the unique needs of your biotech start-up and keep in mind what the purpose is and who your audience will be.

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BioStartup Advice

Writing a Business Plan

You will need to write a business plan covering your mission and financial projections. The key steps are. . .

1. Executive Summary or Mission Statement

Your business’s focus, the products or services offered, ownership, and a summary of your plans.

2. Company Description

The company name, location, key people, history, nature of the business, and more details on what your company will offer.

3. Objectives

O bjectives or goals and how you will achieve them. This section may include funds needed and how you will use them.

4. Business and Management Structure

The legal structure of the business, key managers, and employees.

5. Products and Services and the Market

W hat the product or service is, how it works, the customer, pricing, sales and fulfillment strategy , and comparison to the competition.

6. Marketing and Sales Plan

The marketing strategy and how it will be executed.

7. Business Financial Analysis

Income, cash flow, or balance statements to date, if any.

8. Financial Projections

Have a year’s worth of burn rate in the bank because it can take that long to raise money. If you are seeking a loan, include a plan for how you will repay it.

How to Start a Business: A Step-by-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs – NerdWallet. 2021.

Resources on Business Plans

Sample Biotechnology Business Plan – A template and a sample plan by ProfitableVenture.com.

Write Your Business Plan – US Small Business Administration

How to Start a Biotech Company – By Tajonar A. Mol Biol Cell. 2014 Nov 1; 25(21): 3280–83. doi 10.1091/mbc.E14-06-1162.

General Tips for Business Planning

• Don’t spend time developing the perfect plan in every detail. Make decisions quick enough to keep forward momentum. Most of your decisions will be right or good enough.
• Focus and prioritization are important. Do what matters most first. Focus on just one thing at a time.
• You don’t have to become good at running everything. Consider finding a cofounder or partner whose strengths complement yours.
• For procrastination or time management problems, use a project management system and work in time chunks, then move on to the next task. You could also partner with a cofounder who successfully keeps things on track.
• Be sure to consider personal needs while developing your business plan. For example, if you plan on not having an income for the first six months, you need to consider what you will live on.

Source: Gascoigne Adriana. Tech Boss Lady: How to Start-up, Disrupt, and Thrive as a Female Founder . Seale Press. October 9, 2018. Book written by the founder of Girls in Tech .

This project is funded by National Institute of General Medical Sciences (Grants 1R43 GM131458-01 & 2R GM131458-02)

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Improving A Business Plan

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The director of one of a life science company’s business units was hoping to reduce the size and complexity of his division’s business plan. As the initiative’s deadline approached, it became clear that he needed help gathering, synthesizing, and then paring down tactics and budgets from all of his managers.

Business Talent Group connected him with an independent life science operations specialist who could serve both as project manager and strategic adviser. This consultant coordinated across the unit to assess goals and tactics, then began to synthesize them into a comprehensive project map. He coordinated multiple rounds of review and delivered a final product that was easier to understand and update and gave the director better insight into the unit’s plans for the year.

Value : A smart, streamlined business plan that was easier to understand and update.

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Berkeley Berkeley Academic Guide: Academic Guide 2023-24

Life science, business, and entrepreneurship.

About the Program

The Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship (LSBE) Program is designed to help students bridge scientific inquiry and research with entrepreneurship and commercial application. LSBE offers specialized coursework taught by award-winning faculty, networking opportunities and specialized career coaching, and mentoring opportunities within a peer-to-peer cohort of students who are working to become future leaders and innovators. 

Through LSBE, students will earn a BS in Business Administration and a BA in Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) in the emphasis of your choice: Biochemistry, Biophysics & Structural Biology; Cell Biology, Development, and Physiology; Genetics, Genomics, Evolution & Development; Immunology & Molecular Medicine; Molecular Therapeutics; or Neurobiology.

Admission to LSBE is highly competitive and open only to students who enter UC Berkeley as freshmen. Course planning begins during freshman year, and s tudents apply for admission to LSBE during the fall of sophomore year. All prerequisite requirements for Business and MCB must be completed by the end of sophomore year.

Students who complete the Program will be uniquely advantaged for careers in a variety of innovative industries and research institutions and will be competitive applicants to graduate programs including pre-health, bio sciences , MBA, and beyond.

Visit Program Website

Major Requirements

• Biochemistry, Biophysics, & Structural Biology 
• Cell Biology, Development & Physiology
• Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development
• Immunology & Molecular Medicine
• Molecular Therapeutics
• Neurobiology

LSBE Program plans can be found on our website .

College Requirements

Undergraduate students must fulfill the following requirements in addition to those required by their major program.

For detailed lists of courses that fulfill college requirements, please review the  College of Letters & Sciences  page in this Guide. For College advising appointments, please visit the L&S Advising Pages. 

University of California Requirements

Entry level writing.

All students who will enter the University of California as freshmen must demonstrate their command of the English language by fulfilling the Entry Level Writing requirement. Fulfillment of this requirement is also a prerequisite to enrollment in all reading and composition courses at UC Berkeley. 

American History and American Institutions

The American History and Institutions requirements are based on the principle that a US resident graduated from an American university, should have an understanding of the history and governmental institutions of the United States.

Berkeley Campus Requirement

American cultures.

All undergraduate students at Cal need to take and pass this course in order to graduate. The requirement offers an exciting intellectual environment centered on the study of race, ethnicity and culture of the United States. AC courses offer students opportunities to be part of research-led, highly accomplished teaching environments, grappling with the complexity of American Culture.

College of Letters & Science Essential Skills Requirements

Quantitative reasoning.

The Quantitative Reasoning requirement is designed to ensure that students graduate with basic understanding and competency in math, statistics, or computer science. The requirement may be satisfied by exam or by taking an approved course.

Foreign Language

The Foreign Language requirement may be satisfied by demonstrating proficiency in reading comprehension, writing, and conversation in a foreign language equivalent to the second semester college level, either by passing an exam or by completing approved course work.

Reading and Composit ion

In order to provide a solid foundation in reading, writing, and critical thinking the College requires two semesters of lower division work in composition in sequence. Students must complete parts A & B reading and composition courses in sequential order by the end of their fourth semester.

College of Letters & Science 7 Course Breadth Requirements

Breadth requirements.

The undergraduate breadth requirements provide Berkeley students with a rich and varied educational experience outside of their major program. As the foundation of a liberal arts education, breadth courses give students a view into the intellectual life of the University while introducing them to a multitude of perspectives and approaches to research and scholarship. Engaging students in new disciplines and with peers from other majors, the breadth experience strengthens interdisciplinary connections and context that prepares Berkeley graduates to understand and solve the complex issues of their day.

Unit Requirements

120 total units

Of the 120 units, 36 must be upper division units

• Of the 36 upper division units, 6 must be taken in courses offered outside your major department

Residence Requirements

For units to be considered in "residence," you must be registered in courses on the Berkeley campus as a student in the College of Letters & Science. Most students automatically fulfill the residence requirement by attending classes here for four years, or two years for transfer students. In general, there is no need to be concerned about this requirement, unless you go abroad for a semester or year or want to take courses at another institution or through UC Extension during your senior year. In these cases, you should make an appointment to meet an adviser to determine how you can meet the Senior Residence Requirement.

Note: Courses taken through UC Extension do not count toward residence.

Senior Residence Requirement

After you become a senior (with 90 semester units earned toward your BA degree), you must complete at least 24 of the remaining 30 units in residence in at least two semesters. To count as residence, a semester must consist of at least 6 passed units. Intercampus Visitor, EAP, and UC Berkeley-Washington Program (UCDC) units are excluded.

You may use a Berkeley Summer Session to satisfy one semester of the Senior Residence requirement, provided that you successfully complete 6 units of course work in the Summer Session and that you have been enrolled previously in the college.

Modified Senior Residence Requirement

Participants in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP), Berkeley Summer Abroad, or the UC Berkeley Washington Program (UCDC) may meet a Modified Senior Residence requirement by completing 24 (excluding EAP) of their final 60 semester units in residence. At least 12 of these 24 units must be completed after you have completed 90 units.

Upper Division Residence Requirement

You must complete in residence a minimum of 18 units of upper division courses (excluding UCEAP units), 12 of which must satisfy the requirements for your major.

Plan of Study

Each student's plan will vary depending on MCB emphasis and AP/IB exam scores, if applicable.  Speak with the LSBE Student Experience Specialist to discuss your academic plan in more detail.

The sample course schedules below show a four-year plan for completing all program requirements, taking classes only during fall and spring semesters. Many courses are offered during the summer, as well. Please note that the MCB degree can be completed in 9 different ways, so the plan below indicates "MCB UD" for an MCB upper-division course that will depend on the emphasis you choose to pursue during your junior and senior years. You should meet with the LSBE Associate Director to discuss your options in detail.  

Plan Notes:

• This plan assumes one Breadth course will also be an AC course.
• This plan assumes the student has completed the Entry Level Writing, American History and Institutions, and Foreign Language requirement prior to admission to UC Berkeley.
• This plan assumes the student does not require CHEM 32  or MATH 32 .
• This plan assumes exam score or prior course works will fulfill R&C A .
• BIOLOGY 1A , BIOLOGY 1B , MCELLBI 102 , or MCELLBI C100A  will fulfill Biological Sciences Breadth
• CHEM 1A , CHEM 3A , or CHEM 3B  will fulfill Physical Sciences Breadth
• Molecular Cell Biology accepts AP for BIOLOGY 1A / BIOLOGY 1AL , BIOLOGY 1B  and CHEM 1A / CHEM 1AL  if not planning post-BA health-related programs. Talk with the LSBE advisor about this option.
• Haas accepts AP for Economics.

Major Maps help undergraduate students discover academic, co-curricular, and discovery opportunities at UC Berkeley based on intended major or field of interest. Developed by the Division of Undergraduate Education in collaboration with academic departments, these experience maps will help you:

Explore  your major and gain a better understanding of your field of study

Connect  with people and programs that inspire and sustain your creativity, drive, curiosity and success

Discover  opportunities for independent inquiry, enterprise, and creative expression

Engage  locally and globally to broaden your perspectives and change the world

Reflect  on your academic career and prepare for life after Berkeley

Use the major map below as a guide to planning your undergraduate journey and designing your own unique Berkeley experience.

View the Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship Major Map PDF.

Life Sciences, Business, and Entrepreneurship Program staff are available on the third floor of the Valley Life Sciences Building in room 3060. Advising hours are Monday - Thursday 9:00 - 4:00 and Friday 9:00 - 3:00. The office closes for lunch from 12:00 - 1:00 every day. Check our website for details regarding our advising hours as they are subject to change throughout the year. To schedule an appointment or for more information about the Program, email [email protected]. 

Related Courses

Mcellbi 15 current topics in the biological sciences 2 units.

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Students in this course will critically examine modern methods of biological investigations and their social implications. Relevant literature will be used to present basic biological concepts that address the cultural, technological and health aspects of current topics in the biological sciences. Designing and evaluating scientific questions will be stressed. Current Topics in the Biological Sciences: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Suitable for freshmen who plan to major in a biological science

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Lecture and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Molecular and Cell Biology/Undergraduate

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam not required.

Instructor: Matsui

Current Topics in the Biological Sciences: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 24 Freshman Seminars 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Final assessment to be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Freshman Seminars: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Open to freshmen only

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week

Additional Format: One hour of seminar per week.

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Alternative to final exam.

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 90A

Freshman Seminars: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C31 Big Ideas in Cell Biology 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2012 An introduction for students who do not intend to major in biology but who wish to satisfy their breadth requirement in Biological Sciences. Some major concepts of modern biology, ranging from the role of DNA and the way cells communicate, to interactions of cells and creatures with their environment, will be discussed without jargon and with attention to their relevance in contemporary life and culture. Big Ideas in Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required.

Instructor: Wilt

Also listed as: L & S C30X

Big Ideas in Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 32 Introduction to Human Physiology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Fall 2023 A comprehensive introduction to human biology. The course will concentrate on basic mechanisms underlying human life processes, including cells and membranes; nerve and muscle function; cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and gastrointestinal physiology; metabolism, endocrinology, and reproduction. Introduction to Human Physiology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: One year high school or college chemistry

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Six hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks.

Instructor: Ball

Introduction to Human Physiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 32L Introduction to Human Physiology Laboratory 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 Experiments and demonstrations are designed to amplify and reinforce information presented in 32. Exercises include investigations into the structure and function of muscle, nerve, cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, endocrine, and blood systems. Introduction to Human Physiology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 32 or may be taken concurrently

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 3 hours of laboratory per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 8 hours of laboratory per week 8 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 6 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Two hours of lecture and six hours of laboratory per week for 8 weeks. Two hours of lecture and eight hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Introduction to Human Physiology Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 38 Stem Cell Biology, Ethics and Societal Impact 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Innovations in bioengineering and use of stem cells will significantly impact our ability to combat human disease, genetic disorders and physiological dysfunction. An understanding of human stem cell biology will be critical to make informed decisions on our health and public policy. Stem Cell Biology, Ethics and Societal Impact: Read More [+]

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit with instructor consent.

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.

Instructors: Firestone, Ball

Stem Cell Biology, Ethics and Societal Impact: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 41 Genetics and Society 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2013, Summer 2012 8 Week Session Basic communication of inheritance; gene mapping; gene expression and genetic disease in animals and humans; social inheritance of genetics. Genetics and Society: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Primarily for students not specializing in biology

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Molecular and Cell Biology 41 after completing Biology 1A, Biology 1B, or Letters and Science 18.

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Lecture and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. Six hours of Lecture and Two hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Genetics and Society: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C44 Biology for Voters 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2014 This is a Discovery Course for non-Biology majors designed to introduce lower-division college students to biology through the lens of the contemporary problems facing people, the planet and the species of the planet. Modern genetic contributions will be presented on such issues as genetic engineering of plants and animals, the emergence of new pathogens, the role of genetic variation among individuals, and the extent to which DNA is and isn’t destiny. Each week will close with the presentation and discussion of a defining biological challenge facing the world. Biology for Voters: Read More [+]

Objectives & Outcomes

Student Learning Outcomes: The learning objectives will be, at one end, to understand what an experiment is, how is it controlled and what does one need to know about an experiment to be able to rely upon any conclusion. That is the fundamental issue in all science, and is frequently overlooked in many media accounts of science. A second objective is to learn enough of the language of biology to be able to ask the kind of informed questions that we would want all elected representatives to pay attention to. A third objective is for students to cultivate confidence that through non-specialized information sources they can become informed consumers of contemporary scientific thought, and to develop those habits of intellect to think about evidence in a scientific manner. A fourth objective is for students to enjoy the abundance of high quality books, articles and multimedia that will enable a lifetime of discovery outside the structure of a college course.

Instructors: Rine, Urnov

Also listed as: L & S C30Y

Biology for Voters: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 50 The Immune System and Disease 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Course will discuss how the immune system resolves, prevents, or causes disease. A general overview of the immune system will be covered in the first five weeks followed by five weeks discussing infectious diseases including anthrax, mad cow, herpes, malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. In addition, other lectures will focus on current immunology topics including vaccines, autoimmunity, allergy, transplantation, and cancer. The Immune System and Disease: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: High school chemistry or Chemistry 1A and high school biology or Biology 1A. Biology 1AL is not required

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Molecular and Cell Biology 50 after completing Molecular and Cell Biology 102, C100A/Chemistry C130, or Chemistry 135.

Instructor: Beatty

The Immune System and Disease: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 55 Plagues and Pandemics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 Discussion of how infectious agents cause disease and impact society at large. We will examine historical and current examples of plagues and pandemics and consider the question of what we should do to ameliorate the impact of infectious disease in the future. The course is intended for non-majors and will begin by briefly providing necessary background in microbiology and immunology. The primary focus in each subsequent week, however, will be on discussing a particular infectious disease. The course will be broad in scope covering biological, historical, ethical and social implications of each disease. Plagues and Pandemics: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI 55 after completing CHEM C130 , MCELLBI 150 , MCELLBI C103 , MCELLBI 102 , or CHEM 135 .

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Instructors: Beatty, Vance

Plagues and Pandemics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 63L Introduction to Neuroanatomy Lab 2 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2019 Second 6 Week Session This lab course is an introduction to mammalian neuroanatomy for non-MCB majors. We will do dissections, explore physical anatomical models, and observe microscopic structures within preserved brain slices from a variety of mammalian species. The hands-on exploration of anatomy is key to understanding how the different functional regions of the nervous system are interconnected. Besides gaining a better understanding of anatomy, you will gain important scientific skills such as conducting parts of a neurological exam, fluorescent and light microscopy, reading MRI scans and conducting fine dissections. The course will culminate with a group project using the online Allen Brain Atlas to investigate a novel scientific question. Introduction to Neuroanatomy Lab: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI 63 (may be taken concurrently) or equivalent

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Molecular and Cell Biology 63L after taking Molecular and Cell Biology 160L or 163L

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Eight hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternative to final exam.

Introduction to Neuroanatomy Lab: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C75 Introduction to the Biotechnology Field and Industry 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2019 This course offers an introduction to the field of biotechnology and will cover the history of the field, its impact on medicine and society, key methodologies, important therapeutic areas, and the range of career options available in the biopharmaceutical industry. In addition to lectures on innovation and entrepreneurship, students will hear from lecturers with expertise ranging from molecular biology to clinical trial design and interpretation. Several case studies of historically impactful scientists, entrepreneurs, and biotherapeutic companies will be presented. Students will work in teams to create and develop novel biotechnology company ideas to present in class. Intended for students interested in the Biology+Business program. Introduction to the Biotechnology Field and Industry: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week.

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Alternative to final exam.

Instructors: Kirn, Lasky

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology C95B/Undergrad. Business Administration C95B

Also listed as: UGBA C95B

Introduction to the Biotechnology Field and Industry: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 84B Sophomore Seminar 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2012 Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores. Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: At discretion of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 4-6 hours of seminar per week 8 weeks - 3-4 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: unit(s):one hour of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):two hours of seminar per week. unit(s):three hours of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):four hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks. unit(s):four hours of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):six hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks.

Grading/Final exam status: The grading option will be decided by the instructor when the class is offered. Final exam required.

Sophomore Seminar: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 88 Immunotherapy of Cancer: Success and Failures 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017 We will work with a variety of datasets that describe a molecular view of cells and how they divide. We will learn about the processes that cause cells to become specialized (differentiate) and to give rise to cancer (transform). We will analyze data on genetic mutations in cancer that distinguish tumor cells from normal cells. We will learn how mutations are detected by the immune system and the basis of cancer immunotherapy. Finally we will analyze data on clinical trials of cancer immunotherapy to define the correlates of success in curing the disease. The students are expected to gain an understanding of data that reveals the basics of cell physiology and cancer, how immunotherapies of cancer work and their current limitations. Immunotherapy of Cancer: Success and Failures: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Foundations of Data Science: COMPSCI C8 , DATASCI C8, INFO C8 or STAT C8

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 1 hour of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and one hour of laboratory per week.

Instructor: Shastri

Immunotherapy of Cancer: Success and Failures: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C96 Studying the Biological Sciences 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Students will be introduced to the "culture" of the biological sciences, along with an in-depth orientation to the academic life and the culture of the university as they relate to majoring in biology. Students will learn concepts, skills, and information that they can use in their major courses, and as future science professionals. Studying the Biological Sciences: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Additional Format: Two hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam required.

Also listed as: INTEGBI C96/PLANTBI C96

Studying the Biological Sciences: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 Lectures and small group discussions focusing on topics of interest, varying from semester to semester. Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Freshmen and sophomores only

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of directed group study per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture per week per unit.

Grading/Final exam status: Offered for pass/not pass grade only. Final exam not required.

Directed Group Study: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 99 Supervised Independent Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2012, Fall 2009, Spring 2009 Supervised Independent Study: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 3.3 GPA and consent of instructor

Credit Restrictions: One unit of credit is given for every three hours of work in the lab per week to a maximum of 4 units.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 1.5-6 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to four hours of independent study per week. One and one-half to six hours of independent study per week for 10 weeks. One and one-half to seven and one-half hours of independent study per week for 8 weeks.

Supervised Independent Study: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 100B Biochemistry: Pathways, Mechanisms, and Regulation 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course surveys cellular metabolism with a focus on the underlying bioenergetics, mechanisms, and chemistry. Lectures will cover major principles in the biochemistry of metabolism and also highlight selected topics including signaling, transport, metabolic engineering, and human diseases related to metabolic dysfunction. The course is designed for majors in the biochemistry and molecular biology, genetics and development, or immunology emphases. Biochemistry: Pathways, Mechanisms, and Regulation: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: C100A/Chemistry C130

Instructors: Savage, Zoncu, Marletta

Biochemistry: Pathways, Mechanisms, and Regulation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C100A Biophysical Chemistry: Physical Principles and the Molecules of Life 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Thermodynamic and kinetic concepts applied to understanding the chemistry and structure of biomolecules (proteins, DNA, and RNA). Molecular distributions, reaction kinetics, enzyme kinetics. Bioenergetics, energy transduction, and motor proteins. Electrochemical potential, membranes, and ion channels. Biophysical Chemistry: Physical Principles and the Molecules of Life: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Chemistry 3A or 112A, Mathematics 1A, Biology 1A and 1AL; Chemistry 3B or 112B recommended

Summer: 8 weeks - 5.5 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. Five and one-half hours of Lecture and Two hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks.

Also listed as: CHEM C130

Biophysical Chemistry: Physical Principles and the Molecules of Life: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 102 Survey of the Principles of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Spring 2024 A comprehensive survey of the fundamentals of biological chemistry, including the properties of intermediary metabolites, the structure and function of biological macromolecules, the logic of metabolic pathways (both degradative and biosynthetic) and the molecular basis of genetics and gene expression. Survey of the Principles of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 1A and CHEM 3B with minimum grades of C- (or equivalent courses). Recommended: a course in physical chemistry

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for 102 after taking 100B or C100A/Chemistry C130 or Chemistry 135.

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 10 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Four hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 10 weeks. Six hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks.

Survey of the Principles of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C103 Bacterial Pathogenesis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course for upper division and graduate students will explore the molecular and cellular basis of microbial pathogenesis. The course will focus on model microbial systems which illustrate mechanisms of pathogenesis. Most of the emphasis will be on bacterial pathogens of mammals, but there will be some discussion of viral and protozoan pathogens. There will be an emphasis on experimental approaches. The course will also include some aspects of bacterial genetics and physiology, immune response to infection, and the cell biology of host-parasite interactions. Bacterial Pathogenesis: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 1A and CHEM 3B

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI C103 after completing PB HLTH 262 .

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week.

Instructor: Portnoy

Also listed as: PLANTBI C103

Bacterial Pathogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 104 Genetics, Genomics, and Cell Biology 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Spring 2024 This course will introduce students to key concepts in genetic analysis, eukaryotic cell biology, and state-of-the-art approaches in genomic medicine. Lectures will highlight basic knowledge of cellular processes with the basis for human diseases, particularly cancer. Prerequisite courses will have introduced students to the concepts of cells, the central dogma of molecular biology, and gene regulation. Emphasis in this course will be on eukaryotic cell processes, including cellular organization, dynamics, and signaling. Genetics, Genomics, and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 1A

Genetics, Genomics, and Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 110 Molecular Biology: Macromolecular Synthesis and Cellular Function 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Molecular biology of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and their viruses. Mechanisms of DNA replication, transcription, translation. Structure of genes and chromosomes. Regulation of gene expression. Biochemical processes and principles in membrane structure and function, intracellular trafficking and subcellular compartmentation, cytoskeletal architecture, nucleocytoplasmic transport, signal transduction mechanisms, and cell cycle control. Molecular Biology: Macromolecular Synthesis and Cellular Function: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: C100A (may not be taken concurrently); Plan 1 Emphasis 1 (BMB) majors should take 100B prior to 110

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Molecular Biology: Macromolecular Synthesis and Cellular Function: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C110L General Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Experimental techniques of biochemistry and molecular biology, designed to accompany the lectures in Molecular and Cell Biology 100B and 110. General Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 110 (may be taken concurrently)

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-2 hours of lecture and 6-8 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture and six to eight hours of laboratory per week.

Also listed as: CHEM C110L

General Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C112 General Microbiology 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 10 Week Session, Fall 2023 This course will explore the molecular bases for physiological and biochemical diversity among members of the two major domains, Bacteria and Archaea. The ecological significance and evolutionary origins of this diversity will be discussed. Molecular, genetic, and structure-function analyses of microbial cell cycles, adaptive responses, metabolic capability, and macromolecular syntheses will be emphasized. General Microbiology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A and 1B

Summer: 10 weeks - 5 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Five hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week for 10 weeks.

Instructor: Ryan

Also listed as: PLANTBI C112

General Microbiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C112L General Microbiology Laboratory 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Students will become proficient in basic microbiology research methods and experimental design. The course covers fundamental principles and techniques of the microbiology lab including sterile technique, culturing, and microscopy. Students will learn these methods in the context of two structured, discovery-based research projects: predicting and analyzing the phenotypes of E. coli metabolic mutants , and isolating and characterizing bacteria with novel properties from environmental samples. Student will synthesize their results in the format of a Journal of Bacteriology research article and a scientific poster presentation. General Microbiology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: C112 (may be taken concurrently)

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of laboratory and 1 hour of discussion per week

Summer: 10 weeks - 6 hours of laboratory and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: One hour of discussion and four hours of laboratory per week. Two hours of discussion and six hours of laboratory per week for 10 weeks.

Instructors: Komeili, Traxler

Also listed as: PLANTBI C112L

General Microbiology Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C114 Introduction to Comparative Virology 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course will provide a comparative overview of virus life cycles and strategies viruses use to infect and replicate in hosts. We will discuss virus structure and classification and the molecular basis of viral reproduction, evolution, assembly, and virus-host interactions. Common features used during virus replication and host cellular responses to infection will be covered. Topics also included are common and emerging virus diseases , their control, and factors affecting their spread. Introduction to Comparative Virology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Introductory chemistry (Chemistry 1A or 3A-3B or equivalent) and introductory biology (Biology 1A, 1AL, and 1B or equivalent) and general biochemistry (Molecular and Cell Biology C100A or equivalent--preferably completed but may be taken concurrently)

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week.

Instructor: Glaunsinger

Also listed as: ESPM C138/PLANTBI C114

Introduction to Comparative Virology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C116 Microbial Diversity 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 This course for upper-division and graduate students will broadly survey myriad types of microbial organisms, both procaryote and eucaryote, using a phylogenetic framework to organize the concept of "biodiversity." Emphasis will be on the evolutionary development of the many biochemical themes, how they mold our biosphere, and the organisms that affect the global biochemistry. Molecular mechanisms that occur in different lineages will be compared and contrasted to illustrate fundamental biological strategies. Graduate students additionally should enroll in C216, Microbial Diversity Workshop. Microbial Diversity: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing. C112 or consent of instructor and organic chemistry (may be taken concurrently)

Instructor: Coates

Formerly known as: 116

Also listed as: PLANTBI C116

Microbial Diversity: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C117 Advanced Plant Biochemistry 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023 Students will build on the central metabolic pathways to learn about plant-specific metabolism from a more mechanistic perspective, including photosynthesis, regulation of sugar and starch metabolism, chloroplast-based pathways of inorganic nutrient (nitrogen, sulfur) processing, N2 fixing in free-living and symbiotic bacteria, polyunsaturated fatty acid and oil biosynthesis and accumulation, secondary metabolism, cell-wall structure and biosynthesis. Instruction will focus on a research-based approach, including retrieving and researching the primary literature, and understanding experimental design in modern plant biochemistry. Advanced Plant Biochemistry: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in MCELLBI C100A / CHEM C130 , MCELLBI 102 , MCELLBI 104 , MCELLBI 140 , PLANTBI 135 , or equivalent

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture, 1 hour of discussion, and 1 hour of tutorial per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion and one hour of tutorial per week.

Instructor: Merchant

Also listed as: PLANTBI C136

Advanced Plant Biochemistry: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 120 Therapeutics Discovery and Development 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023 This class is designed to introduce students to crucial concepts that underlie the discovery and development of therapeutic modalities. It will cover questions of target discovery and validation; basic properties of therapeutic modalities, such as small molecules, designer proteins, or genome engineering approaches; the design and execution of chemical screens; the medicinal chemistry, pharmacodynamics and -kinetics that is required for drug development; and the steps needed to introduce a new modality into the clinic. Lectures are based on a combination of textbook readings and primary literature and summarized through case studies that highlight critical aspects of drug discovery and development. Therapeutics Discovery and Development: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI 104 (can be taken concurrently) and MCELLBI C100A / CHEM C130 or MCELLBI 102

Instructor: Urnov

Therapeutics Discovery and Development: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 120L Therapeutics Discovery Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Not yet offered This lab course will familiarize students with general principles of drug discovery and action. The first module focuses on aspects of small molecule function by comparing stoichiometric inhibitors and PROTAC molecules against the BTK kinase. Students will learn how to purify protein, monitor drug binding and in vitro efficiency, and determine effects on cell survival. The second module focuses on genomic therapies by introducing students to principles of CRISPR genome editing. Students will design genome editing strategies and cognate guide RNAs and then perform an editing experiment that replaces a catalytic Cys residue in BTK with Ser. Students will compare stoichiometric inhibitors against BTK to PROTAC in wildtype or mutant cells. Therapeutics Discovery Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI C100A or MCELLBI 102

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 8 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and eight hours of laboratory per week.

Therapeutics Discovery Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C130 Cell Biology: from Discovery to Disease 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024 This course will investigate a wide range of topics in cell biology, focusing on modern and classic experimental approaches that have provided important insights, and the relevance of their findings to understanding human health and disease. We will emphasize the importance of quantitative understanding in research topics that are current areas of discovery. We aim to convey an understanding of how cellular structure and function arise as a result of the properties of macromolecules and how understanding the behavior of molecules is needed to explain how cells and organisms operate. This understanding thus also explains what happens when normal cellular functions are impacted, leading to cellular dysfunction and disease. Cell Biology: from Discovery to Disease: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Upper Division Standing; MCELLBI 102 or MCELLBI C100A

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI 130 after completing MCELLBI 130.

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 130

Also listed as: NUSCTX C130

Cell Biology: from Discovery to Disease: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 132 Biology of Human Cancer 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The course 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. Biology of Human Cancer: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A, 1AL, 1B and MCELLBI 102 ; MCELLBI 110 or 104 (may be taken concurrently)

Formerly known as: 135G

Biology of Human Cancer: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 133L Physiology and Cell Biology Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Experimental analyses of central problems in cell biology and physiology using modern techniques, including DNA cloning and protein biochemistry, fluorescence microscopy of the cytoskeleton and organelles, DNA transfection and cell cycle analysis of cultured mammalian cells, RNA interference and drug treatments to analyze ion channel function in cell contractility and intracellular signaling, and somatosensation. Physiology and Cell Biology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for 133L after taking 130L.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 7 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and seven hours of laboratory per week.

Physiology and Cell Biology Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C134 Genome Organization and Nuclear Dynamics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 This course focuses on the structure, functions, and dynamics of eukaryotic chromosomes and their organization within cell nuclei. All life on earth relies on genetic information, which is encoded within nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). Most organisms have DNA-based genomes; bacterial and archaeal genomes typically comprise a single circular DNA molecule, while the genomes of most eukaryotes are divided into a variable number of linear DNA molecules. These contiguous DNA strands, along with the associated proteins and other components that contribute to their organization and function, are known as “chromosomes.” Genome Organization and Nuclear Dynamics: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.

Instructors: Dernburg, Karpen

Also listed as: PLANTBI C134

Genome Organization and Nuclear Dynamics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 135A Topics in Cell and Developmental Biology: Molecular Endocrinology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Molecular mechanisms by which hormones elicit specific responses and regulate gene expression; hormone-receptor interaction; synthesis, transport and targeting of hormones, growth factors and receptors. Topics in Cell and Developmental Biology: Molecular Endocrinology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 1A . Recommended: MCELLBI 102 or MCELLBI C110A/ CHEM C130 (may be taken concurrently)

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Molecular and Cell Biology 135A after taking Physiology 142.

Instructor: Firestone

Topics in Cell and Developmental Biology: Molecular Endocrinology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 136 Physiology 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Principles of mammalian (primarily human) physiology emphasizing physical, chemical, molecular and cellular bases of functional biology. The following topics will be covered: cellular and membrane ion and nonelectrolyte transport; cell and endocrine regulation; autonomic nervous system regulation; skeletal, smooth and cardiac muscle; cardiovascular physiology; respiration; renal physiology; gastrointestinal physiology. Discussion section led by Graduate Student Instructor will review material covered in lecture. Physiology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A, 1AL, 1B, Physics 8A. Physics 8B recommended

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Molecular and Cell Biology 136 after completing Integrative Biology 132.

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 3 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Six hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks. Eight hours of lecture and three hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Physiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 137L Physical Biology of the Cell 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2020 Biology is being revolutionized by new experimental techniques that have made it possible to measure the inner workings of molecules, cells and multicellular organisms with unprecedented precision. The objective of this course is to explore this deluge of quantitative data through the use of biological numeracy. We will develop theoretical models that make precise predictions about biological phenomena. These predictions will be tested through the hands-on analysis of experimental data and by performing numerical simulations using Matlab. A laptop is required for this course, but no previous programming experience is required. Physical Biology of the Cell: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of laboratory per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of laboratory per week. Six hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory per week for 8 weeks.

Instructor: Garcia

Physical Biology of the Cell: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 140 General Genetics 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 An in depth introduction to genes, their sexual and asexual transmission in individuals and populations, and gene regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Gene manipulation by recombination, molecular cloning and genome editing is presented in contexts ranging from fundamental mechanisms of chromosome biology to applications in development, aging and disease. Human genetic variation and quantitative evaluation are illuminated. Non-Mendelian and epigenetic modes of inheritance of transposable elements, prions and chromatin states are paired with discussions of groundbreaking technology rewriting the rules of how the genome is analyzed, with attention to the ethical considerations ranging from the history of eugenics to modern controversies. General Genetics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A and 1AL

General Genetics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 140L Genetics Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Experimental techniques in classical and molecular genetics. Genetics Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Molecular and Cell Biology 104 or 140. May be taken concurrently

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 6 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Lecture and Six hours of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.

Genetics Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 141 Developmental Biology 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 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. Developmental Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 102 or C100A; Biology 1A, 1AL, and 1B; 110 or 130 recommended

Formerly known as: 131

Developmental Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 143 Evolution of Genomes, Cells, and Development 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2016, Fall 2015 This course is intended for upper-division undergraduates seeking an interactive course based on modern concepts in evolution and comparative genomics. The course will emphasize the contribution of molecular evolution to a series of seminal events in life's history: origin of life; origin of cells; origin of eukaryotes; origin of multicellularity; evolution of animal development; human origins. Evolution of Genomes, Cells, and Development: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A-1B and Molecular and Cell Biology C100A or 102; 104 or 140 recommended

Credit Restrictions: Student will receive no credit for 143 after taking Integrative Biology 163.

Instructor: King

Evolution of Genomes, Cells, and Development: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C144 Evolution 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023 An analysis of the patterns and processes of organic evolution. History and philosophy of evolutionary thought; the different lines of evidence and fields of inquiry that bear on the understanding of evolution. The major features and processes of evolution through geologic times; the generation of new forms and new lineages; extinction; population processes of selection, adaptation, and other forces; genetics, genomics, and the molecular basis of evolution; evolutionary developmental biology; sexual selection; behavorial evolution; applications of evolutionary biology to medical, agricultural, conservational, and anthropological research. Evolution: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for INTEGBI 160 after completing ZOOLOGY 109.

Instructor: Whiteman

Formerly known as: Integrative Biology 160

Also listed as: INTEGBI C160

Evolution: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C146 Data Science for Biology 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2007, Spring 2005 Biology has become a data science! This lab course aims for student curiosity to drive hands-on case studies and coding projects about biological applications of data science. The course design supports students’ development of fundamental and transferable computational and statistical skills for critically thinking about and using data in biology. Ethical considerations are interwoven throughout. This course offers projects with multiple levels of sophistication and complexity, enabling participation for students with varying levels of experience. Data Science for Biology: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: Students will become empowered to use basic coding approaches to access, work with, and analyze biological data Students will learn how to appropriately apply statistical tests to biological data Students will learn how to select and evaluate methods and tools for data analysis Students will understand how to grapple with the ethical considerations of biological data

Prerequisites: Biology 1A; Biology 1B (can be taken concurrently); Data C8 or equivalent statistics and programming experience

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Four hours of laboratory per week.

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Alternate method of final assessment during regularly scheduled final exam group (e.g., presentation, final project, etc.).

Instructors: Brenner, Eisen

Also listed as: BIO ENG C146/PLANTBI C146

Data Science for Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C148 Microbial Genomics and Genetics 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Course emphasizes bacterial and archaeal genetics and comparative genomics. Genetics and genomic methods used to dissect metabolic and development processes in bacteria, archaea, and selected microbial eukaryotes. Genetic mechanisms integrated with genomic information to address integration and diversity of microbial processes. Introduction to the use of computational tools for a comparative analysis of microbial genomes and determining relationships among bacteria, archaea, and microbial eukaryotes. Microbial Genomics and Genetics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Molecular and Cell Biology C100A/Chemistry C130 or Molecular and Cell Biology 102

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week 10 weeks - 5 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Five hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week for 10 weeks. Six hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks.

Instructors: Brenner, Taga

Also listed as: PLANTBI C148

Microbial Genomics and Genetics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 149 The Human Genome 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This is an upper division course for majors in MCB with an interest in an in-depth exploration of the forces that shape the human genome and the human population, as well as the ways that human genetic information can be used in medicine, ancestry and forensics. The course will combine lectures and discussion of research papers. The Human Genome: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI 110 and MCELLBI 140 , MCELLBI 104 or equivalent

Instructors: Eisen, Meyer, Rokhsar

The Human Genome: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 150 Molecular Immunology 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Fundamentals of immunology with emphasis on biochemical and molecular approaches to study of the immune system and its application in medicine and biotechnology. Topics covered include description of the immune system, antibody and T-cell receptor structure and function, genes of the immunoglobulin superfamily, cells and molecular mediators that regulate the immune response, allergy, autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, tissue and organ transplants , and tumor immunology. Molecular Immunology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: C100A/Chemistry C130, or 102

Molecular Immunology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 150L Immunology Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Experimental techniques in mammalian molecular biology and cellular immunology. Molecular techniques covered include PCR and recombinant DNA procedures such as gene cloning, gene transfer, DNA sequencing, Southern blot, and restriction mapping. Immunological techniques covered include cell culture and monoclonal antibody production, flow cytometry, ELISA, immunoprecipitation, and western blot. Immunology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Molecular and Cell Biology 150 (may be taken concurrently); consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 8 hours of laboratory and 1 hour of lecture per week

Formerly known as: Microbiology 103L

Immunology Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 153 Molecular Medicine 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The overarching goal of MCB153 is to convey to students the scientific and regulatory process by which therapeutic drugs are developed and created. After completing this course, students will have a firm understanding on the mechanism of action of several therapies used to fight disease. The course will cover areas such as the discovery and refinement of antibiotics, anti-virals, cancer therapies and CRISPR-based therapies. Furthermore, MCB153 will delve into disease areas not covered in other courses, such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases and neurological diseases. Lastly, MCB153 will implement a “case study” for each topic displaying real world challenges and solutions to treating complex diseases. Molecular Medicine: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 1A and MCELLBI 102 , MCELLBI C100A , or CHEM 135

Instructors: Dillin, Stanley

Molecular Medicine: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 160 Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 Comprehensive introductory survey of cellular and molecular neuroscience, including cellular neurophysiology, ion channel function, synaptic function and plasticity, sensory transduction, and brain development. Includes introduction to molecular basis of neurological disease. Analysis from the level of molecules to cells to simple circuits. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A and 1AL. Prerequisite or co-requisite: Physics 8B

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology C160/Neuroscience C160

Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 160L Neurobiology Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 Experimental analyses of properties and interactions of nerve cells and systems, illustrating principal features and current methods. Techniques employed include computer simulation of neuron properties, electrophysiological recording and stimulation of nerves and cells, digitally enhanced video imaging of outgrowth, fluorescence immunocytochemistry, analysis of sensory: CNS mapping, human-evoked potential recording, sensory psychophysics. Neurobiology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A, 1AL; Physics 8A, 8B; MCB 160 or equivalent (may be taken concurrently). Recommended: a course in physical chemistry

Additional Format: One hour of Lecture and Eight hours of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.

Neurobiology Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 166 Biophysical Neurobiology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 Electrochemistry and ion transport phenomena, equivalent circuits, excitability, action potentials, voltage clamp and the Hodgkin-Huxley model. Biophysical properties of ion channels. Statistical and electrophysiological models of synaptic transmission, Quantitative models for dendritic structure and neuronal morphogenesis. Sensory transduction, cellular networks as computational devices, information processing and transfer. Biophysical Neurobiology: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: 1) Derive equations for Nernst and GHK membrane potential from fundamental physics concepts. 2) Describe the experiments and theory underlying the Hodgkin-Huxley model. 3) Understand biophysical properties of gating particles called ion channels. 4) Apply and solve equivalent circuit models to describe resting and excitable cells, synaptic transmission and sensory transduction. 5) Use Poisson, Gaussian and binomial distributions to analyze the gating of ion channels, synaptic transmission, and absolute sensitivity of vision. 6) Model dendritic structure based on quantitative descriptors of shape and energy minimization theory. 7) Explain experiments and models of sensory transduction, neuronal integration and lateral inhibition.

Prerequisites: Biology 1A, 1AL, Physics 8A-8B, Chemistry 1A, 3A/3AL-3B, or consent of instructor

Instructors: Elul, Isacoff, Miller

Biophysical Neurobiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 168 Sensory Neuroscience 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 1995 Sensory cells monitor the environment to trigger behaviors required to feed, avoid danger and thrive. This interactive course combines lectures with instructor-led discussions of research from the scientific literature. Our goals are two fold. First, we will present current concepts in sensory neurobiology by illustrating how different sensory inputs govern homeostasis and behavior. Second, though discussions of scientific data, the course will foster critical thinking skills, and provide practice in drawing logical, evidence-based conclusions. Sensory Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI 160 or BIOLOGY 1A /1AL-1B, PHYSICS 8A -8B and consent of Instructor

Instructors: Lumpkin, Bautista

Sensory Neuroscience: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 170L Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session This laboratory course for majors in Chemical Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology is designed to have students learn the theory and practicality of modern laboratory science. The first and last third of the course will focus on Molecular Biology and Biochemistry where the students will learn basic skills and investigate the role of Kinesin 5 in Mitosis. In the middle Cell Biology portion of the course you will learn about cell structure and the cytoskeleton with an emphasis on microscopy techniques. Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI 102 , MCELLBI 104 , MCELLBI 110 or MCELLBI 140

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Molecular and Cell Biology 170L after taking Molecular and Cell Biology 133L, 140L or C110L/Chemistry C110L

Summer: 6 weeks - 5 hours of lecture and 14 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Five hours of lecture and fourteen hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Le Blanc

Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C175 Life Sciences, Business, and Entrepreneurship Capstone Course 4 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 Blended lecture / Project-based course where student teams build out a business plan for a mock biotech company, demonstrating advanced knowledge in therapeutics and business development. Throughout the course student teams will work toward a final project in which they will identify and present a technology overview, disease overview and explanation of unmet need, a development plan, a commercialization plan, risk mitigation strategy, and financials. Class will include field trips, guest lectures, and a pitch competition with prize. Life Sciences, Business, and Entrepreneurship Capstone Course: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Students must be in their fourth and final year of the Life Sciences, Business, and Entrepreneurship Program in order to enroll in this class

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week.

Instructors: Schaletzky, Dillin

Also listed as: UGBA C195C

Life Sciences, Business, and Entrepreneurship Capstone Course: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 180 Undergraduate Teaching of Biology 1A Laboratory 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2022 8 Week Session, Spring 2012, Spring 2007 Course consists of a weekly three-hour training session that focuses on laboratory techniques, instructional aids, and problem solving, plus an additional three hour weekly laboratory where the UGSI is required to assist a GSI in the instruction of laboratory (answering questions, providing demonstrations, etc.). Undergraduate Teaching of Biology 1A Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A, 1AL with a minimum grade of B. Appointment as a UGSI in biology by consent of instructor. Restricted to undergraduate students

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 4 units.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-6 hours of session per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 6-12 hours of session per week

Additional Format: Conference with instructor and teaching hours as assigned per week. Conference with instructor and teaching hours as assigned per week.

Undergraduate Teaching of Biology 1A Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 180C Undergraduate Teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology 32 Laboratory 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010 Course consists of a weekly three-hour training session that focuses on laboratory techniques, instructional aids, and problem solving, plus an additional three-hour weekly laboratory where the UGSI is required to assist a GSI in the instruction of laboratory (answering questions, providing demonstrations, etc.). Students will be graded on lecture and laboratory attendance and preparation of one quiz. Undergraduate Teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology 32 Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 32, 136, or Integrative Biology 132 and Molecular and Cell Biology 32L or Integrative Biology 132L laboratory courses in physiology with minimum grades of B. Appointment as a UGSI in physiology by consent of instructor

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5-15 hours of session per week 8 weeks - 5.5-11 hours of session per week

Undergraduate Teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology 32 Laboratory: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI N184 Intro to CRISPR: From Basic Biology to Genome Editing Technology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Summer 2024 3 Week Session, Summer 2023 3 Week Session, Summer 2022 3 Week Session This 3 week course will address topics in genome editing and CRISPR-Cas9 research, including basic and enhanced CRISPR methods, cellular repair mechanisms, regulation of gene expression, bioinformatics, applications to various organisms, and bioethics. Students will learn from a collection of local experts about ongoing campus research, and gain the background knowledge to understand current publications and applications of genome editing. Intro to CRISPR: From Basic Biology to Genome Editing Technology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 1A or equivalent

Summer: 3 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week for three weeks.

Instructors: Hockemeyer, Wilson

Intro to CRISPR: From Basic Biology to Genome Editing Technology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI N184L Intro to CRISPR Lab: From Basic Biology to Genome Editing Technology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Summer 2019 3 Week Session This 3 week lab course will focus on applications of CRISPR technology as a platform for genome editing and functional genomics. The program will consist of a hands-on laboratory experience demonstrating how CRISPR systems work in situ, as well as use genome editing both in vitro and in vivo. Students will utilize fundamental molecular biology techniques and learn additional protocols specific to genome editing. Two bioinformatics based lessons will cover the essential programs and analyses used in the genome editing field. This course requires concurrent enrollment in a lecture component ( MCELLBI N184 ), where lecturers will address topics in genome editing and CRISPR-Cas9 research. Intro to CRISPR Lab: From Basic Biology to Genome Editing Technology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Biology 1A/1AL or equivalent course. MCELLBI N184 (may be taken concurrently)

Summer: 3 weeks - 14 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Fourteen hours of laboratory per week for three weeks.

Intro to CRISPR Lab: From Basic Biology to Genome Editing Technology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 191 Senior Research Thesis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2020 This course is intended for advanced undergraduates wishing to pursue independent research projects under the mentorship of an Molecular and Cell Biology faculty member. To apply for MCELLBI 191 , the research project must be rigorous and provide significant training in biology. Senior Research Thesis: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor and departmental adviser

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI 191 after completing MCELLBI H196B , or MCELLBI H196A .

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 9 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 23 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 17 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 14 hours of independent study per week 12 weeks - 12 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Nine hours of independent study per week. Twelve hours of independent study per week for 12 weeks. Fourteen hours of independent study per week for 10 weeks. Seventeen hours of independent study per week for 8 weeks. Twenty three hours of independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Senior Research Thesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 194 Undergraduate Student Instructor for Molecular and Cell Biology Courses 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017 UGSIs will work under supervision of instructor and/or GSI. The UGSI will attend three hours of lecture per week where they will assist a GSI in instruction (answering questions, providing demonstrations, facilitating activities, etc.). In addition, UGSIs will meet with students from their section for zero to three hours of tutoring per week depending on the number of units. UGSIs do not evaluate students' work or assign grades. UGSIs will be graded on attendance and preparation of one lesson plan and one quiz. Required to attend any mandatory preparatory and review meetings. Undergraduate Student Instructor for Molecular and Cell Biology Courses: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Must have completed course applying to UGSI with a grade of B or better; or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3-3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 6-6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week. Six hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.

Undergraduate Student Instructor for Molecular and Cell Biology Courses: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI H196A Honors Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014 Individual research and thesis preparation under the supervision of a faculty member. Acceptance to the Molecular and Cell Biology Honors Program is required. Contact the MCB Undergraduate Affairs Office, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Building, for application and details. Honor students must complete at least two semesters of research, taking a minimum of 4 units and a maximum of 8 units of H196A-196B. If desired, one semester of 199 can be used to replace H196A. Honors Research: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Senior honors status and consent of instructor

Summer: 8 weeks - 1.5-7.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Individual laboratory research and conferences. Laboratory research and conferences. Individual laboratory research and conferences. Laboratory research and conferences.

Honors Research: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI H196B Honors Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2016, Spring 2015 Individual research and completion of thesis under the supervision of a faculty member. This course satisfies the thesis requirement for the Molecular and Cell Biology Department Honors Program. Contact the MCB Undergraduate Affairs Office, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Building, for program details and an application. Honor students must complete at least two semesters of research, taking a minimum of 4 units and a maximum of 8 units of H196A-196B. One semester of H196B is required. Honors Research: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Individual laboratory research and conferences. Individual laboratory research and conferences. Individual laboratory research and conferences. Individual laboratory research and conferences.

MCELLBI 197 Supervised Internship 0.5 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016 Supervised experience relevant to specific topics of biology in off-campus organizations. Written report and evaluation from internship supervisor required. Supervised Internship: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of MCB Faculty, restricted to MCB majors and prospective majors only. Certification from supervisor that credit is required

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of internship per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of internship per week

Additional Format: Three hours of internship per week. Eight hours of internship per week for 6 weeks.

Supervised Internship: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Lectures and small group discussions focusing on topics of interest, varying from semester to semester. Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Upper division standing

MCELLBI 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2020, Spring 2020 Enrollment restrictions apply; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog. Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week 10 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week 12 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Research.

Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 200A Fundamentals of Molecular and Cell Biology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The goal of this course is to provide graduate-level instruction on molecular and cellular biosciences from a highly-integrated systems perspective, rather than using a more classic, techniques-oriented format. A collection of approaches, and a focus on critical thinking and problem solving, will be used to show how fundamental, highly-significant biological problems are "cracked open." Reading will be assigned from a mix of classic and current peer-reviewed papers selected by the instructors. Fundamentals of Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 200A and 200B must be taken concurrently. Combined course required and restricted to all MCB first-year graduate students

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture and 4 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture and four hours of discussion per week.

Subject/Course Level: Molecular and Cell Biology/Graduate

Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.

Fundamentals of Molecular and Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 200B Fundamentals of Molecular and Cell Biology 3 Units

Prerequisites: Must be taken concurrently. Combined course required for all MCB first-year graduate students

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture per week.

Instructors: Marqusee, Rio, Drubin, Rine, Vance, Feller

MCELLBI 201A CRISPR Gene Editing, Stem Cell and Genomic Analysis 6 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session This course seeks to develop students’ foundation in critical lab skills and introduce them to the fundamental principles and technologies driving modern biomedical research. After completing MCELLBI 201A , students will have a firm understanding of CRISPR gene editing, cell culture, and genomic analysis. Students will learn the fundamentals of hypothesis-driven research, obtain critical thinking skills for data interpretation, and deliver effective written and oral reports of their results. CRISPR Gene Editing, Stem Cell and Genomic Analysis: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: BIOLOGY 1A and MCELLBI 102 or equivalent courses

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI 201A after completing MCELLBI 201A . A deficient grade in MCELLBI 201A may be removed by taking MCELLBI 201A .

Summer: 6 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 18 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture and eightteen hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Grading: Letter grade.

Instructors: He, Luo

CRISPR Gene Editing, Stem Cell and Genomic Analysis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 201B CRISPR Gene Editing, Stem Cell and Genomic Analysis 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024 This course seeks to build upon students’ foundations set in MCELLBI 201A , in which they were introduced to the fundamental principles and technologies driving modern biomedical research. MCELLBI 201B aims to develop students’ skills in bioinformatics and quantitative data analysis. After completing this course, students will understand the RNA-Seq and ChIP-Seq pipelines and carry out their own analyses. Students will continue to learn the fundamentals of experimental design, obtain critical thinking skills for data interpretation, and deliver effective presentations on their results. CRISPR Gene Editing, Stem Cell and Genomic Analysis: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI 201A

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI 201B after completing MCELLBI 201B . A deficient grade in MCELLBI 201B may be removed by taking MCELLBI 201B .

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 9 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and nine hours of laboratory per week.

Instructor: Ingolia

MCELLBI C205 Modern Optical Microscopy for the Modern Biologist 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 This course is intended for graduate students in the early stages of their thesis research who are contemplating using modern microscopy tools as part of their work. It endeavors to cut through the confusion of the wide array of new imaging methods, with a practical description of the pros and cons of each. In addition to providing an intuitive physical understanding how these microscopes work, the course will offer hands on experience with cutting-edge microscopes where students will be able to see firsthand how different imaging modalities perform on their own samples, and where they will be able to access computational tools for the visualization and analysis of their data. Modern Optical Microscopy for the Modern Biologist: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI 205 after completing MCELLBI 205, or MCELLBI 205. A deficient grade in MCELLBI 205 may be removed by taking MCELLBI 205, or MCELLBI 205.

Instructors: Betzig, Ji

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 205

Also listed as: NEU C272/PHYSICS C218

Modern Optical Microscopy for the Modern Biologist: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 206 Physical Biochemistry 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Application of modern physical concepts and experimental methods to the analysis of the structure, function, and interaction of large molecules of biological interest. Physical Biochemistry: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCB C100A or equivalent. Admission to the course requires formal consent of instructors, except for MCB and Biophysics graduate students and graduate students in the laboratories of MCB faculty

Physical Biochemistry: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 210 Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Macromolecular Reactions and the Cell 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 General course for first-year graduate students. Covers our current understanding of, methodological approaches for analyzing, and recent advances in the function of cellular macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in DNA replication, recombination, transposition and repair, gene expression and its regulation, mRNA splicing, genome organization, noncoding RNAs, signal transduction, protein synthesis, folding and degradation, growth control , and other life processes. Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Macromolecular Reactions and the Cell: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 110 or equivalent. Admission to the course requires formal consent of instructors, except for MCB graduate students and graduate students in the laboratories of MCB faculty

Additional Format: Two one and one-half hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.

Formerly known as: 200

Advanced Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Macromolecular Reactions and the Cell: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C212A Chemical Biology I - Structure, Synthesis and Function of Biomolecules 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course will present the structure of proteins, nucleic acids, and oligosaccharides from the perspective of organic chemistry. Modern methods for the synthesis and purification of these molecules will also be presented. Chemical Biology I - Structure, Synthesis and Function of Biomolecules: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 5 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week for five weeks.

Also listed as: CHEM C271A

Chemical Biology I - Structure, Synthesis and Function of Biomolecules: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C212B Chemical Biology II - Enzyme Reaction Mechanisms 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course will focus on the principles of enzyme catalysis. The course will begin with an introduction of the general concepts of enzyme catalysis which will be followed by detailed examples that will examine the chemistry behind the reactions and the three-dimensional structures that carry out the transformations. Chemical Biology II - Enzyme Reaction Mechanisms: Read More [+]

Also listed as: CHEM C271B

Chemical Biology II - Enzyme Reaction Mechanisms: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C212C Chemical Biology III - Contemporary Topics in Chemical Biology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course will build on the principles discussed in Chemical Biology I and II. The focus will consist of case studies where rigorous chemical approaches have been brought to bear on biological questions. Potential subject areas will include signal transduction, photosynthesis, immunology, virology, and cancer. For each topic, the appropriate bioanalytical techniques will be emphasized. Chemical Biology III - Contemporary Topics in Chemical Biology: Read More [+]

Also listed as: CHEM C271C

Chemical Biology III - Contemporary Topics in Chemical Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C214 Protein Chemistry, Enzymology, and Bio-organic Chemistry 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 The topics covered will be chosen from the following: protein structure; protein-protein interactions; enzyme kinetics and mechanism; enzyme design. Intended for graduate students in chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular and cell biology. Protein Chemistry, Enzymology, and Bio-organic Chemistry: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 10 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: At the instructor's discretion, this course may be taught over a 10 week period with three hours of lecture per week or over a 15 week period with two hours of lecture per week.

Also listed as: CHEM C230

Protein Chemistry, Enzymology, and Bio-organic Chemistry: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C216 Microbial Diversity Workshop 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020 This workshop for graduate students will parallel C116, Microbial Diversity, which should be taken concurrently. Emphasis in the workshop will be on review of research literature and formulation of paper pertinent to research in microbial diversity. Microbial Diversity Workshop: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing; C112 or consent of instructor and organic chemistry (may be taken concurrently)

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of workshop and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: One hour of Workshop and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology C216, Plant and Microbial Biology C216

Also listed as: PLANTBI C216

Microbial Diversity Workshop: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218B Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Trace Elements in the Plant Lineage 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Biochemistry of Cu, Fe, Zn and Mn homeostasis and comparative genomics of algae, especially related to photosynthesis and chloroplast biology. Mechanisms of elemental sparing, including responses to N, S, and P deficiency. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Trace Elements in the Plant Lineage: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Enrollment is restricted to students conducting research in the laboratory of the instructor, or requires consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two hours of seminar per week.

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Trace Elements in the Plant Lineage: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218C Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Synthetic Biology and Cellular Enzymology 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, systems biology, enzyme mechanism, and gene discovery. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Synthetic Biology and Cellular Enzymology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Enrollment is restricted to students conducting research in the laboratory of the instructor or consent of instructor

Additional Format: Two hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Instructor: Chang

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Synthetic Biology and Cellular Enzymology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218F Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Energy-dependent Proteases and Molecular Machines 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Our goals are to decipher the fundamental principles that govern substrate engagement, de-ubiquitylation, unfolding, and translocation by the proteasome. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Energy-dependent Proteases and Molecular Machines: Read More [+]

Instructor: Martin

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Energy-dependent Proteases and Molecular Machines: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218H Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Protein Synthesis in Bacteria and Mammals 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The mechanism of protein synthesis in bacteria and human cells. Specific areas of interest include the structure and function of the ribosome and the regulation of protein synthesis. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Protein Synthesis in Bacteria and Mammals: Read More [+]

Instructor: Cate

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Protein Synthesis in Bacteria and Mammals: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218I Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Inorganic Chemistry 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Research and literature topics in chemical biology and inorganic chemistry relevant to human health and disease and energy science will be discussed. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Inorganic Chemistry: Read More [+]

Instructor: Chris Chang

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Inorganic Chemistry: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218J Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Advanced 20th Century Perspectives on Cancer Cell Genetics 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021 Transduction of cellular sequences and genetic regulation of transformation by oncogenic retroviruses as models for natural carcinogenesis, including a critical review of the current research. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Advanced 20th Century Perspectives on Cancer Cell Genetics: Read More [+]

Instructor: Duesberg

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Advanced 20th Century Perspectives on Cancer Cell Genetics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218M Research Review in Molecular Mechanisms of Membrane Transport 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 In our laboratory, we study mechanisms by which molecules are transported across lipid bilayer membranes. Current research efforts to understand mechanisms of protein translocation across intracellular organelles and transport of other biomolecules will be discussed. Research Review in Molecular Mechanisms of Membrane Transport: Read More [+]

Instructor: Park

Research Review in Molecular Mechanisms of Membrane Transport: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218O Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Enzymology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Topics at the interface of chemistry and biology with a particular focus on mechanisms of enzyme catalysis. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Enzymology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Marletta

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Enzymology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218P Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Neuroscience 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Molecular approaches to designing and deploying tools for voltage imaging and brain mapping. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Instructors: Miller, Evan

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Biology and Neuroscience: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218Q Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Single Molecular Imaging of Macromolecular Enzymes 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Yildiz laboratory combines molecular biology and single molecule biophysical techniques to understand mechanisms that underlie cellular organization and motility. Specific focuses of the lab are to dissect 1) the mechanism of cytoplasmic dynein motility, 2) the regulation of intraflagellar transport, and 3) the protection and maintenance of mammalian telomeres. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Single Molecular Imaging of Macromolecular Enzymes: Read More [+]

Instructor: Yildiz

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Single Molecular Imaging of Macromolecular Enzymes: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218S Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Macromolecules 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Structure-function studies of the cytoskeleton and large molecular machines by cryo-electron microscopy and image reconstruction. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Macromolecules: Read More [+]

Instructor: Nogales

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Macromolecules: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218T Electron Cryo-tomography of Macromolecular Complexes 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 Different methods for determining how the in situ structure and arrangement of macromolecular complexes influence cell morphology and function will be discussed via literature review and implemented through lab-based research and discussions. Electron Cryo-tomography of Macromolecular Complexes: Read More [+]

Instructor: Davies

Electron Cryo-tomography of Macromolecular Complexes: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218U Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Epigenetic Gene Regulation 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Discussion of recent advances in the mechanism of epigenetic modifications on mammalian gene regulation and developing tools for precision editing of epigenetic modifications for controlling gene expression. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Epigenetic Gene Regulation: Read More [+]

Instructor: Nunez

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Epigenetic Gene Regulation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218V Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Biophysics of Macromolecule Transport Across Membranes 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2014, Spring 2014, Fall 2013 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Biophysics of Macromolecule Transport Across Membranes: Read More [+]

Instructor: Krantz

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Biophysics of Macromolecule Transport Across Membranes: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 218X Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Reactions of Metabolism 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Define how metabolic reactions function in the context of the cellular system in order to elucidate the so-called design principles of metabolic function. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Reactions of Metabolism: Read More [+]

Instructor: Savage

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Chemical Reactions of Metabolism: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219A Structural Membrane Biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The mechanisms by which protein complexes use their structures to bud, bend, and sever membranes will be covered in research reports and reviews of the current literature and in discussion of current experiments in the field. Structural Membrane Biology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Hurley

Structural Membrane Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219B Regulation of Translation 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Understanding the molecular basis and physiological role of translational regulation in gene expression with an emphasis on global profiling and functional genomics. Regulation of Translation: Read More [+]

Regulation of Translation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219H Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Molecular and Cell Biology of Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Discussion of recent research on the genetics, cell biology, and immunology of the model facultative intracellular bacterical pathogen, Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Molecular and Cell Biology of Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis: Read More [+]

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Molecular and Cell Biology of Listeria monocytogenes Pathogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219K Research Review in Chemical Biology, Synthetic Biology, Organic Chemistry and Biophysics 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2002, Fall 2001 Discussion of recent research on chemical biology, synthetic biology, organic chemistry and biophysics. Research Review in Chemical Biology, Synthetic Biology, Organic Chemistry and Biophysics: Read More [+]

Instructor: Schepartz

Research Review in Chemical Biology, Synthetic Biology, Organic Chemistry and Biophysics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219S Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Structural Biology of Signaling and Replication 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Mechanisms and structure in DNA replication and eukaryotic cell signaling. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Structural Biology of Signaling and Replication: Read More [+]

Instructor: Kuriyan

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Structural Biology of Signaling and Replication: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219U Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Single Molecule Biophysics 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Methods of single molecule manipulation and visualization that are used to characterize the structure and mechanochemical properties of translocating DNA binding protein such as RNA polymerase and to investigate the mechanical denaturation of single protein molecules will be covered in research reports and reviews of the current literature and in discussion of current experiments in the field. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Single Molecule Biophysics: Read More [+]

Instructor: Bustamante

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Single Molecule Biophysics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219Y Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Regulation of HIV Gene Expression 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Regulation of HIV gene expression by viral proteins and cellular cofactors will be covered in research reports and reviews of the current literature and in discussion of current experiments in the field. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Regulation of HIV Gene Expression: Read More [+]

Instructor: Zhou

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Regulation of HIV Gene Expression: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 219Z Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Polymerase and RNA Biochemistry and Biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Emphasizes eukaryotic retroelement reverse transcriptases and retroelement mobility. Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Polymerase and RNA Biochemistry and Biology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Collins

Research Review in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: Polymerase and RNA Biochemistry and Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 220 Therapeutic Modalities 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024 This class is designed to introduce graduate students to a range of therapeutic modalities that are in development or use. It will focus on small molecules, genomic therapies (including genome editing), and biologics. This class will present different applications of small molecules, RNA or DNA therapeutics, and biologics and discuss both advantages and challenges in their clinical use. Therapeutic Modalities: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: For MCB students, MCELLBI 200A and MCELLBI 200B are prerequisites for this class. Students outside of MCB should check with the head instructor whether they have the required background to follow this class most productively

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for MCELLBI 220 after completing MCELLBI 220 . A deficient grade in MCELLBI 220 may be removed by taking MCELLBI 220 .

Instructor: Olzmann

Therapeutic Modalities: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 227 Science Writing and Professional Development 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024 The overarching goal of this course is to provide students with professional skills in scientific reading, scientific writing, creating a CV or resume and cover letters and understanding the structures of academic institutions and biotech companies. In addition, the class will provide career advice for students entering the academic or biotech work places. Science Writing and Professional Development: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: This course will be limited to students enrolled in the MCB Master of Biotechnology program

Science Writing and Professional Development: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229A Research Review in Viruses as Models for Eukaryote Gene Expression and Replication 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Recent developments in eukaryote viral and cellular regulation. New concepts in transcription and RNA replication, with particular emphasis on virus-cell interactions. Research Review in Viruses as Models for Eukaryote Gene Expression and Replication: Read More [+]

Instructor: Botchan

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 218E

Research Review in Viruses as Models for Eukaryote Gene Expression and Replication: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229B Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Imaging Single Molecules: Fashion or Game Changer? 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research review in genetics, genomics and development. We will explore how the detection of single particles (DNA, RNA, proteins) can help with understanding cellular organization and enzymatic processes dynamics and kinetics. Most of the experiments described will be drawn from the gene expression and nuclear organization literature. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Imaging Single Molecules: Fashion or Game Changer?: Read More [+]

Instructor: Darzacq

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 249L

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Imaging Single Molecules: Fashion or Game Changer?: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229C Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Structure and Function of RNA 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 RNA structure, folding, and function. Specific topics include ribozyme mechanisms, RNA-mediated translation initiation, and protein targeting and secretion. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Structure and Function of RNA: Read More [+]

Instructor: Doudna

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 219J

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Structure and Function of RNA: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229D Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Diseases/Retina 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Evaluation of current research in molecular mechanisms underlying diseases of the retina. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Diseases/Retina: Read More [+]

Instructor: Flannery

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 269U

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Diseases/Retina: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229E Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: The Protein Folding Problem 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Protein structure, stability, design, and the pathway of protein folding. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: The Protein Folding Problem: Read More [+]

Instructor: Marqusee

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 218R

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: The Protein Folding Problem: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229F Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Virus-Host Interactions 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Understanding the creative strategies viruses use to manipulate gene expression in host cells, with a focus on RNA-based regulation of gene expression. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Virus-Host Interactions: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 219G

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Virus-Host Interactions: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229G Mapping Metabolic Drivers of Disease using Chemoproteomic and Metabolomic Platforms 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 We will discuss current research in the following three areas: 1) mapping metabolic drivers of human diseases using chemoproteomic and metabolomic platforms; 2) expanding the druggable proteome through mapping and pharmacologically interrogating proteome-wide hyper-reactive and ligandable hotspots; 3) mapping proteome-wide targets of environmental and pharmaceutical chemicals towards understanding novel toxicological mechanism s. Mapping Metabolic Drivers of Disease using Chemoproteomic and Metabolomic Platforms: Read More [+]

Instructor: Nomura

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 218A

Mapping Metabolic Drivers of Disease using Chemoproteomic and Metabolomic Platforms: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229H Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Mechanisms of lipid homeostasis and lipotoxicity 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Discussion of recent literature and original research. Current research examines the cell biology of lipid homeostasis, including the mechanisms that regulate lipid droplet biogenesis, oxidative lipid damage, and ferroptosis. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Mechanisms of lipid homeostasis and lipotoxicity: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 239A

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Mechanisms of lipid homeostasis and lipotoxicity: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229I Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Regulation of the Cell Cycle 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Regulation of the Cell Cycle: Read More [+]

Instructor: Rape

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 239B

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Regulation of the Cell Cycle: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229J Research Review in Understanding and Exploiting Complex Biological Processes and Machines 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Covers aspects of ribosome engineering, organelle imaging and interactions, protein delivery, and cell signaling. Research Review in Understanding and Exploiting Complex Biological Processes and Machines: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 218N

Research Review in Understanding and Exploiting Complex Biological Processes and Machines: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229K Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Eukaryotic Gene Expression 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Protein-DNA interactions and the control of gene expression in eukaryotes. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Eukaryotic Gene Expression: Read More [+]

Instructor: Tjian

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 219F

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Eukaryotic Gene Expression: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229L Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Structure and Function of the Human Epigenome 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research focuses on (i) understanding the interplay between regulatory information encoded in the primary sequence of the human genome and epigenomic information inscribed by the joint action of trans-acting factors, chromatin remodelers, modifiers, and readers that yields a particular functional state in primary cells of the immune and central nervous systems; (ii) leveraging this understanding to engineer novel architectures for targeted epigenome editors customized for use in these and other clinically relevant human cell types; (iii) establishing preclinical proof-of-concept for the use of the resulting epigenome-editing molecular therapeutics in ex vivo and in vivo models of autoimmune and neurologic disease. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Structure and Function of the Human Epigenome: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 249AA

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Structure and Function of the Human Epigenome: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229M Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: CRISPR Enzyme Delivery Technology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The molecular engineering of novel delivery technology to facilitate therapeutic genome editing. Delivery of pre-formed CRISPR ribonucleoprotein enzymes is a central focus, and progress in the field will be covered via research presentations as well as reviews of recent literature. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: CRISPR Enzyme Delivery Technology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Wilson

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 218G

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: CRISPR Enzyme Delivery Technology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 229N Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Nutrient Sensing 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 In our laboratory, we study the molecular mechanisms of nutrient sensing and growth control. Specific areas of interest include the mTOR pathway, energy sensing, lysosomal biology and translational control. Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Nutrient Sensing: Read More [+]

Instructor: Zoncu

Formerly known as: Molecular and Cell Biology 218Z

Research Review in Molecular Therapeutics: Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Nutrient Sensing: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 230 Advanced Cell and Developmental Biology 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course will discuss modern concepts of cell and developmental biology, with a strong emphasis on regulatory mechanisms at different length-scales (intermolecular, intracellular and intercellular). It will cover methods of quantitative, single-cell, and organismal biology in cell lines, stem cells, and model organisms. A solid foundation of core cell biology concepts, such as the cell cycle, cytoskeleton, or vesicle transport, is strongly recommended. Advanced Cell and Developmental Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 130. Formal consent of instructors required, except for MCB graduate students and graduate students in the laboratories of MCB faculty

Advanced Cell and Developmental Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 231 Advanced Developmental and Stem Cell Biology 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2015 Principles of animal development will be set forth 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 examined, and emerging topics in microRNA and stem cell biology will be highlighted. A weekly discussion section with readings from the research literature is required. Advanced Developmental and Stem Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Previous course in development (131 or equivalent) or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1-2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and One to Two hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Advanced Developmental and Stem Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 236 Advanced Mammalian Physiology 5 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Principles of mammalian (primarily human) physiology emphasizing physical, chemical, molecular, and cellular bases of functional biology. The following topics will be covered: cellular and membrane ion and nonelectrolyte transport; cell and endocrine regulation; autonomic nervous system regulation; skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle; cardiovascular physiology; respiration; renal physiology; gastrointestinal physiology. Discussion section will study advanced physiological topics, including: presentations by the faculty; problem sets; discussion of the primary literature and of reviews; two presentations by each student on topics in current physiological research. Advanced Mammalian Physiology: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and Two hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks.

Advanced Mammalian Physiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 237L Advanced Physical Biology of the Cell 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Spring 2020 Biology is being revolutionized by new experimental techniques that have made it possible to measure the inner workings of molecules, cells and multicellular organisms with unprecedented precision. The objective of this course is to explore this deluge of quantitative data through the use of biological numeracy. We will develop theoretical models that make precise predictions about biological phenomena. These predictions will be tested through the hands-on analysis of experimental data and by performing numerical simulations using Matlab. A laptop is required for this course, but no previous programming experience is required. Advanced Physical Biology of the Cell: Read More [+]

Advanced Physical Biology of the Cell: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C237 Stem Cells and Directed Organogenesis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014, Spring 2013 This course will provide an overview of basic and applied embryonic stem cell (ESC) biology. Topics will include early embryonic development, ESC laboratory methods, biomaterials for directed differentiation and other stem cell manipulations, and clinical uses of stem cells. Stem Cells and Directed Organogenesis: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 6 hours of laboratory and 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and six hours of laboratory per week.

Instructor: Conboy

Also listed as: BIO ENG C218

Stem Cells and Directed Organogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 238 Stem Cell Research and Gene Therapy: Questions, Solutions and Current Frontiers 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This lecture series will cover modern approaches to stem cell biology, regenerative medicine and gene therapy. Lectures will include a broad introduction to the day’s topic, followed by in depth discussion of one specific recent example- preferably from the speaker’s own laboratory-that addresses an imminent question in the field. Relevant research articles will be assigned as background reading. Students are expected to become thoroughly familiar with these materials prior to each class meeting. Stem Cell Research and Gene Therapy: Questions, Solutions and Current Frontiers: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture and one hour of discussion per week.

Instructor: Hockemeyer

Stem Cell Research and Gene Therapy: Questions, Solutions and Current Frontiers: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239BB Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mechanics and Dynamics of Cell Movements 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research in our laboratory is focused on the mechanics and dynamics of cell movements on the purified protein, single cell, and tissue levels. For these studies, we are developing new instruments to quantify cell and molecular mechanics bases on optical microscopy, force microscopy, and microfabrication. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mechanics and Dynamics of Cell Movements: Read More [+]

Instructor: Fletcher

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mechanics and Dynamics of Cell Movements: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239C The Regulation of Meiotic Gene Expression and Cellular Morphogenesis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The mechanisms that link cellular differentiation programs and dynamic gene regulation in complex eukaryotic systems remain mysterious. Such programs drive diverse and central biological processes including organismal development, immune function, disease progression, and meiosis. This course is focused on the molecular basis for the cellular remodeling accompanying meiosis, the highly conserved process by which gametes are produced. The Regulation of Meiotic Gene Expression and Cellular Morphogenesis: Read More [+]

Instructor: Brar

The Regulation of Meiotic Gene Expression and Cellular Morphogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239D Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Glial Cell Biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2018 Review of relevant literature and discussion of ongoing research: cytoskeletal regulation and mRNA transport in glia; organelle biogenesis and homeostasis, including of Golgi outposts; myelination in learning and behavior; gliovascular development; biophysics of liquid condensates; mechanisms of neurological disease. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Glial Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Fu

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Glial Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239EE Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cell Morphogenesis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cell Morphogenesis: Read More [+]

Instructor: Heald

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cell Morphogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239F Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Nucleocytoplasmic Transport 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Nucleocytoplasmic Transport: Read More [+]

Instructor: Weis

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Nucleocytoplasmic Transport: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239FF Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Signal Transduction and Tumor Suppressor Genes 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Signal Transduction and Tumor Suppressor Genes: Read More [+]

Instructor: Luo

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Signal Transduction and Tumor Suppressor Genes: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239G Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mitochondrial biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of relevant literature and discussion of current research: Mitochondrial dynamics, transport and inheritance; replication, segregation and distribution of mitochondrial genomes; underlying mechanisms of human mitochondrial disease. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mitochondrial biology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Lewis

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mitochondrial biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239HH Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mechanisms of Control of Growth and Cell Proliferation 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Identifying pathways that restrict growth and cell proliferation in vivo. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mechanisms of Control of Growth and Cell Proliferation: Read More [+]

Instructor: Hariharan

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Mechanisms of Control of Growth and Cell Proliferation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239I Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cytoskeleton and Cell Motility 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cytoskeleton and Cell Motility: Read More [+]

Instructor: Welch

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cytoskeleton and Cell Motility: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239J Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Steroid Hormone and Growth Factor Action 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Steroid Hormone and Growth Factor Action: Read More [+]

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Steroid Hormone and Growth Factor Action: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239K Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Secretion and Cell Membrane Assembly 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Cell surface growth with emphasis on the unicellular eukaryote S. cerevisiae. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Secretion and Cell Membrane Assembly: Read More [+]

Instructor: Schekman

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Secretion and Cell Membrane Assembly: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239KK Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Assembly and Subcellular Organization of Bacterial Organelles 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Assembly and Subcellular Organization of Bacterial Organelles: Read More [+]

Instructor: Komeili

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Assembly and Subcellular Organization of Bacterial Organelles: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239M Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: MicroRNA Functions in Cancer Development, Mouse Tumor Models 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Malignant transformation represents the endpoint of successive genetic lesions that confer uncontrolled proliferation and survival, unlimited replicative potential, and invasive growth. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: MicroRNA Functions in Cancer Development, Mouse Tumor Models: Read More [+]

Instructor: He

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: MicroRNA Functions in Cancer Development, Mouse Tumor Models: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239O Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cancer Biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Inheritance, chromatin structure, gene expression, and the organization of chromosomes in the nucleus. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cancer Biology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Karpen

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Cancer Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239P Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Energy Metabolism and Aging 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of current research. Current research focuses on regulation of energy metabolism and the effect of changes in energy metabolism induced by diet and exercise on age-associated functional decline of organisms. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Energy Metabolism and Aging: Read More [+]

Instructor: Titov

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Energy Metabolism and Aging: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239Q Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Regulation of Cell Polarity in Drosophila 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of cellular organization in epithelia and other cell types. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Regulation of Cell Polarity in Drosophila: Read More [+]

Instructor: Bilder

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Regulation of Cell Polarity in Drosophila: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239R Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Telomere Biology of Human Stem Cells 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The goal of our laboratory is to understand the key functions of telomeres and telomerase in tissue homeostasis, tumorigenesis, and aging. To this end, we generate genetically engineered human pluripotent and adult stem cell models to measure telomere and telomerase function during cellular differentiation and tumor formation. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Telomere Biology of Human Stem Cells: Read More [+]

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Telomere Biology of Human Stem Cells: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239S Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Organ Formation and Function in Zebrafish 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Current research examines the control mechanisms of how cells behave, how cells talk to one another, and how cells sense, change, and maintain their space in the context of organogenesis. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Organ Formation and Function in Zebrafish: Read More [+]

Instructor: Swinburne

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Organ Formation and Function in Zebrafish: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239T Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: The Cell Biology of Fertilization 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 Research in our lab is focused on the cell biology of mammalian fertilization. Our lab uses biophysical, biochemical, and molecular genetics methods to study sperm ion channels and transporters that regulate sperm motility, chemotaxis, and the acrosome reaction. A better understanding of these processes will eventually lead to the development of effective tools to control and preserve male fertility, improve the reproductive health of human population worldwide, and advance family planning. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: The Cell Biology of Fertilization: Read More [+]

Instructor: Lishko

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: The Cell Biology of Fertilization: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239U Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: The Cytoskeleton and Morphogenesis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of current research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: The Cytoskeleton and Morphogenesis: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-0 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two to Zero hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Instructor: Drubin

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: The Cytoskeleton and Morphogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239V Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Molecular Mechanisms of Transduction in Touch and Pain Receptors 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of current research. Current research focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of somatosensory mechanotransduction. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Molecular Mechanisms of Transduction in Touch and Pain Receptors: Read More [+]

Instructor: Bautista

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Molecular Mechanisms of Transduction in Touch and Pain Receptors: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239W Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Leech Embryology and Development 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Leech Embryology and Development: Read More [+]

Instructor: Weisblat

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Leech Embryology and Development: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 239Z Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Chromosome Remodeling and Reorganization During Meiosis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 How chromosomes are reorganized during melosis to accomplish the pairing, recombinatin, and segregation leading up to successful gamete production. Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Chromosome Remodeling and Reorganization During Meiosis: Read More [+]

Instructor: Dernburg

Research Review in Cell and Developmental Biology: Chromosome Remodeling and Reorganization During Meiosis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 240 Advanced Genetic Analysis 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Principles and practice of classical and modern genetic analysis as applied to eukaryotic organisms, including yeast, nematodes, , mice and humans; isolation and analysis of mutations; gene mapping; suppressor analysis; chromosome structure; control of gene expression; and developmental genetics. Advanced Genetic Analysis: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing with 110 or 140 or consent of instructor

Instructors: Koshland, Meyer

Advanced Genetic Analysis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C242 CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 This graduate seminar consists of weekly presentations from Berkeley graduate students as well as outside speakers on topics surrounding evolution, genetics, and genomics. Many labs spread across different departments have research programs focused on evolution, genetics, and genomics. However, it can be challenging to keep abreast of this research and to identify potential collaborations due to the dispersion of labs across different departments and specialties. The Center for Theoretical and Evolutionary Genetics (CTEG) is an informal group of labs that collectively work on genetics and genomics. The seminar seeks to provide a common space for graduate students to present their research and learn about the research of their colleagues. CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing

Instructors: Sudmant, Moorjani

Also listed as: INTEGBI C242

CTEG Evolution, Genetics, and Genomics Seminar: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C243 Seq: Methods and Applications 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014 A graduate seminar class in which a group of students will closely examine recent computational methods in high-throughput sequencing followed by directly examining interesting biological applications thereof. Seq: Methods and Applications: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing in Math, MCB, and Computational Biology; or consent of the instructor

Additional Format: <br/>

Instructor: Pachter

Also listed as: MATH C243

Seq: Methods and Applications: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C244 Discrete Mathematics for the Life Sciences 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2013 Introduction to algebraic statistics and probability, optimization, phylogenetic combinatorics, graphs and networks, polyhedral and metric geometry. Discrete Mathematics for the Life Sciences: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

Also listed as: MATH C239

Discrete Mathematics for the Life Sciences: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249A Research in Genetics and Development: From Sequence to Function in Transcription Factors 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2014 This course explores experimental and computational approaches to studying the sequence to function relationships of intrinsically disordered proteins. Emphasis on the activation domains of transcription factors. High-throughput experiments, machine learning, evolutionary comparisons, and all atom simulations will be discussed. Additional emphasis will be placed on characterizing the functional consequences of patient mutations in activation domains. Research in Genetics and Development: From Sequence to Function in Transcription Factors: Read More [+]

Instructor: Staller

Research in Genetics and Development: From Sequence to Function in Transcription Factors: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249BB Research Review in Genetics and Development: Aging and Protein Homeostasis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Central to the aging process is the unfolding of the proteome. Specific areas under study include cellular responses to protein misfolding and coordination of these responses across an organism. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Aging and Protein Homeostasis: Read More [+]

Instructor: Dillin

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Aging and Protein Homeostasis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249C Research Review in Genetics and Development: Nucleic Acid-Protein Interactions and Control of Gene Expression 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Biochemical and molecular genetic aspects of eukaryotic messenger RNA splicing and transposition, with an emphasis on as an experimental system. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Nucleic Acid-Protein Interactions and Control of Gene Expression: Read More [+]

Instructor: Rio

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Nucleic Acid-Protein Interactions and Control of Gene Expression: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249D Research Review in Genetics and Development: Mechanisms of Genetic Regulation in Yeast 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 Genes, gene products and molecular mechanisms that control cell types in the unicellular eukaryote . Research Review in Genetics and Development: Mechanisms of Genetic Regulation in Yeast: Read More [+]

Instructor: Rine

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Mechanisms of Genetic Regulation in Yeast: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249F Research Review in Genetics and Development: Neuronal Development 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Molecular and genetic approaches to the problem of how neurons develop, with emphasis on and . Research Review in Genetics and Development: Neuronal Development: Read More [+]

Instructor: Garriga

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Neuronal Development: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249G Research Review in Genetics and Development: Developmental and Evolutionary Genetics 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 We study how genes control pattern formation during development and pattern modification during evolution. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Developmental and Evolutionary Genetics: Read More [+]

Instructor: Miller

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Developmental and Evolutionary Genetics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249H Investigating Cellular Aging and Chromosome Segregation during Gametogenesis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 This course focuses on understanding 1) how cellular aging is affected during gametogenesis, the developmental program that produces gametes for sexual reproduction and 2) how chromosome segregation is regulated during meiosis, the specialized cell division that generates gametes. Investigating Cellular Aging and Chromosome Segregation during Gametogenesis: Read More [+]

Instructor: Unal

Investigating Cellular Aging and Chromosome Segregation during Gametogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249HH Research Review in Genetics and Development: Human Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research focuses on use of statistical and computational approaches to study questions in human genetics and evolutionary biology. This includes, but is not limited to, studying (1) how different evolutionary processes such as mutation rate evolve across primates, (2) when key events (such as introgression and adaptations) occurred in human history, and (3) how we can leverage large-scale datasets to identify genetic variants related to human adaptation and disease. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Human Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Moorjani

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Human Population Genetics and Evolutionary Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249I Research Review in Genetics and Development: RNA Systems Biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 How does the sequence of an RNA determine its post-transcriptional regulation? Genomic and systems biology investigations of alternative splicing, translation, and other post-transcriptional regulatory processes. Research Review in Genetics and Development: RNA Systems Biology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Lareau

Research Review in Genetics and Development: RNA Systems Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249J Research Review in Genetics and Development: Developmental and Molecular Genetics of C. elegans 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Molecular and genetical analysis of sex determination and dosage compensation in the nematode . Research Review in Genetics and Development: Developmental and Molecular Genetics of C. elegans: Read More [+]

Instructor: Meyer

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Developmental and Molecular Genetics of C. elegans: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249K Research Review in Genetics and Development: Animal Origins 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Evaluation of current research on choanoflagellates, sponges, and animal origins. Intended to complement ongoing research for graduate students. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Animal Origins: Read More [+]

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Animal Origins: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249M Research Review in Genetics and Development: Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Microtubule Cytoskeleton 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 Review of current literature and discussion of current research. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Microtubule Cytoskeleton: Read More [+]

Instructor: Barnes

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Microtubule Cytoskeleton: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249MM Physical Biology of Living Organisms 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research review in genetics, genomics and development. In development a single cell goes through a series of repeated divisions and these cells read the program encoded in their DNA in order to become familiar cell types such as those found in muscle, liver, or our brains. The goal of our lab is to uncover the rules behind these decisions with the objective of predicting and manipulating developmental programs from just looking at DNA sequence. In order to reach this predictive understanding we combine physics, synthetic biology, and new technologies to query and control developmental decisions in real time at the single cell level in the fruit fly embryo. Physical Biology of Living Organisms: Read More [+]

Physical Biology of Living Organisms: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249O Research Review in Genetics and Development: Genome Sequences 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Biochemistry, cancer biology and virology, cell biology, computational biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular and cell physiology. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Genome Sequences: Read More [+]

Instructor: Eisen

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Genome Sequences: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249P Research Review in Genetics and Development: Evolution of Genome Structure and Cellular Diversity 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research in the evolution of genome structure, aging, and cellular and organismal diversity. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Evolution of Genome Structure and Cellular Diversity: Read More [+]

Instructor: Sudmant

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Evolution of Genome Structure and Cellular Diversity: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249Q Research Review in Genetics and Development: Computational Genomics 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Recent developments in computational methods for genomics and their application for understanding the structure and function of genes encoded in completely sequenced genomes. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Computational Genomics: Read More [+]

Instructor: Brenner

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Computational Genomics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249R Research Review in Genetics and Development: Vertebrate development and tissue regeneration 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Topics on gene regulatory network control of neural crest cell differentiation during development, vertebrate evolution, and tissue regeneration will be discussed. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Vertebrate development and tissue regeneration: Read More [+]

Instructor: Martik

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Vertebrate development and tissue regeneration: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249T Research Review in Genetics, Genomics and Development: Evolution of Genomes 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Comparative analysis of eukaryotic genomes to inform the origins and diversification of animals and plants. Research Review in Genetics, Genomics and Development: Evolution of Genomes: Read More [+]

Instructor: Rokhsar

Research Review in Genetics, Genomics and Development: Evolution of Genomes: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249V Research Review in Genetics and Development: Induction in Vertebrate Development and ES Cell Differentiation 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 The Roelink laboratory is interested in the mechanisms of embryonic induction, the phenomenon in which a group of cells changes the developmental fate of neighboring cells via the release of inducers. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Induction in Vertebrate Development and ES Cell Differentiation: Read More [+]

Instructor: Roelink

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Induction in Vertebrate Development and ES Cell Differentiation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249W Research Review in Genetics and Development: Archaeal Genetics and Methane Metabolism 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Discussions pertaining to the development of new genetic tools for archaeal model organisms with a particular emphasis on methane metabolizing archaea in order to characterize their physiology, evolution and metabolism. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Archaeal Genetics and Methane Metabolism: Read More [+]

Instructor: Nayak

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Archaeal Genetics and Methane Metabolism: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249Y Research Review in Genetics and Development: Mechanisms of Gene Control in Vertebrate Animals 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 This course will focus on mechanisms of gene control in vertebrate animals, particularly in the area of vertebrate development. Amphibian egg formation, mesoderm induction, neural induction, and patterning of the nervous system at the molecular level. Control of transcription, post-transcriptional control of gene expression (including control of RNA turnover and RNA localization). Research Review in Genetics and Development: Mechanisms of Gene Control in Vertebrate Animals: Read More [+]

Instructor: Harland

Formerly known as: 218Y

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Mechanisms of Gene Control in Vertebrate Animals: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 249Z Research Review in Genetics and Development: Chromosome Structure and Integrity, Genome Evolution 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Use of genetic, cell biological, and biochemical approaches in budding yeast to understand genome integrity, genome evolution, and most recently desiccation tolerance. Research Review in Genetics and Development: Chromosome Structure and Integrity, Genome Evolution: Read More [+]

Instructor: Koshland

Research Review in Genetics and Development: Chromosome Structure and Integrity, Genome Evolution: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 250 Advanced Immunology 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Molecular and cellular analysis of the immune response emphasizing concepts and methodology. Innate immunity, pathogen sensors, antibodies and T cell receptors, lymphocyte activation, tolerance and selection. Antigen processing, T cell subtypes, and T regulatory cells. NK cells, tumor surveillance, and AIDS. Advanced Immunology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 100, 110, 140, 150 or consent of instructor

Advanced Immunology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 251 The Regulation of Immune System Development and Function 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2020 This is an advanced seminar course which will consider current research questions and experimental approaches in molecular and cellular immunology. Each registrant will present a 30-minute research talk describing the problems they are studying, the approach they are taking, their preliminary data, and technical problems. Other course participants (including basic immunology faculty) will provide criticism and suggestions. The Regulation of Immune System Development and Function: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 250 or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture per week.

Instructor: Winoto

The Regulation of Immune System Development and Function: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259A Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Mtb) 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The TB field has entered a new era with the convergence of genetic tools, genome sequencing, bioinformatics, advanced imaging techniques, animal models of infection, and high-throughput assays that allow us to study this multi-faceted interaction between Mtb and its host. We use all of these tools to probe the molecular and cellular events that enable M. tuberculosis to evade host defense mechanisms. Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Mtb): Read More [+]

Instructor: Cox

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Mtb): Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259C Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Nuclear Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Neuroinflammation 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 In this course we will discuss our research as well as recent literatures focusing on understanding of 1) How is homeostasis in the CNS regulated by innate immune functions of microglia? 2) How can we intervene in dysfunction of microglia-mediated immune functions using NRs signaling and transcription? Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Nuclear Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Neuroinflammation: Read More [+]

Instructor: Saijo

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Nuclear Receptor-Mediated Regulation of Neuroinflammation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259D Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Mycobacterial Biology and Host-Pathogen Interactions 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 We will discuss macrophage biology and innate immunity in the context of infection with *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* through discussion of current research from the Stanley Lab and both cutting edge and classic literature in relevant fields. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Mycobacterial Biology and Host-Pathogen Interactions: Read More [+]

Instructor: Stanley

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Mycobacterial Biology and Host-Pathogen Interactions: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259E Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Regulation of T Cell Receptor Genes Expression 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Molecular biology of T cell receptor genes and their transcription controlling proteins/genes. Programmed cell death during thymocyte differentiation. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Regulation of T Cell Receptor Genes Expression: Read More [+]

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Regulation of T Cell Receptor Genes Expression: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259F Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Natural Killer (NK) Cell and T Cell Receptors 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Molecular and biological basis for recognition by natural killer cells and T cells. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Natural Killer (NK) Cell and T Cell Receptors: Read More [+]

Instructor: Raulet

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Natural Killer (NK) Cell and T Cell Receptors: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259G Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: T Cell Development 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Molecular and cellular aspects of thymocyte differentiation. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: T Cell Development: Read More [+]

Instructor: Robey

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: T Cell Development: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259H Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: B Cell Differentiation 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 Molecular basis of terminal B cell differentiation. Role of transcription factors in B cell activation. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: B Cell Differentiation: Read More [+]

Instructor: Sha

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: B Cell Differentiation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259J Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Immune Evasion by Viruses 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The mechanisms used by viruses to counteract the pressure of the immune system. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Immune Evasion by Viruses: Read More [+]

Instructor: Coscoy

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Immune Evasion by Viruses: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259K Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Epigenetic Control for Regulatory T Cell Function in Cancer and Autoimmunity 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Intersecting the fields of cancer biology, immunology, and epigenetics to strengthen our own immune defense mechanisms against our own cancers by reprogramming T cell function specifically within the tumor microenvironment. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Epigenetic Control for Regulatory T Cell Function in Cancer and Autoimmunity: Read More [+]

Instructor: Dupage

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Epigenetic Control for Regulatory T Cell Function in Cancer and Autoimmunity: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259M Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Innate Immunity and Innate Control of Adaptive Immunity 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Innate immunity and innate control of adaptive immunity. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Innate Immunity and Innate Control of Adaptive Immunity: Read More [+]

Instructor: Barton

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Innate Immunity and Innate Control of Adaptive Immunity: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259N Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Immunology, Microbiology, and Genetics of Bacterial Pathogenesis 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Role of innate host responses in defense against intracellular bacterial pathogens. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Immunology, Microbiology, and Genetics of Bacterial Pathogenesis: Read More [+]

Instructor: Vance

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Immunology, Microbiology, and Genetics of Bacterial Pathogenesis: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259O Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Circadian rhythms in Parasitic Diseases 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 We will discuss circadian rhythms research, at the behavioral, tissue and molecular scales. Our main focus is the circadian regulation of gene expression and its impact in host physiology. We will also focus on malaria and sleeping sickness infections, understanding the clinical aspects, the immune response to parasites and the vector transmission. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Circadian rhythms in Parasitic Diseases: Read More [+]

Instructor: Rijo-Ferreira

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Circadian rhythms in Parasitic Diseases: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 259P Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Cellular barriers to retroviral infection 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Cellular biology and genetics of retroviral infection and cellular antiviral mechanisms. Functional genomics approaches in key host/virus interactions. Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Cellular barriers to retroviral infection: Read More [+]

Instructor: OhAinle

Research Review in Immunology and Pathogenesis: Cellular barriers to retroviral infection: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C261 Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 This course covers the molecular/cellular basis of neuron excitability (membrane potentials, action potential generation and propagation, ion channels), synaptic transmission and plasticity, sensory receptor function, and developmental neurobiology. Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology: Read More [+]

Also listed as: NEUROSC C261

Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269C Research Review in Neurobiology: Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Plasticity 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research in our laboratory focuses on understanding how neurons use biochemical pathways to integrate diverse types of information in order to adjust synaptic strength and modulate neuronal excitability, and how these interactions go awry in disease. To investigate this we are taking a multi-disciplinary approach incorporating molecular, biochemical, imaging, and electrophysiological analyses in mouse and human cells. Research Review in Neurobiology: Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Plasticity: Read More [+]

Instructor: Bateup

Research Review in Neurobiology: Molecular Mechanisms of Neuronal Plasticity: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269D Research Review in Neurobiology: Signaling Within and Between Neurons 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of recent research in molecular mechanisms involved in intracellular and extracellular signaling in the nervous system. Research Review in Neurobiology: Signaling Within and Between Neurons: Read More [+]

Instructor: Kramer

Research Review in Neurobiology: Signaling Within and Between Neurons: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269E Molecular and Biophysical Neuroscience 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of research in molecular and biophysical aspects of sensory transduction and electrical signaling in the nervous system. Molecular and Biophysical Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Enrollment is restricted to students conducting research in the laboratory of the instructor, or requires consent of the instructor

Instructor: Brohawn

Molecular and Biophysical Neuroscience: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269F Optogenetic Dissection of Neural Circuits 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research review in neurobiology. Review of recent optogenetic strategies for dissecting neural connectivity, function, and dysfunction in the rodent and primate brain. Optogenetic Dissection of Neural Circuits: Read More [+]

Instructor: Lammel

Optogenetic Dissection of Neural Circuits: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269G Research Review in Development and Application of Advanced Methods for In Vivo Imaging 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Development and application of optical imaging methods for clearer, deeper, and faster imaging of biological tissue in vivo, including a critical review of the current research. Research Review in Development and Application of Advanced Methods for In Vivo Imaging: Read More [+]

Instructor: Ji

Research Review in Development and Application of Advanced Methods for In Vivo Imaging: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269I Research Review in Neurobiology: Stem Cells and Gene Therapy in the Nervous System 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 The basic investigation of neural differentiation of stem cells, as well as the use of stem cells and gene delivery for neuroregeneration. Research Review in Neurobiology: Stem Cells and Gene Therapy in the Nervous System: Read More [+]

Instructor: Schaffer

Research Review in Neurobiology: Stem Cells and Gene Therapy in the Nervous System: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269J Research Review in Neurobiology: Taste Recognition in Drosophila 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2022 The molecular and cellular basis of taste perception in the model organism . Research Review in Neurobiology: Taste Recognition in Drosophila: Read More [+]

Instructor: Scott

Research Review in Neurobiology: Taste Recognition in Drosophila: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269K Research Review in Neurobiology: Instructive Cues for Neural Form and Function 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Molecular and circuit studies of the mechanisms that specify synaptic properties and how these properties bias the timescales of neuronal computation. Research Review in Neurobiology: Instructive Cues for Neural Form and Function: Read More [+]

Instructor: Gomez

Research Review in Neurobiology: Instructive Cues for Neural Form and Function: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269M Research Review in Neurobiology: Insect Neurophysiology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Drosophila mutants that have behavioral abnormalities to unravel new and basic features of nervous system structure and function. Research Review in Neurobiology: Insect Neurophysiology: Read More [+]

Instructor: Tanouye

Research Review in Neurobiology: Insect Neurophysiology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269N Research Review in Neurobiology: Synaptic and Circuit Mechanisms that Support Spatial Navigation 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Research in the Fisher laboratory focuses on spatial navigation in fruit flies in order to understand how nervous systems flexibly process information. Our research combines in vivo electrophysiology, 2-photon imaging, advanced genetic approaches and quantitative behavioral analysis to understand how the fly’s brain constructs and maintains a sense of direction under ever-changing conditions. Research Review in Neurobiology: Synaptic and Circuit Mechanisms that Support Spatial Navigation: Read More [+]

Instructor: Fisher

Research Review in Neurobiology: Synaptic and Circuit Mechanisms that Support Spatial Navigation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269O Research Review in Neurobiology: Neural Circuits for Sensory Processing and Behavior 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Microcircuitry of the cerebral cortex that underlies sensory processing and adaptive behavior. Research Review in Neurobiology: Neural Circuits for Sensory Processing and Behavior: Read More [+]

Instructor: Adesnik

Research Review in Neurobiology: Neural Circuits for Sensory Processing and Behavior: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269P Research Review in Neurobiology: Visual Neuroscience 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Mechanisms for visual object representation including recognition, memory, segmentation, tracking, 3D representation, and embedding into meaningful scenes. Understanding the function of feedforward and feedback pathways in vision. Research Review in Neurobiology: Visual Neuroscience: Read More [+]

Instructor: Tsao

Research Review in Neurobiology: Visual Neuroscience: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269Q Research Review in Neurobiology: Sensory Processing and Plasticity in Cerebral Cortex 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 How the cerebral cortex processes sensory input and stores information about the sensory world. We focus on the rat's primary somatosensory (S1) cortex. Research Review in Neurobiology: Sensory Processing and Plasticity in Cerebral Cortex: Read More [+]

Instructor: Feldman

Research Review in Neurobiology: Sensory Processing and Plasticity in Cerebral Cortex: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269R Research Review in Neurobiology: Potassium Channels and Synaptic Plasticity 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Neurobiology: Potassium Channels and Synaptic Plasticity: Read More [+]

Instructor: Isacoff

Research Review in Neurobiology: Potassium Channels and Synaptic Plasticity: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269T Research Review in Neurobiology: Processing of Visual Information in the Mammalian Brain 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Review of current literature and discussion of original research. Research Review in Neurobiology: Processing of Visual Information in the Mammalian Brain: Read More [+]

Instructor: Dan

Research Review in Neurobiology: Processing of Visual Information in the Mammalian Brain: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 269W Research Review in Neurobiology: Neural Activity Affecting the Assembly of Neural Circuits 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 How neural activity affects the assembly of neural circuits. Research Review in Neurobiology: Neural Activity Affecting the Assembly of Neural Circuits: Read More [+]

Instructor: Feller

Research Review in Neurobiology: Neural Activity Affecting the Assembly of Neural Circuits: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 275 Therapeutics Development in Biotech: Financing, Regulation and Social Ethics 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024 This course offers an introduction to the field of biotechnology and will cover the history of the field, its impact on medicine and society, key methodologies, important therapeutic areas, and the range of career options available in the biopharmaceutical industry. Students will hear from lecturers with expertise ranging from molecular biology to clinical trial design and interpretation and be given an integrated overview of a complex area. Students will actively participate in experiential learning about relevant topics and presenting their findings in class, which will deepen understanding. There will be interactive elements, using a Socratic discussion format. Students are expected to participate actively. Therapeutics Development in Biotech: Financing, Regulation and Social Ethics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Students must be enrolled in the Master of Biotechnology program

Instructor: Schaletzky

Therapeutics Development in Biotech: Financing, Regulation and Social Ethics: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 276 Sample Management, Drug Discovery and Lab Automation 2 Units

Terms offered: Not yet offered Automation plays an increasing role in academic and biotech labs. High-Throughput Screening (HTS) leverages screening of large libraries for activity against biological targets for drug discovery, enabled by automation, miniaturized assays and large-scale data analysis. Students learn process automation and hands-on training on sample management and liquid handling robotics. Students conduct a primary screen and follow up hits through dose response, using LIMS/Sample Management/Sample Tracking/Equipment Validation/QC and data analysis and interpretation. Students will understand what is required to run a HTS experiment, use robotics, data processing and control software, and learn how automation can help with accuracy and precision. Sample Management, Drug Discovery and Lab Automation: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 3 weeks - 10 hours of lecture and 20 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Ten hours of lecture and twenty hours of laboratory per week for three weeks.

Sample Management, Drug Discovery and Lab Automation: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C277 Communicating Quantitative Information 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2020, Spring 2019 This course will cover several aspects of communicating quantitative information, with a primary focus on visualizations for publications, presentations, and posters. Other topics include sharing of data and analyses, such as new publication models and interactive notebooks, as well as lifecycle data management and publication. Primary discussion will be on conceptual issues, and students will be expected to use various systems and resources as self-directed homestudy. Communicating Quantitative Information: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of seminar and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of discussion and one and one-half hours of seminar per week.

Also listed as: PLANTBI C277

Communicating Quantitative Information: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 280A Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 The course will focus on fundamental principles, essential concepts, and recent advances in select topics in molecular and cell biology. Topics include genomics and computational biology, molecular evolution, neurons and synapses, microbi ology and immunology, macromolecular structure and function, and scientific writing. Courses are taught in tandem and maybe taken individually. Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 5 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week for five weeks.

Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 280B Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2012, Spring 2011, Spring 2010 The course will focus on fundamental principles, essential concepts, and recent advances in select topics in molecular and cell biology. Topics include genomics and computational biology, molecular evolution, neurons and synapses, microbi ology and immunology, macromolecular structure and function, and scientific writing. Courses are taught in tandem and maybe taken individually. Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor

MCELLBI 280C Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2016 The course will focus on fundamental principles, essential concepts, and recent advances in select topics in molecular and cell biology. Topics include genomics and computational biology, molecular evolution, neurons and synapses, microbi ology and immunology, macromolecular structure and function, and scientific writing. Courses are taught in tandem and maybe taken individually. Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

MCELLBI 280D Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The course will focus on fundamental principles, essential concepts, and recent advances in select topics in molecular and cell biology. Topics include genomics and computational biology, molecular evolution, neurons and synapses, microbi ology and immunology, macromolecular structure and function, and scientific writing. Courses are taught in tandem and maybe taken individually. Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

MCELLBI 280E Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology 1 Unit

Mcellbi 280f selected topics in molecular and cell biology 1 unit.

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 The course will focus on fundamental principles, essential concepts, and recent advances in select topics in molecular and cell biology. Topics include genomics and computational biology, molecular evolution, neurons and synapses, microbi ology and immunology, macromolecular structure and function, and scientific writing. Courses are taught in tandem and maybe taken individually. Selected Topics in Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

MCELLBI 288 Data Science for Molecular and Cell Biology 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020 Data science is rapidly becoming a critical skill for molecular and cell biologists. This course provides a survey of data science concepts and methods, including practical statistical inference and modeling, data visualization and exploration, elementary machine learning, and simulation. The course is practically oriented. Diverse real-world datasets, along with simulated data, will be used to develop skills and intuition. Data Science for Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing in the biological sciences or permission from instructors. Prior introductory exposure to programming is desired, e.g., through Data Science 8, MCB Python “boot camp,” or self taught from introductory programming tutorials. Please see http://python.berkeley.edu/resources/ for suggested resources. No prior statistics is assumed. The course is not suitable for students with advanced training in statistics or machine learning

Instructors: Rokhsar, Eisen

Data Science for Molecular and Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 289 Master of Biotechnology Capstone Course 5 Units

Terms offered: Not yet offered This capstone course fosters collaborative learning by bringing together students each week to discuss their internship project that they have been working on individually or in small groups under the supervision of their internship mentor. Students are encouraged to apply critical thinking skills to evaluate other projects and to provide constructive feedback. Students will work towards a final written report and oral presentation. They will identify and present a technology overview, explanation of unmet need, a central working hypothesis, a plan to test said hypothesis, execution of their plan, and a final research product. The final presentation will be in a poster presentation format. Master of Biotechnology Capstone Course: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: MCELLBI 201A and MCELLBI 201B . Students must be enrolled in the Master of Biotechnology program

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 5 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Five hours of seminar per week.

Master of Biotechnology Capstone Course: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 290 Graduate Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Graduate student presentations on selected research topics in molecular and cell biology. Several sections covering different topics offered each semester. Concurrent enrollment in more than one section is permitted. List of topics to be announced before each semester. Graduate Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing in the department or consent of instructor

Additional Format: One to Two hour of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Graduate Seminar: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 291A Introduction to Research 2 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Closely supervised experimental work under the direction of an individual faculty member; an introduction to experimental methods and research approaches in particular areas of molecular and cell biology. Introduction to Research: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-12 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Laboratory research, conferences.

Grading: Letter grade. This is part one of a year long series course. A provisional grade of IP (in progress) will be applied and later replaced with the final grade after completing part two of the series.

Introduction to Research: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 291B Introduction to Research 2 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Closely supervised experimental work under the direction of an individual faculty member; an introduction to experimental methods and research approaches in particular areas of molecular and cell biology. Introduction to Research: Read More [+]

Grading: Letter grade. This is part two of a year long series course. Upon completion, the final grade will be applied to both parts of the series.

MCELLBI 292 Research 3 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Individual research under the supervision of a faculty member. Research: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week

Research: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI N292 Research 3 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2009 10 Week Session, Summer 2008 10 Week Session, Summer 2006 10 Week Session Individual research under the supervision of a staff member. Research: Read More [+]

Summer: 8 weeks - 3-6 hours of independent study per week

MCELLBI 293A Research Seminar 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Seminar on presentation and evaluation of results in area of student's individual research interests. Research Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Concurrent enrollment in 291A or 292

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Research Seminar: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 293C Responsible Conduct in Research 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 The purpose of this course is to ensure that research trainees receive ample training in Responsible Conduct in Research. Students also gain an understanding of federal, state, and UC Berkeley policies and resources available to further support their research endeavors. Responsible Conduct in Research: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week.

Instructor: Sharma

Responsible Conduct in Research: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 293D Rigor and Reproducibility in Research 1 Unit

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 The purpose of this course is to ensure that research trainees receive training in Rigor and Reproducibility in Research. Students also gain an understanding of federal, state, and UC Berkeley policies and resources available to further support their research endeavors. Rigor and Reproducibility in Research: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of Instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of lecture per week.

Rigor and Reproducibility in Research: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 293R Responsible Conduct of Research Refresher 1 Unit

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This refresher course will cover topics in responsible conduct in research drawing from case studies of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the NIH. Students will review case studies in preparation for class discussion. Required of all 4th year MCB graduate students funded on NIH training grants. Responsible Conduct of Research Refresher: Read More [+]

Course Objectives: Collaborative research including collaborations with industry Data acquisition and laboratory tools; management, sharing and ownership Mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships Policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices Research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct Responsible authorship and publication The scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor. Must be a 4th year MCB graduate student

Responsible Conduct of Research Refresher: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 293S Foundations of Biostatistical Practice 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018 This course is designed to introduce students to the foundations of statistics in the context of biological research. Rather than focusing on a catalog of specific methods (by essence non-exhaustive and rapidly outdated), the course emphasizes general concepts and approaches necessary for sound statistical practice. Topics covered include: exploratory data analysis (EDA); data visualization; inferential reasoning; models and assumptions; statistical computing; computationally reproducible research. The statistical methods and software are motivated by and illustrated on data structures that arise in current biological and medical research. Foundations of Biostatistical Practice: Read More [+]

Foundations of Biostatistical Practice: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 294 Current Topics in Biomedical Sciences 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2021 This course will discuss cutting-edge topics in biochemistry, structural biology, cell biology, developmental biology and genetics. Lectures will be given by internationally recognized biomedical scientists that visit the Molecular and Cell Biology Department and present work currently performed in their laboratories. The class will include topics ranging from structural analysis of important signaling molecules, live cell imaging and high resolution microscopy of critical cellular structures, to genetic dissection of essential signaling networks in cells and developmental pathways in multicellular organisms. It is the goal of this class to expose students to both the breadth and highest standards of current biomedical research. Current Topics in Biomedical Sciences: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Molecular and Cell Biology graduate students only

Current Topics in Biomedical Sciences: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 295 Careers for Life Sciences Ph.D's 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course is designed to assist graduate students in the biological sciences with planning their postgraduate careers. Weekly guest speakers will present their experiences on a variety of topics. Postdoctoral students are invited. Topics may include academia; job searches; setting up a laboratory; patent law/technology transfer; public policy/regulatory affairs; bioinformatics; science writing/technical support; forensic science; postdoctoral positions in industry; teaching, and other topics of interest. Careers for Life Sciences Ph.D's: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Open to graduate and postdoctoral students

Careers for Life Sciences Ph.D's: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 296 Molecular and Cell Biology Colloquium 0.0 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 Meetings for the presentation of original work by faculty, visiting lecturers, and graduate students. Molecular and Cell Biology Colloquium: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of colloquium per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of colloquium per week.

Molecular and Cell Biology Colloquium: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI C296 Doctoral Seminar in Computational Biology 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 This interactive seminar builds skills, knowledge and community in computational biology for first year PhD and second year Designated Emphasis students. Topics covered include concepts in human genetics/genomics, microbiome data analysis, laboratory methodologies and data sources for computational biology, workshops/instruction on use of various bioinformatics tools, critical review of current research studies and computational methods, preparation for success in the PhD program and career development. Faculty members of the graduate program in computational biology and scientists from other institutions will participate. Topics will vary each semester. Doctoral Seminar in Computational Biology: Read More [+]

Instructors: Moorjani, Rokhsar

Also listed as: CMPBIO C293

Doctoral Seminar in Computational Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 375 Pedagogy for MCB Graduate Student Instructors 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course introduces new graduate student instructors to effective teaching methods that they can use in their MCB courses. Through readings, discussions and demonstrations, students will learn how to engage and motivate students, facilitate active participation, plan a class period, and write exam or practice problems. Emphasis will be placed on science education literature and proven practical techniques. We will also provide support and solutions for dealing with difficult situations that may come up during the semester. Pedagogy for MCB Graduate Student Instructors: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Appointment as graduate student instructor or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 10 weeks - 1 hour of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two and one-half hours of orientation before the first class meeting and one and one-half hours of seminar for the first class meeting.

Subject/Course Level: Molecular and Cell Biology/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers

Instructors: Ball, Beatty, Barnes

Pedagogy for MCB Graduate Student Instructors: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 380 Teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2016, Fall 2015 Teaching laboratories and/or discussions for Molecular and Cell Biology courses: analysis of specific format and problems. Two units of credit for those with 50% teaching appointment; one unit of credit for those with 25% teaching appointment. Teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0-1 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Zero to one hours of seminar per week.

Teaching of Molecular and Cell Biology: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 481B Instrumentation in Molecular and Cell Biology: Transmission Electron Microscopy 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Individualized laboratory instruction. Instrumentation in Molecular and Cell Biology: Transmission Electron Microscopy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Graduate standing; consent of instructor and sponsorship of a faculty member

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 2-7.5 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to four hours of independent study per week. Two to seven and one-half hours of independent study per week for 8 weeks. Two and one-half to ten hours of independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Subject/Course Level: Molecular and Cell Biology/Other professional

Instrumentation in Molecular and Cell Biology: Transmission Electron Microscopy: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 481C Instrumentation in Molecular and Cell Biology: Scanning Electron Microscopy 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Individualized laboratory instruction. Instrumentation in Molecular and Cell Biology: Scanning Electron Microscopy: Read More [+]

Instrumentation in Molecular and Cell Biology: Scanning Electron Microscopy: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 601 Individual Study for Master's Students 1 - 8 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2006, Spring 2005, Spring 2001 Individual study for the comprehensive or language examinations in consultation with the field adviser. Individual Study for Master's Students: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for master's degree.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-8 hours of independent study per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 1.5-15 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to Eight hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. One and one-half to Fifteen hours of Independent study per week for 8 weeks.

Subject/Course Level: Molecular and Cell Biology/Graduate examination preparation

Individual Study for Master's Students: Read Less [-]

MCELLBI 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 8 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2006, Spring 2005, Fall 2004 Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser. Intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Restricted to Ph.D. candidates

Credit Restrictions: Course does not satisfy unit or residence requirements for doctoral degree.

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-8 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-8 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Reading and conferences.

Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read Less [-]

UGBA C5 Introduction to Entrepreneurship 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020 This course offers students a taste of what it’s really like to start a business. In addition to learning key foundational entrepreneurial concepts such as idea generation & evaluation, customer & product development, creating a business model, fundraising, marketing, and scaling & exiting a business, students will also hear from successful entrepreneurs who share their perspectives and best practices. Students will apply core concepts by working in teams to evaluate and select a venture idea that they will then develop throughout the semester. Introduction to Entrepreneurship: Read More [+]

Subject/Course Level: Undergrad. Business Administration/Undergraduate

Also listed as: L & S C5

Introduction to Entrepreneurship: Read Less [-]

UGBA 10 Principles of Business 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 This team-taught course provides an introduction to the study of the modern business enterprise. It consists of four modules, the order of which may vary from semester to semester, and an online business simulation that runs during most of the semester. The four modules cover: Finance & Accounting, Marketing, Operations & Sustainability, and Leadership. In addition to lectures and the simulation, students attend discussion section each week. Principles of Business: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 10

Principles of Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA 10X Foundations of Business 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024 This course is a reimagining of UGBA 10 as an interactive foundational leadership course. It provides an introduction to the fundamental Haas Defining Leadership Principles (Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself), as well as an in-depth exploration of business fundamentals, teamwork, and critical thinking. In addition to introducing students to contemporary business topics, their historical and conceptual foundations , and their social and psychological sources and effects, this course also serves as a “sandbox” for the active application of this knowledge. Foundations of Business: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of laboratory per week.

Foundations of Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA C12 The Berkeley Changemaker 2 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Berkeley Changemaker impact occurs across many fronts: scientific, artistic, social, and entrepreneurial. This course helps students identify as a Berkeley Changemaker and learn the critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills to become one. Combining disciplines across UC Berkeley, the course also helps launch the Berkeley Discovery arc. Students develop their own leadership styles and discover how they can create and lead diverse teams to act upon the world. Values in Berkeley’s DNA like Questioning the Status Quo and going Beyond Yourself support students in leading from whatever position they occupy, preparing them to leave their mark on campus, in their communities, or beyond. More at: http://changemaker.berkeley.edu. The Berkeley Changemaker: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-2 hours of lecture and 0-1.5 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 6-6 hours of lecture and 0-0 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 4-4 hours of lecture and 0-3 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture and zero to one and one-half hours of discussion per week. Four hours of lecture and zero to three hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks. Six hours of lecture and zero hour of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Also listed as: L & S C12

The Berkeley Changemaker: Read Less [-]

UGBA 13 Berkeley Changemaker: Human Health 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2022 Do you wonder how you might play a part in changing human health and improving the lives of others? Find your path with Berkeley Changemaker: Human Health. In this course you will apply the core principles of the Berkeley Changemaker curriculum by Critically exploring a full understanding of an important human health issue, Collaborating with diverse colleagues on a project team to investigate solutions using gold-standard discovery techniques, and Communicating what you’ve learned and providing thoughtful feedback to your classmates. Each week you will also research and then have a curated conversation with a changemaking expert on a range of human health topics, from startup solutions, to healthcare economics, to health equity issues. Berkeley Changemaker: Human Health: Read More [+]

Berkeley Changemaker: Human Health: Read Less [-]

UGBA 24 Freshman Seminars 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 The Berkeley Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Berkeley Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Freshman Seminars: Read More [+]

Additional Format: One hour of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

UGBA 39AC Philanthropy: A Cross-Cultural Perspective 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This class will compare and contrast the variety of gift giving and sharing traditions that make up American philanthropy. Both the cultural antecedents and their expression in this country will be explored from five ethnic and racial groups: Native American, European American, African American, Hispanic American, and Asian American. The goal is to gain a greater understanding of the many dimensions of philanthropy as it is practiced in the United States today. Philanthropy: A Cross-Cultural Perspective: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 39AC

Philanthropy: A Cross-Cultural Perspective: Read Less [-]

UGBA 39E Freshman/Sophomore Seminar 2 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Priority given to freshmen and sophomores

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-4 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Seminar Format.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 39

Freshman/Sophomore Seminar: Read Less [-]

UGBA 78G Developing Global Leadership Expertise 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course is required for all freshmen in the Global Management Program at the Haas School of Business and limited to those students as well. The objective of this course is to provide students with an introduction to the type of leadership skills required to be a successful cross-cultural leader in today's increasingly complex global marketplace. The goal is for each student to begin developing a personalized global leadership "toolkit" that will continue to evolve over the next few years in the Global Management Program and ultimately as a business decision-maker with fiduciary responsibilities. Developing Global Leadership Expertise: Read More [+]

Developing Global Leadership Expertise: Read Less [-]

UGBA 84 Sophomore Seminar 1 or 2 Units

Terms offered: Not yet offered Sophomore seminars are small interactive courses offered by faculty members in departments all across the campus. Sophomore seminars offer opportunity for close, regular intellectual contact between faculty members and students in the crucial second year. The topics vary from department to department and semester to semester. Enrollment limited to 15 sophomores. Sophomore Seminar: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 5 weeks - 3-6 hours of seminar per week 10 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of seminar per week 15 weeks - 1-2 hours of seminar per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-5 hours of seminar per week 8 weeks - 1.5-3.5 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: unit(s):one hour of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):two hours of seminar per week. unit(s):one and one-half hours of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):three hours of seminar per week for 10 weeks. unit(s):one and one-half hours of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):three and one-half hours of seminar per week for 8 weeks. unit(s):two and one-half hours of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):five hours of seminar per week for 6 weeks. unit(s):three hours of seminar per week; 2 unit(s):six hours of seminar per week for five weeks.

UGBA 88 Data and Decisions 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 8 Week Session, Spring 2024 The goal of this connector course is to provide an understanding of how data and statistical analysis can improve managerial decision-making. We will explore statistical methods for gleaning insights from economic and social data, with an emphasis on approaches to identifying causal relationships. We will discuss how to design and analyze randomized experiments and introduce econometric methods for estimating causal effects in non-experimental data. The course draws on a variety of business and social science applications, including advertising, management, online marketplaces, labor markets, and education. This course, in combination with the Data 8 Foundations course, satisfies the statistics prerequisite for admission to Haas. Data and Decisions: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: One semester of Calculus (Math 16A or Math 1A). Also, this is a Data Science connector course and may only be taken concurrently with or after completing Computer Science C8/Statistics C8/Information C8

Summer: 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week. Four hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.

Data and Decisions: Read Less [-]

UGBA C95B Introduction to the Biotechnology Field and Industry 2 Units

Also listed as: MCELLBI C75

UGBA 96 Lower Division Special Topics in Business Administration 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 Study in various fields of business administration for lower division students. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester. Lower Division Special Topics in Business Administration: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two to four hours of tutorial per week for 12 weeks. Two and one-half hours to seven and one-half hours of tutorial per week for 6 weeks.

Lower Division Special Topics in Business Administration: Read Less [-]

UGBA 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2014, Spring 2014 Organized group study on topics selected by lower division students under the sponsorship and direction of a member of the Haas School of Business faculty. Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Enrollment is restricted; see the Introduction to Courses and Curricula section of this catalog.

Additional Format: Three to twelve hours of group study per week.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 98

UGBA 100 Business Communication 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Theory and practice of effective communication in a business environment. Students practice what they learn with oral presentations and written assignments that model real-life business situations. Business Communication: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Restricted to Undergraduate Business Administration Majors Only

Summer: 6 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. Four hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. Five hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Business Communication: Read Less [-]

UGBA 101A Microeconomic Analysis for Business Decisions 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 Economic analysis applicable to the problems of business enterprises with emphasis on the determination of the level of prices, outputs, and inputs; effects of the state of the competitive environment on business and government policies. Microeconomic Analysis for Business Decisions: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Economics 1, Mathematics 1A or 16A, Statistics W21, or equivalents

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA 101A after completing ECON 100A , ECON 101A , BUS ADM 110, ENVECON 100 , BUS ADM S110, IAS 106 , or POLECON 106 . A deficient grade in UGBA 101A may be removed by taking POLECON 106 , ECON 100A , ECON 101A , ENVECON 100 , IAS 106 , or POLECON 106 .

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and two and one-half hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Microeconomic Analysis for Business Decisions: Read Less [-]

UGBA 101B Macroeconomic Analysis for Business Decisions 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 Analysis of the operation of the market system with emphasis on the factors responsible for economic instability; analysis of public and business policies which are necessary as a result of business fluctuations. Macroeconomic Analysis for Business Decisions: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA 101B after completing ECON 100B , ECON 101B , BUS ADM 111, IAS 107, or POLECON 107 . A deficient grade in UGBA 101B may be removed by taking ECON 100B , ECON 101B , IAS 107, or POLECON 107 .

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and two and one-half hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Grading/Final exam status: Letter grade. Final exam required, with common exam group.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 111

Macroeconomic Analysis for Business Decisions: Read Less [-]

UGBA 102A Financial Accounting 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 The identification, measurement, and reporting of financial effects of events on enterprises, with a particular emphasis on business organization. Preparation and interpretation of balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flows. Financial Accounting: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Course not open for credit for students who are taking or have completed Undergraduate Business Administration W102A.

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and two and one-half hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Financial Accounting: Read Less [-]

UGBA 102B Managerial Accounting 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session The uses of accounting systems and their outputs in the process of management of an enterprise. Classification of costs and revenue on several bases for various uses; budgeting and standard cost accounting; analyses of relevant costs and other data for decision making. Managerial Accounting: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 102A

Managerial Accounting: Read Less [-]

UGBA 103 Introduction to Finance 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session Analysis and management of the flow of funds through an enterprise. Cash management, source and application of funds, term loans, types and sources of long-term capital. Capital budgeting, cost of capital, and financial structure. Introduction to capital markets. Introduction to Finance: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 101A

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week. Six hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and two and one-half hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Introduction to Finance: Read Less [-]

UGBA 104 Introduction to Business Analytics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 This course provides an introduction to several quantitative methods used to facilitate complex decision-making in business, with applications in many different industries, at different levels in the organization, and with different scopes of decisions. The power of the methods covered in this class is further enhanced by implementing them in spreadsheet software, which allows complex problems to be approached and solved in a straightforward and understandable manner. Introduction to Business Analytics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Mathematics 1B or 16B, Statistics W21, or equivalents

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture and 1.5 hours of laboratory per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5-0 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of laboratory per week. Two and one-half to seven and one-half hours of lecture and two and one-half to zero hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Introduction to Business Analytics: Read Less [-]

UGBA 105 Leading People 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 A general descriptive and analytical study of organizations from the behavioral science point of view. Problems of motivation, leadership, morale, social structure, groups, communications, hierarchy, and control in complex organizations are addressed. The interaction among technology, environment, and human behavior are considered. Alternate theoretical models are discussed. Leading People: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Undergrad. Business Administration 105 after completing Business Administration 150 or S150.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1.5-3 hours of lecture and 1.5-0 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 4-8 hours of lecture and 4-0 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 3-6 hours of lecture and 3-0 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: One and one-half to three hours of lecture and one and one-half to zero hours of discussion per week. Three to six hours of lecture and three to zero hours of discussion per week for 8 weeks. Four to eight hours of lecture and four to zero hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Leading People: Read Less [-]

UGBA 106 Marketing 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session The evolution of markets and marketing; market structure; marketing cost and efficiency; public and private regulation; the development of marketing programs including decisions involving products, price, promotional distribution. Marketing: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week. Six hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Marketing: Read Less [-]

UGBA 107 The Social, Political, and Ethical Environment of Business 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 Study and analysis of American business in a changing social and political environment. Interaction between business and other institutions. Role of business in the development of social values, goals, and national priorities. The expanding role of the corporation in dealing with social problems and issues. The Social, Political, and Ethical Environment of Business: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 5-7.5 hours of lecture and 2.5-0 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Five to seven and one-half hours of lecture and two and one-half to zero hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

The Social, Political, and Ethical Environment of Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA 117 Special Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017 A variety of topics in economic analysis and policy with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 101A-101B or equivalents

Additional Format: One to Four hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. Two and one-half to Ten hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 119

Special Topics in Economic Analysis and Policy: Read Less [-]

UGBA 118 International Trade 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This course will develop models for understanding the economic causes and effects of international trade, will investigate the effects of economic policies that inhibit trade, and will examine the political economy of trade. By integrating the findings of the latest theoretical and empirical research in international economics, this course help students learn how to explore the current political debates in the U.S. and elsewhere regarding the benefits and costs of international trade. International Trade: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Undergraduate Business Administration 101A or equivalent

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Undergraduate Business Administration 118 after taking Economics 181 or Economics C181/Environmental Economics and Policy C181.

International Trade: Read Less [-]

UGBA 120AA Intermediate Financial Accounting 1 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 This Course introduces the student to concepts, theory and applications of financial accounting. The topics covered include accrual accounting concepts, financial statement analysis, inventory valuations, capital assets and their corresponding depreciation and impairment. Attention is given to examples on current reporting practices and to the study of reporting requirements promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) with comparison to the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”). Intermediate Financial Accounting 1: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and five hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Intermediate Financial Accounting 1: Read Less [-]

UGBA 120AB Intermediate Financial Accounting 2 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2024, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session This course expands students’ knowledge of the concepts, theory, and application of financial accounting. It continues the technical accounting sequence, which also includes UGBA 120AA , Intermediate Accounting 1 and UGBA 120B , Advanced Financial Accounting. Topics include an in-depth treatment of the financing elements of the balance sheet and the income statement, as well as a detailed examination of the statement of cash flows. Intermediate Financial Accounting 2: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: UGBA 102A is required. UGBA 120AA is recommended

Intermediate Financial Accounting 2: Read Less [-]

UGBA 120B Advanced Financial Accounting 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 Continuation of 120A. Sources of long term capital; funds statements, financial analysis, accounting for partnerships, consolidated financial statements, adjustments of accounting data using price indexes; accounting for the financial effects of pension plans; other advanced accounting problems. Advanced Financial Accounting: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: UGBA 120AA and 120AB are recommended

Advanced Financial Accounting: Read Less [-]

UGBA 121 Federal Income Tax Accounting 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session Determination of individual and corporation tax liability; influence of federal taxation on economic activity; tax considerations in business and investment decisions. Federal Income Tax Accounting: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 102A (120AA recommended)

Summer: 6 weeks - 7.5 hours of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of discussion per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Federal Income Tax Accounting: Read Less [-]

UGBA 122 Financial Information Analysis 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session This course is designed to: 1) develop basic skills in financial statement analysis; 2) teach students to identify the relevant financial data used in a variety of decision contexts, such as equity valuation, forecasting firm-level economic variables, distress prediction and credit analysis; 3) help students appreciate the factors that influence the outcome of the financial reporting process, such as the incentives of reporting parties, regulatory rules, and a firm's competitive environment. Financial Information Analysis: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 120AA

Financial Information Analysis: Read Less [-]

UGBA 123 Operating and Financial Reporting Issues in the Financial Services Industry 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This course examines how accounting in the financial services industry – banking, insurance, investment industry, and real estate – actually operates. Students learn about underwriting and pricing in each sector, investment processes and controls, incentive-based profit sharing, risk management, and the factors that contribute to profitability. Students learn what financial statements reveal about estimates companies make regarding liabilities and, more generally, what they reveal about how companies deal with uncertainty associated with predicting and measuring financial results. Students examine the controversy over employing Fair Value Accounting across sectors and learn about other sector-specific accounting requirements. Operating and Financial Reporting Issues in the Financial Services Industry: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Students are encouraged to complete UGBA 102A or to possess a basic understanding about how financial statements are prepared

Operating and Financial Reporting Issues in the Financial Services Industry: Read Less [-]

UGBA 125 Ethics in Accounting 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This course focuses on ethics related to the accounting for and reporting of financial statements and related financial information, and touches on the ethics of tax preparers. It is taught within the context of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), as well as broader ethical concepts. This course fulfills the accounting ethics education requirement of the California Board of Accountancy, needed for a California CPA license. The course covers (i) theories and rules and (ii) the application of these theories and rules to case studies drawn from real life. Students are taught not only to identify the risks of fraud, but also how an organization’s culture and structure might be altered to reduce the risks. Ethics in Accounting: Read More [+]

Ethics in Accounting: Read Less [-]

UGBA 126 Auditing 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 Concepts and problems in the field of professional verification of financial and related information, including ethical, legal and other professional issues, historical developments, and current concerns. Auditing: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 120AA (120AB and 120B recommended)

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and One and one-half hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of Lecture and Two hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Auditing: Read Less [-]

UGBA 127 Special Topics in Accounting 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 A variety of topics in accounting with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in Accounting: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: At the discretion of the instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-4 hours of lecture and 0-1 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of lecture and 0-2.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: One to four hours of lecture and zero to one hours of discussion per week. Two and one-half to ten hours of lecture and zero to two and one-half hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Special Topics in Accounting: Read Less [-]

UGBA 128 Strategic Cost Management 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Managerial accounting is a company's internal language and is used for decision-making, production management, product design and pricing, performance evaluation and motivation of employees. The objective of the course is to develop the skills and analytical ability of effectively and efficiently use managerial accounting information in order to help a company achieve its strategic and financial goals. Strategic Cost Management: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 102B

Strategic Cost Management: Read Less [-]

UGBA 131 Corporate Finance and Financial Statement Analysis 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 This course will cover the principles and practice of business finance. It will focus on project evaluation, capital structure, and corporate governance. Firms' policies toward debt, equity, and dividends are explored. The incentives and conflicts facing managers and owners are also discussed. Corporate Finance and Financial Statement Analysis: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 103

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of Lecture and Two hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 134

Corporate Finance and Financial Statement Analysis: Read Less [-]

UGBA 131A Corporate Strategy and Valuation 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 The course is designed to cover advanced corporate finance issues. Its purpose is two-fold. First, it will help students develop a tool-box, both conceptual and quantitative, to address real-world corporate financial issues that they will likely use immediately in any finance-related career. Second, the course is designed to give the “the big picture,” i.e., sharpen understanding of how corporate financial strategy helps increase a firm’s value in a dynamic environment. The course examines qualitative factors that help determine financial strategy, including the costs of financial distress and the value of financial flexibility, as well as quantitative techniques, such as option pricing, that will be helpful in various analyses. Corporate Strategy and Valuation: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Undergraduate Business Administration 103

Corporate Strategy and Valuation: Read Less [-]

UGBA 132 Financial Institutions and Markets 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2019 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2018 First 6 Week Session Organization, behavior, and management of financial institutions. Markets for financial assets and the structure of yields, influence of Federal Reserve System and monetary policy on financial assets and institutions. Financial Institutions and Markets: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 101A-101B, and 103

Summer: 6 weeks - 8 hours of lecture and 2.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture and One hour of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. Eight hours of Lecture and Two and one-half hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 132

Financial Institutions and Markets: Read Less [-]

UGBA 133 Investments 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 Sources of and demand for investment capital, operations of security markets, determination of investment policy, and procedures for analysis of securities. Investments: Read More [+]

Investments: Read Less [-]

UGBA 134 Introduction to Financial Engineering 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2019 This course provides students with an introduction to the application of mathematics and statistics in the field of finance. It consists of three integrated modules: 1) an introduction to the quantitative foundations of finance, using calculus, linear algebra, statistics and probability; 2) extension into financial theory as it relates to asset pricing, fixed income, derivatives, structured finance and risk management; and 3) application and implementation of these foundational tools and theory through software like Excel to build basic quantitative financial models (touching on programming). The goal is to use financial models that can guide business and financial decisions. Introduction to Financial Engineering: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: UGBA 103

Introduction to Financial Engineering: Read Less [-]

UGBA 135 Personal Financial Management 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Survey of major life financial decisions (e.g., career choice, consumption versus saving, investments, mortgages, insurance) and how decision-making biases (e.g., overconfidence, present bias, limited attention) can lead to suboptimal choice. The course draws on research from economics, psychology, and sociology. Personal Financial Management: Read More [+]

Instructors: Odean, Selinger

Personal Financial Management: Read Less [-]

UGBA 136F Behavioral Finance 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session This course explores why markets are sometimes inefficient. We consider the role that investors’ heuristics and biases play in generating mispricing in financial markets. We also explore how various trading frictions limit the ability of arbitrageurs to reduce mispricing. Finally, we look at the influence of market inefficiencies on corporate decisions. Behavioral Finance: Read More [+]

Behavioral Finance: Read Less [-]

UGBA 137 Special Topics in Finance 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2023 A variety of topics in finance with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in Finance: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 139

Special Topics in Finance: Read Less [-]

UGBA 141 Production and Operations Management 2 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2022 A survey of the concepts and methodologies for management control of production and operations systems. Topics include inventory control, material requirements planning for multistage production systems, aggregate planning, scheduling, and production distribution. Production and Operations Management: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 104 or equivalent, or consent of instructor

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of lecture and 0-1 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 5-7.5 hours of lecture and 0-2.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: Two to three hours of lecture and zero to one hours of discussion per week. Five to seven and one-half hours of lecture and zero to two and one-half hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 142

Production and Operations Management: Read Less [-]

UGBA 142 Advanced Business Analytics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024 Successful business analysts, managers, and executives are increasingly required to make data-driven decisions to run their businesses, rather than rely on experience and intuition alone. This course teaches the latest data analytic methods and decision methods now used by leading-edge business practitioners, going deep to understand their technical inner workings and going broad to realize their practical business applications. Topics include: data analysis/business decision methodology; data analytic methods, including machine learning and other approaches; introduction to R software for data analysis; real-world/real-data business practicum across a variety of industries. Advanced Business Analytics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Undergraduate Business Administration 104, Data Science C100, or equivalent

Advanced Business Analytics: Read Less [-]

UGBA 143 Game Theory and Business Decisions 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2014, Fall 2013, Spring 2010 This course provides an introduction to game theory and decision analysis. Game theory is concerned with strategic interactions among players (multi-player games), and decision analysis is concerned with making choices under uncertainty (single-player games). Emphasis is placed on applications. Game Theory and Business Decisions: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Mathematics 1B or 16B, Statistics 21, or equivalent

Game Theory and Business Decisions: Read Less [-]

UGBA 146 Project Management 2 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session The primary objective of this course is to develop the critical skills and knowledge needed to successfully pitch and lead projects, and to deliver those projects on time and within budget. The course delves into formal planning and scheduling techniques including: project definition, project selection, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), Resource Estimation, Critical Path Method (CPM), Pert, Gantt Charts, Resource Constrained Scheduling, Project Monitoring and Project Closing. Project Management: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Five hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Project Management: Read Less [-]

UGBA 147 Special Topics in Operations and Information Technology Management 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session, Spring 2022 A variety of topics in manufacturing and information technology with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in Operations and Information Technology Management: Read More [+]

Special Topics in Operations and Information Technology Management: Read Less [-]

UGBA 150 Leading High Impact Teams 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2023 This course helps students hone and develop the leadership skills needed to lead dynamic, complex, global teams. Globalization, rapid technological change, and a shift towards an innovation-based economy have resulted in more dynamic, distributed, cross-functional, as well as demographically and culturally diverse teams. Students will learn to create team developmental plans and accountability, coach teams through challenges, encourage teams to recognize and avoid bias and misattributions, and lead from a distance and across boundaries. Leading High Impact Teams: Read More [+]

Leading High Impact Teams: Read Less [-]

UGBA 151 Management of Human Resources 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020 The designs of systems of rewards, assessment, and manpower development. The interaction of selection, placement, training, personnel evaluation, and career ladders within an on-going organization. Role of the staff manager. Introduction of change. Implications of behavioral research for management problems and policies. Management of Human Resources: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 105

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 151

Management of Human Resources: Read Less [-]

UGBA 151A People Analytics 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course focuses on measuring and analyzing the costs and benefits of human capital investments by providing students with the ability to develop, analyze and use information to assess and measure employee and organizational performance. The course will show participants how to develop and make critical recommendations on such information to senior management, as well as helping to increase their presence and credibility with key decision makers. On successful completion, students will have the skills necessary to formulate both qualitative and quantitative recommendations for key management decisions affecting employees. People Analytics: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 8 weeks - 4 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.

People Analytics: Read Less [-]

UGBA 152 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session The purpose of this course is to understand the theory and processes of negotiation as practiced in a variety of settings. It is designed to be relevant to the broad spectrum of negotiation problems faced by managers and professionals. By focusing on the hehavior of individuals, groups, and organizations in the context of competitive situations, the course will allow students the opportunity to develop negotiation skills experientially in useful analytical frameworks (e.g.- simulations, cases). Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 152

Negotiation and Conflict Resolution: Read Less [-]

UGBA 154 Power and Politics in Organizations 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Fall 2023, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session This course will provide students with a sense of "political intelligence." After taking this course, students will be able to: (1) diagnose the true distribution of power in organizations, (2) identify strategies for building sources of power, (3) develop techniques for influencing others, (4) understand the role of power in building cooperation and leading change in organizations, and (5) make sense of others' attempts to influence them. These skills are essential for effective and satisfying career building. Power and Politics in Organizations: Read More [+]

Power and Politics in Organizations: Read Less [-]

UGBA 155 Leadership 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2021 First 6 Week Session The purpose of this course is for the students to develop understanding of the theory and practice of leadership in various organizational settings. It is designed to allow students the opportunity to develop leadership skills through experiential exercises, behavioral and self-assessments, case studies, class discussions, and lectures. Leadership: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA 155 after completing UGBA W155. A deficient grade in UGBA 155 may be removed by taking UGBA W155.

Leadership: Read Less [-]

UGBA C155 Leadership: Purpose, Authority, and Empowerment 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2023 10 Week Session, Summer 2022 10 Week Session, Summer 2021 10 Week Session The purpose of this course is for the students to develop understanding of the theory and practice of leadership in various organizational settings. It is designed to allow students the opportunity to develop leadership skills through experiential exercises, behavioral and self-assessments, case studies, class discussions, and lectures. Leadership: Purpose, Authority, and Empowerment: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA C155 after completing UGBA W155. A deficient grade in UGBA C155 may be removed by taking UGBA W155.

Summer: 10 weeks - 4.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four and one-half hours of lecture per week for 10 weeks.

Also listed as: UGIS C151

Leadership: Purpose, Authority, and Empowerment: Read Less [-]

UGBA 156 Berkeley Changemaker: Living with Agency 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024 What does it mean to “live with agency”? This course emphasizes the Berkeley Changemaker pillars of critical thinking, effective communication, and productive collaboration. You will combine critical examination of evidence-based, multi-disciplinary research and theories with personal self-reflection. These are interwoven with implementable strategies, directly applicable to the business context, to help you develop a sharper sense of who you want to be along with tools to make that happen. Frequent guest speakers, simulations, and discussions allow you to learn from others as you expand your network. L&S/UGBA C12/C196C is not a prerequisite but is highly recommended since this course complements and builds on that class. Berkeley Changemaker: Living with Agency: Read More [+]

Berkeley Changemaker: Living with Agency: Read Less [-]

UGBA 157 Special Topics in the Management of Organizations 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 A variety of topics in organizational behavior and industrial relations with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in the Management of Organizations: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 159

Special Topics in the Management of Organizations: Read Less [-]

UGBA 159 Becoming a Changemaker 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 This course inspires, trains and equips participants to convert raw energy and enthusiasm for creating a better world into real leadership skills and mindsets which will empower you to create positive change at an individual, organizational and societal level. Anchored in change leadership and bringing together the fields of entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership & social impact, the course is focused on moving from ideas to action; gaining inspiration from diverse changemakers across roles and sectors; learning how to navigate, shape and lead change to thrive amidst uncertainty; and helping you become the kind of leader our companies, our communities and our world need right now. Becoming a Changemaker: Read More [+]

Becoming a Changemaker: Read Less [-]

UGBA 160 Customer Insights 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Consumer behavior is the study of how consumers process information, form attitudes and judgments, and make decisions. Its study is critical to understand how consumers think and behave, which is critical for a company wishing to develop a customer focus. Given how different people are, it is amazing how similarly their minds work. Consumer psychology is the systematic study of how consumers perceive information, how they encode it in memory , integrate it with other sources of information, retrieve it from memory, and utilize it to make decisions. It is one of the building blocks of the study of marketing and provides the student with a set of tools with diverse applications. Customer Insights: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 106

Customer Insights: Read Less [-]

UGBA 161 Market Research: Tools and Techniques for Data Collection and Analysis 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2017 Information technology has allowed firms to gather and process large quantities of information about consumers' choices and reactions to marketing campaigns. However, few firms have the expertise to intelligently act on such information. This course addresses this shortcoming by teaching students how to use customer information to better market to consumers. In addition, the course addresses how information technology affects marketing s trategy. Market Research: Tools and Techniques for Data Collection and Analysis: Read More [+]

Market Research: Tools and Techniques for Data Collection and Analysis: Read Less [-]

UGBA 162 Brand Management and Strategy 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2022, Fall 2020 This course is an introduction to product management in marketing consumer and industrial goods and services. The course will cover analysis of market information, development of product strategy, programming strategy, and implementation. Brand Management and Strategy: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 162

Brand Management and Strategy: Read Less [-]

UGBA 162A Product Branding and Branded Entertainment 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020 As consumers demand information and products tailored specifically to their individual needs, brands strive to create alternative advertising methods to build lasting relationships and retain “top of mind” status. Smart consumers, especially those in niche markets, have dismissed traditional avenues of sponsorship and product placement. Course explores how and why brand executives across multiple industries are leveraging entertainment to connect with niche markets. It educates students about how marketers develop creative and entertaining ways to connect with multi-hyphenate customers. Course culminates in a Creative Pitch, based on a case study, and a Client Presentation where students present marketing campaigns to industry executives. Product Branding and Branded Entertainment: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week. Five hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Product Branding and Branded Entertainment: Read Less [-]

UGBA 164 Marketing Strategy 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Spring 2019 This course specifically addresses how to deal with competition. Additionally, marketing managers usually have to make decisions with incomplete or unreliable information. In “Marketing Strategy” students learn how firms develop plans that can be updated in light of changing circumstances. The course covers the following topics: Market size estimation; Competitor identification and analysis; Internal analysis; Alternative business models; Risk identification, assessment and management using scenario planning; Handling unknown futures using sensitivity analysis; Price setting dynamics; Competitive tactics. The course utilizes a combination of lectures and cases. There are group presentations (self-selected teams) and some group projects. Marketing Strategy: Read More [+]

Marketing Strategy: Read Less [-]

UGBA 165 Advertising Strategy 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2021 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2020 First 6 Week Session Basic concepts and functions of advertising in the economy; consumer motivation; problems in utilizing advertising and measuring its effectiveness. Advertising Strategy: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 165

Advertising Strategy: Read Less [-]

UGBA 167 Special Topics in Marketing 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 A variety of topics in marketing with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in Marketing: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One to Four hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. Four to Six hours of Lecture per week for 8 weeks. Two and one-half to Ten hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 169

Special Topics in Marketing: Read Less [-]

UGBA 168B International Marketing 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2014 Provides frameworks, knowledge, and sensitivities to formulate and implement marketing strategies for competing in the international arena. Regions and countries covered include the Americas, Europe, Japan, China, India, Russia, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. Issues covered include global versus local advertising, international pricing strategies, selecting and managing strategic international alliances and distribution channels, managing international brands and product lines through product life cycle, international retailing, and international marketing organization and control. International Marketing: Read More [+]

Summer: 8 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

International Marketing: Read Less [-]

UGBA 169 Pricing 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 This three-module course aims to equip students with proven concepts, techniques, and frameworks for assessing and formulating pricing strategies. The first module develops the economics and behavorial foundations of pricing. The second module discusses several innovative pricing concepts including price customization, nonlinear pricing, price matching, and product line pricing. The third module analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of several Internet-based, buyer-determined pricing models. Pricing: Read More [+]

Pricing: Read Less [-]

UGBA 171 Tech and the City: How to Get Urban Innovation Right 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022 This course critically examines how new technologies and business models impact cities, and identifies the approaches that produce not only the best business outcomes, but also the most equitable and sustainable outcomes. To begin, we explore what makes cities such compelling laboratories for technology innovation, learn from past attempts at “smart city” interventions, and discuss how technologists can identify more effective solutions to today’s urban challenges. We’ll then hear from a variety of cutting edge practitioners, including venture investors, startup founders, government officials, tech journalists and community organizers about the unique opportunities and challenges of building an urban tech startup today. Tech and the City: How to Get Urban Innovation Right: Read More [+]

Tech and the City: How to Get Urban Innovation Right: Read Less [-]

UGBA C172 History of American Business 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2019 This course will examine selected aspects of the history of American business. Included will be discussions of the evolution of the large corporation, the development of modern managerial techniques, and the changing relationship of business, government, and labor. History of American Business: Read More [+]

Instructor: Rosen

Formerly known as: American Studies C172, Business Administration C172

Also listed as: AMERSTD C172

History of American Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA 173 Competitive Strategy 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024, Spring 2024 This course takes the perspective of the executive responsible for developing a firm's strategy, and focuses on forms of competitive advantage at the firm level. Topics include industry and competitive analysis; business scope (horizontal and vertical scope); make vs buy decision-making and related tradeoffs; network effects and complementors; disruption and response; non-market factors such as regulatory barriers to entry; and risks to sustaining returns. This course will build on concepts covered in various UGBA Core classes. Competitive Strategy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 101A or equivalent

Summer: 3 weeks - 10 hours of lecture per week 6 weeks - 5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week. Five hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks. Ten hours of lecture per week for three weeks.

Instructor: Metzler

Formerly known as: Undergrad. Business Administration 115

Competitive Strategy: Read Less [-]

UGBA 174 Leading Strategy Implementation 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021 Class format consists of lectures, experiential exercises, student presentations, and case discussions. This course will cover the concepts and techniques required for successful implementation of business strategies with a particular focus on the role of effective leadership in leading strategic change. Leading Strategy Implementation: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA 174 after completing BUS ADM 190.

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. Four and one-half hours of Lecture per week for 10 weeks.

Formerly known as: Undergrad. Business Administration 119

Leading Strategy Implementation: Read Less [-]

UGBA 175 Legal Aspects of Management 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 An analysis of the law and the legal process, emphasizing the nature and functions of law within the U.S. federal system, followed by a discussion of the legal problems pertaining to contracts and related topics, business association, and the impact of law on economic enterprise. Legal Aspects of Management: Read More [+]

Formerly known as: Business Administration 175

Legal Aspects of Management: Read Less [-]

UGBA 176 Innovations in Communications and Public Relations 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This course introduces students to public relations and how it is used by companies, non-profits and individuals to build and support their brands through innovative communication techniques. Students will hear from and have direct access to entrepreneurs and established executives who share insights on how they've used creative public relations campaigns and communications skills to create attention and value for their brand or avoid it in a crisis. They also learn to work in teams crafting effective media responses for an existing company needing real help now (not a case study). The semester ends with each student applying this technique to create their own personal brand that they can refine as they prepare to move into the workforce. Innovations in Communications and Public Relations: Read More [+]

Innovations in Communications and Public Relations: Read Less [-]

UGBA 177 Special Topics in Business and Public Policy 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 A variety of topics in business and public policy with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in Business and Public Policy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 107

Formerly known as: Business Administration 179

Special Topics in Business and Public Policy: Read Less [-]

UGBA 178 Introduction to International Business 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session A survey involving environmental, economic, political, and social constraints on doing business abroad; effects of overseas business investments on domestic and foreign economies; foreign market analysis and operational strategy of a firm; management problems and development potential of international operations. Introduction to International Business: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Undergraduate Business Administration 101A-101B or equivalents

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for Undergraduate Business Administration 178 after completing Business Administration 188. A deficient grade in Business Administration 188 may be removed by taking Undergraduate Business Administration 178.

Introduction to International Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA 179 International Consulting for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 By exploring the intersection of global business, entrepreneurship, and consulting, this course provides an understanding of how decision-makers in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can develop the frameworks necessary for making decisions about how to venture across borders in pursuit of economic opportunities in today's hypercompetitive global business environment. In addition to the technical analysis of cases, there is a strong emphasis on how to create a new service company, market and sell to potential clients, manage client relationships, and leverage financial and human resources in a service setting. International Consulting for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Read More [+]

International Consulting for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Read Less [-]

UGBA 179G GMP Capstone: International Team Project 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course is required for all juniors in the Global Management Program at the Haas School of Business and limited to those students as well. This is an experiential learning course where students will work on a live project with a company, covering both the revenue and cost sides of the business model. The course will provide students insider access to company executives and information while also giving them the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the company’s bottom-line performance. In the process, students will acquire skills and knowledge across the following three key categories: Cross-Cultural Competence, International Sales & Marketing, International Finance & Supply Chain Management. GMP Capstone: International Team Project: Read More [+]

GMP Capstone: International Team Project: Read Less [-]

UGBA 180 Introduction to Real Estate and Urban Land Economics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 The nature of real property; market analysis; construction cycles; mortgage lending; equity investment; metropolitan growth; urban land use; real property valuation; public policies. Introduction to Real Estate and Urban Land Economics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Economics 1, Mathematics 16A or 1A, or equivalents

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture and one hour of discussion per week. Seven and one-half hours of lecture and two hours of discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 180

Introduction to Real Estate and Urban Land Economics: Read Less [-]

UGBA 183 Introduction to Real Estate Finance 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 Real estate debt and equity financing; mortgage market structure; effects of credit on demand; equity investment criteria; public policies in real estate finance and urban development. Introduction to Real Estate Finance: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 180

Formerly known as: Business Administration 183

Introduction to Real Estate Finance: Read Less [-]

UGBA 184 Urban and Real Estate Economics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2016, Spring 2015 This course examines how market forces influence the development of cities and the development and pricing of real estate assets. Topics include city formation; city size; land rent and land use; the operation of residential, commerical and industrial property markets; and the impacts of government policies, including the provision of public services, the imposition property taxes and fees, transportation pricing and investment, and land use regulations. Urban and Real Estate Economics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: A background in microeconomics and basic calculus is preferable. Please contact the instructor if you are unsure about your preparation for this course

Urban and Real Estate Economics: Read Less [-]

UGBA 187 Special Topics in Real Estate Economics and Finance 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2010, Fall 2009 A variety of topics in real estate economics and finance with emphasis on current problems and research. Special Topics in Real Estate Economics and Finance: Read More [+]

Special Topics in Real Estate Economics and Finance: Read Less [-]

UGBA 190C Collaborative Innovation 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020 This is a project-based course in collaborative innovation where students experience group creativity and team-based design by using techniques from across the disciplines of business, theater, design, and art practice. Students will leverage problem framing and solving techniques derived from critical thinking, systems thinking, and creative problem solving (popularly known today as design thinking). The course is grounded in a brief weekly lecture that sets out the theoretical, historical, and cultural contexts for particular innovation practices, but the majority of the class involves hands-on studio-based learning guided by an interdisciplinary team of teachers leading small group collaborative projects. Collaborative Innovation: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA 190C after completing ART 100 , or THEATER 100 . A deficient grade in UGBA 190C may be removed by taking ART 100 , or THEATER 100 .

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 6 hours of studio per week

Additional Format: Six hours of studio per week.

Instructor: Beckman

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UGBA 190D Innovation and Design Thinking in Business 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2022, Fall 2021 The goal of this course is to equip students with innovation skills and practices. This is a learn-by-doing lab. Students learn research methods, ethnography, analysis and synthesis, reflective thinking, scenario creation, ideation processes, rapid prototyping cycles and designing experiments, iterative design and how to tell the story of “Never Before Seen” ideas. Class time is spent using hands-on innovation and human-centered design practices. Teams present work for critique and iterative development. The course features short lectures, guest talks, campus-based fieldwork, site visits, research and readings. Projects will be launched in the sessions and each team will be coached and mentored. Innovation and Design Thinking in Business: Read More [+]

Innovation and Design Thinking in Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA 190S Strategy for the Information Technology Firm 2 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course is a strategy and general management course for students interested in pursuing careers in the global information technology industry. Students are taught to view the IT industry through the eyes of the general manager/CEO (whether at a start-up or an industry giant). They learn how to evaluate strategic options and their consequences, how to understand the perspectives of various industry players, and how to anticipate how they are likely to behave under various circumstances. These include the changing economics of production, the role network effects and standards have on adoption of new products and services, the tradeoffs among potential pricing strategies, and the regulatory and public policy context. Strategy for the Information Technology Firm: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-3 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 8 weeks - 4-6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two to three hours of lecture per week. Four to six hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks.

Strategy for the Information Technology Firm: Read Less [-]

UGBA 190T Special Topics in Innovation and Design 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Advanced study in the fields of innovation and design that will address current and emerging issues. Topics will vary with each offering and will be announced at the beginning of each term. Special Topics in Innovation and Design: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 2-7.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One to four hours of lecture per week. Two to seven hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks. Two to ten hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Special Topics in Innovation and Design: Read Less [-]

UGBA 191C Communication for Leaders 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Summer 2016 10 Week Session, Summer 2016 Second 6 Week Session This course is a workshop in the fundamentals of public speaking skills in today's business environment. Each student will give speeches, coach, and debate each other, and take part in a variety of listening and other communication exercises. The course focuses on authenticity, persuasion, and advocacy. Communication for Leaders: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 2 hours of discussion per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5 hours of lecture and 5 hours of discussion per week 8 weeks - 1.5 hours of lecture and 3.5 hours of discussion per week

Additional Format: One hour of Lecture and Two hours of Discussion per week for 15 weeks. One and one-half hours of Lecture and Three and one-half hours of Discussion per week for 8 weeks. Two and one-half hours of Lecture and Five hours of Discussion per week for 6 weeks.

Communication for Leaders: Read Less [-]

UGBA 191I Improvisational Leadership 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This class explores the broad principles of improvisation, a performing art form that has developed pedagogical methods to enhance individual spontaneity, listening and awareness, expressive skills, risk-taking, and one’s ability to make authentic social and emotional connections. The ultimate aim of the course is to help students develop an innovative and improvisational leadership mindset, sharpening in-the-moment decision making and the ability to quickly recognize and act upon opportunities when presented. In practical terms, this course strives to enhance students’ business communication skills and increase both interpersonal intuition and confidence. Improvisational Leadership: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week. Seven hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Improvisational Leadership: Read Less [-]

UGBA 191L Leadership Communication 1 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Spring 2020 Leadership Communication is a workshop in the fundamentals of public speaking in today's business environment. Through prepared and impromptu speeches aimed at moving others to action, peer coaching, and lectures, students will sharpen their authentic and persuasive communication skills, develop critical listening skills, improve abilities to give, receive, and apply feedback, and gain confidence as public speakers. Leadership Communication: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One to three hours of lecture per week for fifteen weeks.

Leadership Communication: Read Less [-]

UGBA 191P Leadership and Personal Development 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 This course is highly interactive and challenges you to explore questions central to your own leadership journey. The ultimate aim of the class is to help you develop a lifelong leadership development practice, where continuous personal growth is valued and actively pursued. Leadership and Personal Development: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 4 hours of lecture and 4 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One and one-half hours of lecture and one and one-half hours of laboratory per week. Four hours of lecture and four hours of laboratory per week for 6 weeks.

Leadership and Personal Development: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192A Leading Nonprofit and Social Enterprises 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2022 This course prepares students conceptually and practically to found, lead, and manage organizations in the nonprofit sector. The course focuses on mission and theory of change (strategy), role of the board in governance, managing and marketing to multiple constituencies, role of advocacy in meeting mission, leadership styles and managing organizational culture, resource development (philanthropy), nonprofit financial management, managing for impact, HR management (volunteering), and cross-sector alliances. Leading Nonprofit and Social Enterprises: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 7 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks. Seven hours of Lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 115

Leading Nonprofit and Social Enterprises: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192AC Social Movements and Social Media 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Fall 2017 This course provides a survey of innovative social movements and their complex relationships to social media technologies. It will examine the evolution from pre-social-media to present-day mobilizing strategies and the interplay between explicitly policy- and advocacy-focused approaches and related efforts rooted in music, visual arts, popular culture and celebrities. The course will place into comparative relief the discourses of explicitly racially- or ethnically-defined movements and movements that mobilize based on other, sometimes overlapping categories of marginalization including class, immigration status, gender identity and occupational category. Social Movements and Social Media: Read More [+]

Instructor: David Harris

Social Movements and Social Media: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192B Strategic Philanthropy 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This course teaches students the concepts and practices of effective philanthropy. It offers students the experience of studying relevant theories and frameworks for assessing potential grant recipients and a real-world grant making experience in which they complete a series of nonprofit organizational assessments and then make actual grants totaling $10,000 to a limited number of organizations. Students learn about the evolution of the philanthropic sector from traditional entities, such as private, corporate and community foundations, to an array of new funding intermediaries, technology-driven philanthropies, open source platforms, “impact” investors, and venture philanthropy partnerships. Strategic Philanthropy: Read More [+]

Strategic Philanthropy: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192E Social Entrepreneurship 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This course is designed to provide broad exposure to the theories and activities of social entrepreneurship. The inquiry is grounded in real-world examples that illustrate the topics and stimulate thinking, discussion, and learning. Working in groups, students develop a business plan or pitch deck for a social enterprise that addresses an issue that is of interest/concern to the student team. Students with preexisting social enterprise ideas or plans that they would like to further develop and refine are welcomed and encouraged to use this class project as an opportunity to do so. Social Entrepreneurship: Read More [+]

Social Entrepreneurship: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192F Edible Education 3 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course is a lecture series that explores the food system and its critical role in our culture, well-being and survival. Students will develop food-systems intelligence—a personal understanding of how the diverse facets of the food system relate to one another, especially one's own role as a participant in the food system and how individual and collective choices, actions, policies and public and private interests affect it. The course explores personal ethics , complex systems, entrepreneurial agency, and ways to develop a multi-sector perspective to food-systems change making. Students will develop plans at an individual, local, national, or global scale to improve, and possibly transform our food system. Edible Education: Read More [+]

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UGBA 192G Strategic Approaches for Global Social Impact 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 The main objective of this course is to help students become effective practitioners in global development and understand career options in the global social sector. The course aims to (i) analyze the historical, sociological and statistical underpinnings of the major issues in global development (conflict, food security, human rights, poverty, health and education), (ii) understand what various organizations can contribute to each issue (government agencies, multilateral institutions, private foundations, NGOs, and private sector companies and entrepreneurs), and (iii) design and analyze approaches to addressing these issues. Strategic Approaches for Global Social Impact: Read More [+]

Strategic Approaches for Global Social Impact: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192H Managing Human Rights in Business 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021 This course, one of the first of its kind offered at a business school, will prepare students for the growing field of practice at the intersection of business and human rights. Students will gain an overview of the international human rights framework and global business and human rights standards and guidelines; analyze the ways in which companies can impact human rights, and to assess the degree to which companies are and should be responsible for human rights impacts; learn to manage a company’s human rights impacts as corporate human rights managers, external consultants, or civil society advocates; and practice the communication skills necessary to successfully address human rights issues within a complex multinational corporation. Managing Human Rights in Business: Read More [+]

Managing Human Rights in Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192ID Impact Startup Disco 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This is a high-octane, single weekend course (plus one intro day) for students interested in meeting other innovators and getting hands-on experience developing a new impact startup concept. All “social and environmental” impact themes are welcome. The course is inspired by other “hackathon” and startup weekend formats. A structured roadmap helps guide students through a sprint formation and ideation process. All students will be asked to submit an idea during the week prior to the class. After a peer vote selects the top ideas, teams are organically formed during the first session. At the end of the course, each team will present their validated concept and their next steps plan to a panel of impact venture experts. Impact Startup Disco: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 1 weeks - 15 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Fifteen hours of lecture per week for one weeks.

Impact Startup Disco: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192L Applied Impact Evaluation 2 Units

Terms offered: Prior to 2007 This course covers the methods and applications of impact evaluations, which is the science of measuring the causal impact of a program or policy on outcomes of interest. At its essence, impact evaluation is about generating evidence on which policies work, and which don’t. This subject matter should appeal to three main audiences: (1) those in decision-making positions, such as policy makers and business leaders, and need to consume the information generated from impact evaluations to make informed evidence-based decisions, (2) project managers, development practitioners and business managers who commission impact evaluations and (3) researchers who actually design and implement impact evaluations. Applied Impact Evaluation: Read More [+]

Applied Impact Evaluation: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192MC Management Consulting Skills for Social Impact 2 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Fall 2021 This course provides a basic understanding of what consultants do and how they do it, and how consulting skills can be applied to thorny problems of social impact. Students will: 1) gain a broad understanding of the management consulting industry, the various consulting models, and how consultants can generate value for their clients in the social sector; 2) learn and practice structured approaches to problem solving used by leading management consultancies; and 3) understand other skills required in management consulting for social impact – such as communicating persuasively and managing projects and client relationships – as well as some of the ethical issues that consultants often face working in the social sector. Management Consulting Skills for Social Impact: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 12 weeks - 2.5 hours of lecture per week 15 weeks - 2 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Two hours of lecture per week. Two and one-half hours of lecture per week for 12 weeks.

Management Consulting Skills for Social Impact: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192N Topics in Social Sector Leadership 1 - 5 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Fall 2019, Spring 2019 Advanced study in the field of social sector leadership that will address current and emerging issues. Topics will vary with each offering and will be announced at the beginning of each term. Topics in Social Sector Leadership: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-5 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-12.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One to five hours of lecture per week. Two and one-half to twelve and one-half hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Topics in Social Sector Leadership: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192P Sustainable Business Consulting Projects 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2021 Discuss the field of strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a series of lectures, guest speakers, and projects. The course will examine best practices used by companies to engage in socially responsible business practices. It will provide students with a flavor of the complex dilemmas one can face in business in trying to do both "good for society" and "well for shareholders." It looks at CSR from a corporation perspective, and how this supports core business objectives, core competencies, and bottom-line profits. Sustainable Business Consulting Projects: Read More [+]

Sustainable Business Consulting Projects: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192PF Plant Futures: Introduction to Plant-Centric Food Systems 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024 Available to students across all UCs, Plant Futures: Introduction to Plant-Centric Food Systems fosters interdisciplinary connection while providing a systems-view exploration of both the challenges and emergent solutions and opportunities within our current food system. Through a mix of synchronous and asynchronous modular content, covering Climate & Environment, Health & Nutrition, Animal Welfare, Social Impacts, Innovation, Policy & Law, Behavioral Change , Media, and Plant-Forward Cooking, you'll engage with esteemed experts, express your unique perspective through written assignments and guided discussions, and apply your learnings and ideas by working with your peers on innovative projects aimed at advancing plant-centric food systems. Plant Futures: Introduction to Plant-Centric Food Systems: Read More [+]

Plant Futures: Introduction to Plant-Centric Food Systems: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192S Business and Sustainability 2 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session This course—a mixture of lectures, readings, business cases and corporate speakers—uses theory, frameworks, tools and business cases to teach students how to systematically evaluate and implement sustainability strategies that also maintain or maximize financial returns. Students are taught to identify opportunities to create business value from environmental and social challenges , and to evaluate the competitive implications related to sustainability initiatives. What type of long-term strategies can organizations set to simultaneously foster sustainable development strategy and sound financial practice? How should decision makers make trade-offs between these two organizational objectives? When is “sustainability” also “good business”? Business and Sustainability: Read More [+]

Business and Sustainability: Read Less [-]

UGBA 192T Topics in Responsible Business 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024 Advanced study in the field of corporate social responsibility that will address current and emerging issues. Topics will vary with each offering and will be announced at the beginning of each term. Topics in Responsible Business: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of lecture per week 8 weeks - 2-8 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One to four hours of lecture per week. Two to eight hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks. Two and one-half to ten hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Topics in Responsible Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA C192R Business, Sustainability, and Society 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 8 Week Session, Summer 2021 8 Week Session As corporations have grown in influence, concerns over their impact on people and the planet have also grown, pushing sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and the wider impact of business into the spotlight. This course focuses on business ethics, supply chains, resource constraints, labor issues, innovation, and environmental externalities, as well as the internal challenges , competitive pressures, external stakeholders, and other issues that businesses must consider while trying to act responsibly. Business, Sustainability, and Society: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture per week for 8 weeks. Seven and one-half hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Instructor: Rochlin

Also listed as: ENE,RES C192

Business, Sustainability, and Society: Read Less [-]

UGBA 193B Energy & Civilization 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 Energy is one of the main drivers of civilization. Today we are at the precipice of what many hope will be a major paradigm shift in energy production and use. Two transitions are needed. On the one hand, we must find ways to extend the benefits of our existing energy system to the impoverished people living in the developing world while continuing to provide these benefits to the people of the developed world. On the other hand, we must completely overhaul the existing system to fight climate change and other forms of air and water pollution. Are these shifts truly within our reach? Can we achieve both simultaneously? If so, how? This Big Ideas course will grapple with these questions using an interdisciplinary systems approach. Energy & Civilization: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA 193B after completing L & S 126. A deficient grade in UGBA 193B may be removed by taking L & S 126.

Energy & Civilization: Read Less [-]

UGBA 193C Practical Training 0.5 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2014 10 Week Session, Summer 2013 10 Week Session, Summer 2012 10 Week Session A structured reflective experience on the applied aspects of Business Administration in a professional off-campus environment. The self-selected experience from a CPT employer is designed to provide students with opportunities to make connections between the theory and practice of academic study and the practical application of that study in a real world setting. This applied course is intended for students to enhance their academics through their experience with the experiential learning activity of their choice. Practical Training: Read More [+]

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction. Students may enroll in multiple sections of this course within the same semester.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of internship per week

Summer: 6 weeks - 0 hours of internship per week

Additional Format: Internship for six weeks. Internship.

Practical Training: Read Less [-]

UGBA 193I Business Abroad 4 - 6 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2019 8 Week Session, Summer 2018 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2017 Second 6 Week Session This course includes both formal learning in lectures, experiential learning, and action research through site visits abroad. Students and instructor will visit with international companies and/or organizations to learn about the business opportunities and challenges of operating in a specific country or region. Evaluation is based on student participation, presentations, and a research paper. Country and business industry focus may vary from term to term depending upon the instructor. Business Abroad: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: To be determined by instructor depending on topic

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 4-6 hours of lecture per week

Summer: 5 weeks - 16-25 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Four to six hours of lecture per week. Sixteen to twenty five hours of lecture per week for five weeks.

Business Abroad: Read Less [-]

UGBA 194 Undergraduate Colloquium on Business Topics 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 This is a speakers series course designed to give students insights from practitioners into complex issues facing American business leaders. Each week a guest speaker will discuss an issue related to a particular theme, ranging from corporate governance to the social responsibilities of business. Students will be challenged to synthesize, question, and extend those insights under the guidance of the instructor. Undergraduate Colloquium on Business Topics: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: One hour of lecture per week. Two hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Undergraduate Colloquium on Business Topics: Read Less [-]

UGBA 194S Sports Management 2 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session This course focuses on key issues and influencers within the sports industry, with an emphasis on college athletics. Subjects research, review and discuss topics in law, marketing, finance, and management; issues range from pending NCAA lawsuits, naming rights, conference television agreements, multi-media rights, and athletic facility financing, to coaching and player / student-athlete experiences. Students have the opportunity to engage with sports industry professionals and guest speakers on a variety of present day issues. Sports Management: Read More [+]

Sports Management: Read Less [-]

UGBA 195A Entrepreneurship 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2020 Whether you have an idea for a business right now, are interested in being an entrepreneur in the future, or want to build entrepreneurial skills to be an innovator at an established company, this course will cover the topics you need to know to succeed. The course takes students through the entire new venture process including how to: evaluate new business ideas, get customers to buy your product, validate that your business is scalable and profitable, pitch to investors/raise capital, scale and exit a business, and beyond. Through a group project, students create their own venture and learn by doing what entrepreneurs actually do. Each week students also get insights from successful entrepreneur/investor guest speakers. Entrepreneurship: Read More [+]

Entrepreneurship: Read Less [-]

UGBA 195B Startup and Small-Business Consulting 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021 This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the concepts and principles for consulting with startups and small businesses. Students will work in self-created teams of 3-4 and can either bid for projects provided by the instructor, or source their own project so long as it fits the course criteria. Course time will include guest lecturers and consulting skills workshops. Student teams will be expected to meet together and with the client outside of class time. Startup and Small-Business Consulting: Read More [+]

Startup and Small-Business Consulting: Read Less [-]

UGBA 195P Entrepreneurship: How to Successfully start a New Business 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 This course explores and examines key issues facing entrepreneurs and their businesses. It is intended to provide a broad spectrum of topics across many business disciplines including accounting, finance, marketing, organizational behavior, production/quality, technology, etc. Students will acquire a keen understanding of both the theoretical and real world tools used by today's entrepreneurial business leaders in achieving success in today's global business environment. Entrepreneurship: How to Successfully start a New Business: Read More [+]

Entrepreneurship: How to Successfully start a New Business: Read Less [-]

UGBA 195S Entrepreneurship To Address Global Poverty 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2013, Spring 2012, Spring 2011 This course examines whether and how entrepreneurial ventures can meaningfully address global poverty vs. more traditional approaches such as foreign aid, private philanthropy or corporate social responsibility initiatives. Combining lectures, case studies, and interviews with social entrepreneurs, it explores poverty and entrepreneurship before focusing on their intersection in various bottom-of-pyramid markets, from health, housing, and education to energy, agriculture, and finance. Entrepreneurship To Address Global Poverty: Read More [+]

Entrepreneurship To Address Global Poverty: Read Less [-]

UGBA 195T Topics in Entrepreneurship 1 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Courses of this kind will cover issues in entrepreneurship that either appeal to a specialized interest by type of firm being started (e.g., new ventures in computer software) or in the aspect of the entrepreneurial process being considered (e.g., new venture funding). The courses typically will be designed to take advantage of the access offered by the University and the locale to knowledgeable and experienced members of the business co mmunity. Topics in Entrepreneurship: Read More [+]

Additional Format: One to Three hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

Topics in Entrepreneurship: Read Less [-]

UGBA C195C Life Sciences, Business, and Entrepreneurship Capstone Course 4 Units

Also listed as: MCELLBI C175

UGBA 196 Special Topics in Business Administration 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Study in various fields of business administration. Topics will vary from year to year and will be announced at the beginning of each semester. Special Topics in Business Administration: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 2.5-10 hours of lecture per week 10 weeks - 2-4 hours of lecture per week

Formerly known as: Business Administration 196

Special Topics in Business Administration: Read Less [-]

UGBA 196SA Business Models for Sustainability 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session This course explores the ways in which business, social and environmental sustainability are intertwined. The course maps how business can play a definitive role in addressing the problems of sustainability, primarily with regard to climate change. The course examines a range of approaches to developing business models in the context of sustainability, the actions that business can take to improve environmental outlook, and the emergence of a sustainability-aware economy. Business Models for Sustainability: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 6 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Six hours of lecture per week for 6 weeks.

Business Models for Sustainability: Read Less [-]

UGBA 196SB Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainability 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 First 6 Week Session This course is an optimistic take on the daunting issues of environmental and social sustainability, primarily through the lens of innovation and entrepreneurship, and maps how new business creation can play a definitive role in addressing the social and environmental problems of sustainability. In terms of balance, the course starts with a primer on the fundamentals of innovation and entrepreneurship (the first 20% of the course) before moving on to the core topic of sustainability entrepreneurship (80% of the course). Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainability: Read More [+]

Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Sustainability: Read Less [-]

UGBA 196SC Investing for Sustainability 3 Units

Terms offered: Summer 2024 First 6 Week Session, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session, Summer 2022 Second 6 Week Session This course examines how capital markets and the investment industry are responding to the growth in social and environmental sustainability, both as a financial risk to investment opportunities and increased public awareness in the role of financial markets and investment in social and environmental issues. The course includes 1) an introduction to capital markets including institutional investment, public finance and private capital, and 2) an examination of the rise of sustainability-related investing including environmental, social and governance investing, mission-related investment, venture capital impact investing, blended finance and shareholder activism on issues ranging from climate change to diversity, equity and inclusion. Investing for Sustainability: Read More [+]

Investing for Sustainability: Read Less [-]

UGBA C196C The Berkeley Changemaker 2 - 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Summer 2024 Second 6 Week Session, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Summer 2023 Second 6 Week Session Berkeley Changemaker impact occurs across many fronts: scientific, artistic, social, and entrepreneurial. This course helps students identify as a Berkeley Changemaker and learn the critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills to become one. Combining disciplines across UC Berkeley, the course also helps launch the Berkeley Discovery arc. Students develop their own leadership styles and discover how they can create and lead diverse teams to act upon the world. Values in Berkeley’s DNA like Questioning the Status Quo and going Beyond Yourself support students in leading from whatever position they occupy, preparing them to leave their mark on campus, in their communities, or beyond. More at: http://changemaker.berkeley.edu. The Berkeley Changemaker: Read More [+]

Credit Restrictions: Students will receive no credit for UGBA C196C after completing UGBA C12 . A deficient grade in UGBA C196C may be removed by taking UGBA C12 .

Formerly known as: Undergrad. Business Administration C112/Letters and Science C112

Also listed as: L & S C196C

UGBA 198 Directed Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2015 Organized group study on topics selected by upper division students under the sponsorship and direction of a member of the Haas School of Business faculty. Directed Study: Read More [+]

Additional Format: One to Four hour of Directed group study per week for 15 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 198

Directed Study: Read Less [-]

UGBA 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2020, Spring 2015 Enrollment restrictions apply. Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]

Summer: 6 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week 8 weeks - 1-4 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Zero hours of Independent study per week for 15 weeks. One to Four hour of Independent study per week for 8 weeks. One to Four hour of Independent study per week for 6 weeks.

Formerly known as: Business Administration 199

Contact Information

Lsbe program.

3060 Valley Life Sciences

Phone: 510-664-4457

[email protected]

Executive Director

Deepa Prasad

Associate Director

Teresa Dinh

[email protected]

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How to write a strong business plan: Life Sciences focus

So you have a novel idea that you want to commercialise. As an (aspiring) entrepreneur, you already see the future in front of you: a major healthcare issue is solved and your company’s profits are skyrocketing. 

1. Team & company organisation

Who is at the steering wheel and who is in the crew? Is there anyone watching over you?

Having the right team of people is paramount in achieving your goals. The skills of your team members must be complementary to each other, resulting in a synergistic effect. Investors will be looking for solid organisational structure, strong management (preferably with track record), and the presence of a supervisory board. In case the personnel are not yet complete, mention how many employees are required, what expertise they should possess and when you expect to hire them.

• Clearly state what your company’s mission and vision are, as it is what unites the team in their pursuit. Mission is the end goal (can be utopian) and the vision is how you envision the future to look like once the goal has been met.
• Underline the specific expertise of each team member. Why are they best-placed to perform a particular task?

2. Market and Need

Is there a market opportunity and what is the need?

It is important to identify the clear unmet need for your solution to a particular problem. There must be either no solution currently available, or your product must be highly superior to the current state-of-the-art. Use the blue ocean strategy: capture the uncontested market and differentiate yourself.

Furthermore, segment the market and find the most appropriate segment to target. One cannot fathom the unfathomable. Finally, when analysing the market, do not overlook your competitors. Provide a thorough competitor analysis and don’t let them put you off track, their presence is a good sign of market opportunity.

• Provide numbers and references for every claim that you make. “Patients must undergo reoperations.” In what percentage of cases? “There is an economic burden because of the insufficiency of the devices.” What are the estimated costs of this burden?

3. Proposition and its unique selling points (USPs)

What are you developing and is it any good?

In terms of proposition, investors will be looking for a disruptive technology or a non-incremental improvement of currently available technology. Innovation is the keyword. However, to show that your proposition is superior, it is important to clearly describe what the current state-of-the-art is. Subsequently, show how your product solves the need that was described in the previous section, mention the preliminary data and what the results are.

• Do not focus too much on technical details of the product, these can be described in a particular project proposal.
• Create a table with your product and state-of-the-art to compare the two.
• Create a table with the USPs of your proposition. 

4. Risks, mitigation strategy and financial projections

Are you prepared? How will you make money?

Now that you have shown investors that there is an opportunity and you have the solution, it is time to show them that you are aware of the problems that might arise. Therefore, always mention what the risks are and what mitigation strategy you will choose should they become an issue. Keep in mind that risks differ depending on the phase of product development: early stages are high in risk and later stages are lower in risk.

In terms of financial projections consider providing the best- and worst- case scenario. Give a 5- to 10-year forecast based on the market segmentation that you have found and make your projections risk-adjusted. Having solid financial projections will convince investors that they will at least get their money back.

• Mention your expected Return on Investment (ROI).
• Consider using risk-adjusted Net Present Value (NPV), this shows the investors that you have all bases covered. 

5. Intellectual property

Can anyone else do or already be doing this?

A general rule is to strive to have your idea patent-protected. However, it is not always possible and not always desirable, e.g. if the invention can easily be modified and used in the same way (gene sequences etc.). Therefore, some companies choose to keep it as proprietary know-how. In this case make sure to explain that you have an IP strategy and how you intend to keep the know-how within the company. Finally, mention if the Freedom to Operate (FTO) research has been done.

• If the invention cannot be patented, consider patenting the technique of its usage for solving a particular problem.
• If your idea is not patent-protected, give relevant (so no Coca-Cola or WD-40) examples of the companies that have similar strategy and are successful.
• Beware of the fact that some patents are stronger than others. 

Bonus: Executive Summary

Pitch your business!

This section must be stellar. If the business plan is a biography of your business, then the executive summary is your business’ CV. Sifting through multiple business plans to find the most appealing one is a laborious process from investors’/reviewers’ point of you. For this reason, the executive summary is likely to be the first (and sometimes only) section to be read and is therefore your chance to grab readers attention. If you leave no “wow” impression, chances are high that your business plan will end up in the “reject” pile. The ideal executive summary is therefore a concise and strong synopsis of the entire business plan.

• Limit it to 1-2 pages.
• Executive summary is not an introduction to your business plan!
• This should be the very last section that you write! You must have a clear big picture in mind and all the research must be completed.

In a nutshell

A strong business plan clearly shows the value of your idea, the existence of the opportunity to implement and commercialise this idea and that you have the means and a plan on how to do that. It must be short, to the point with no redundancies.

Having prepared multiple Life Sciences themed business plans, we have in-house expertise as to how to avoid common pitfalls and increase the strength of your business plan. Amongst others, our services include market research, strategic planning of the optimal route-to-market, in-house support, and ultimately financing consultancy regarding dilutive and non-dilutive funding.

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Last year, as life sciences organizations were consumed by the recovery from COVID-19, their focus had to shift rapidly to mitigating supply chain constraints, labor and skill shortages, and by the end of the year, inflationary pressures—all of which were exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war.

Along with these challenges, the ongoing drive to reduce costs, improve efficiency and productivity, drive better decision-making and reduce risk will continue to drive pharma investment in cloud, AI/ML, analytics and automation in 2023 despite higher interest rates.

Organizations must rethink their business models to serve a variety of strategic goals, and AI will play an increasingly important role in all of them: supporting drug discovery, trial diversity, forecasting and supply chain functions, and supporting engagement and adherence to decentralized trials and on-market regimens. These shifts will set the stage for further industry transformation as gene therapy and precision health become more widely available.

The macro-environment favors steady long-term focus and growth

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 puts pressure on companies to reduce drug and device prices in the USA, causing pharma to leverage technology to drive cost efficiencies and maintain margins. Globally, the shifting policy debate around access and affordability of patented pharmaceuticals exerts additional pressures. An inflationary environment will slow down traditional R&D and leave pharma no choice but to investigate AI/ML and related techniques to accelerate drug discovery and repurposing while reducing costs. This will also stimulate new partnerships (for example, pharma companies working with research labs or providers working with payers) through federated learning and cloud-based digital ecosystems.

Manufacturing costs and costs of clinical trials will continue to rise. The cost of active pharmaceutical ingredients has increased by up to 70% since 2018. Recruiting on-site patients and maintaining on-site trials remains prohibitively expensive. Pharma will focus on digital patient recruitment through social advertising and digital engagement (including wearables) throughout trials to manage adherence and persistence. Decentralized trial structures will push pharma to focus more closely on cybersecurity and protected health information (PHI) while managing the associated costs.

The costs of operating manufacturing facilities will increase as energy prices continue to rise. We predict companies will make significant strides towards digitization to reduce cost, improve quality, reduce recalls and improve safety. Pre-digital facilities with manual processes supported by expensive labor will no longer be the norm.

Strategy 1: Prioritize around novel drug development, generics or consumer engagement

Strategic reprioritization should be top of mind for the C-suite. Last year, Pfizer and GSK left the consumer health sector to prioritize novel drug and vaccine development and core innovation. We saw targeted mergers and acquisitions to replenish pipelines, which will continue in 2023. Novartis spun off Sandoz, their generics business, and is streamlining their research efforts around innovative pharmaceuticals. Sanofi and the generics giant Sun Pharmaceuticals are repositioning to enter specialty pharma with the latter releasing a new highly competitive biologic for psoriasis.

Companies are recognizing that divergent business models are required: innovative pharma requires significant capital investments to support state-of-the-art research enabled by new technology, while generic and consumer health business models demand unparalleled scale, access to distribution and close partnerships with pharmacies. A rising risk-return ratio for innovators will lead companies to form research and technology partnerships that combine top talent with the most innovative computation techniques, rather than outright mergers or acquisitions.

Strategy 2: Use AI-driven forecasting and supply chains to improve operational efficiency and sustainability

The upheaval and disruption caused by COVID-19 has given pharma leaders a heightened awareness of resiliency in delivering innovative drugs and therapeutics to communities, underscoring the importance of investing in forecasting and supply chains.

Forecasting

Forecasting continues to be a pain point for many organizations. According to a recent IBM IBV study , 57% of CEOs view the CFO as playing the most crucial role in their organizations over the next two to three years. Legacy processes, demand volatility and increasing data scale and complexity demand a new approach. Traditional quarterly forecasting cycles (which are manual and burdensome) yield inaccurate predictions.

Leading companies will invest in AI, ML and intelligent workflows to deliver end-to-end forecasting capabilities that utilize real-time feeds from multiple data sources, leveraging hundreds of AI and ML models, to deliver more granular and accurate forecasts and customer insights. These capabilities will fundamentally change the role of finance organizations by emphasizing speed of insight, adoption of data-driven decision making and scaling of analytics within the enterprise.

Supply chain

Business leaders will focus on supply chain solutions that drive transparency across sourcing, manufacturing, delivery and logistics while minimizing cost, waste and time. CSCOs are modernizing supply chain operations by using AI to leverage unstructured data in real time and integrating automation, blockchain and edge computing to manage operations and collect and connect information across multiple sources.

Priorities driving supply chain innovation, according to CSCOs

In the wake of COVID-19, we observe leaders viewing the supply chain as a core organizational function rather than a supportive one. David Volk, executive director of clinical supply chain planning at Roche states, “We are a networked organization… collaborating much more broadly across all our partners and the industry. We view ourselves as a supply chain organization, and a significant part of the value we bring to patients lies in optimizing our global supply chain and inventory. That’s a very different mindset, and it’s changed how we run the organization.”

Supply chain sustainability also ranks among the highest priorities for CEOs. 48% of CEOs surveyed say increasing sustainability is a top priority—up 37% since 2021. 44% cite a lack of data-driven insights as barriers to achieving sustainability objectives. End-to-end visibility into sustainability impact, such as metrics on emissions and waste from raw material to delivery, will unlock a new level of information that position CSCOs as key enablers for companies to achieve their sustainability and ESG vision.

Strategy 3: Prepare for an influx of cell and gene therapies

Gene therapy is the new frontier of medicine. It focuses on targeting a person’s genes for modification to treat or cure disease, including cancer, genetic diseases and infectious diseases. The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first gene therapy in the United States in 2017. Since then, more than 20 cell and gene therapy products have been approved.

According to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, we could see five more gene therapies for rare diseases introduced to the U.S. market in 2023, including new treatments for sickle cell disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy and hemophilia.

These therapies will challenge life sciences organizations to rethink their business models. How will they efficiently determine which patients are eligible for these therapies? How will they obtain the patient’s blood as part of the therapy? How will they contract with payers for reimbursement, given these therapies can cost upwards of $3M per treatment? How will they track outcomes from treatment for outcome-based agreements? These questions and many more spanning payment models, consumer experience, supply chain and manufacturing will need to be addressed.

A key driver in the growth of gene therapies and adoption of precision health is the growth and accessibility of next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS). NGS will become more mainstream, moving the science out of the lab to deliver improved patient care and outcomes at scale. NGS delivers ultra-high throughput, scalability and speed and has revolutionized the industry by enabling a wide variety of analyses across multiple applications at a level never before possible. This includes delivering whole-genome sequencing at accessible and practical price points for researchers, scientists, doctors and patients. An example is the new Illumina NovaSeq X sequencer released in September 2022, which is twice as fast as prior models and capable of sequencing 20,000 genomes per year at a cost of $200 per genome. As the price of sequencing genomes declines, the ability to support personalized healthcare and gene therapy at scale will continue to grow.

Strategy 4: Accelerate development and delivery of lifesaving therapies through decentralized clinical trials

Limitations of traditional clinical trials were amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic and have accelerated the use of decentralized clinical trials (DCTs). There is a clear need to improve study formats so broader, more equitable populations are accessed and included. New technologies will help integrate patient data points and derive holistic insights like never before. Life sciences organizations will increase their use of DCTs to run global studies and bring new therapies to market. We expect a record number of decentralized trials in 2023.

Key benefits of DCTs include:

• Faster recruitment . Participants can be identified and engaged without the need to travel and be evaluated in person.
• Improved retention . Participants are less likely to drop out of a trial due to the typical in-person requirements.
• Greater control, convenience and comfort. Participants are more comfortable engaging at home and at local patient care sites.
• Increased diversity. Participants in legacy trials lacked diversity and contributed to gaps in understanding of diseases.

As DCTs are more broadly adopted, designing trials around the patient experience will be critical to ensuring clear, transparent engagement and willing and active participation. Methodologies such as Enterprise Design Thinking ® can provide a useful framework. Likewise, integrating patient data from multiple sources such as electronic health and medical records, electronic data capture platforms, clinical data management systems, wearables and other digital technologies will require a more open approach to information sharing.

Quantum computing will enable more advanced DCT capabilities for recruitment, trial site selection, and optimization and patient surveillance. Quantum-based algorithms can outperform existing computer algorithms, enabling better analysis of integrated patient data at scale.

In the coming years, decentralized trials will become the norm, improving the ability to recruit, select and deliver clinical trials at scale, ensuring full and diverse populations are represented and lifesaving treatments are more quickly approved and launched.

Strategy 5: Explore AI-driven drug discovery

AI-driven drug discovery continues to gain momentum and achieve critical milestones. The first AI-designed drug candidate to enter clinical trials was reported by Exscientia in early 2020. Since then, companies such as Insilico Medicine, Evotec and Schrödinger have announced phase I trials. Several candidates have had their clinical development accelerated through AI-enabled solutions. Within drug companies focused on AI-based discovery, there is publicly available information on about 160 discovery programs , of which 15 products are reportedly in clinical development.

Some execs may think AI can be delivered through the “tool in the public cloud” or by a single team. From our experience working with life sciences companies, this is not the case. Achieving full value from AI requires transformation of the discovery process spanning new tech, new talent and new behaviors throughout the R&D organization.

The AI-driven discovery process delivers value across four dimensions: finding the right biological target, designing a small molecule as a preclinical candidate, improving success rates and delivering overall speed and efficiency.

Search for new biological targets

We see the research community and industry scientists pursuing integration of multiomics and clinical data with machine learning to achieve drug repositioning. Leveraging experimental data and literature analysis, it is possible to uncover new disease pathways and polypharmacological and protein interactions. Application of AI to imaging (and other diagnostic techniques that rigorously analyze phenotypic outputs) may offer opportunities to identify new biological targets. Some of our clients look to understand protein interactions, function and motion using traditional computation techniques as well as quantum computing.

Use new techniques to search for new molecules

Using a deep search technique, it is possible today to mine the research literature and published experimental data to predict new small molecule structures and how molecules will behave. This and other techniques can be used to predict pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties and help identify off-target effects.

Explore the promise of quantum computing

Since 2020, there have been numerous quantum-related activities and experiments in the field of life sciences, spanning genomics, clinical research and discovery, diagnostics, treatments and interventions. Quantum-driven machine learning, trained on diverse clinical and real-world data sets, has been applied to molecular entity generation, diagnostics, forecasting effectiveness and tailoring radiotherapy.

Strategy 6: Use digital engagement to increase sales efficiency, patient loyalty and adherence

For healthcare providers

Conventional face-to-face visits to healthcare providers (HCPs) have reached the limit of effectiveness. HCPs now expect personalized approaches and instant access to knowledge. Increased scrutiny by public authorities, along with COVID-19, disrupted a traditional approach where sales reps had HCP offices and hospitals as their second home. A virtual engagement model emerged that is less effective in its current form.

At the same time, industry sees the value of an omnichannel HCP engagement strategy: our analysis shows 5-10% higher satisfaction with a new HCP experience, 15-25% more effective marketing spend, 5-7% boost in active prescribers and up to 15% lift in recurring revenue depending on the indication.

Pharma companies have enough data on certain products to enable a personalized experience for HCPs. An analytics and AI-driven approach to engagement with clinicians provides the highest impact as it improves both their speed-to-decision and their awareness of the latest clinical evidence. Well-defined technology and data strategies, along with change management and talent identification programs, are key to success.

For patients

Adherence and persistence are major challenges in an industry that caters to chronic patients. Additionally, with new reimbursement models, payers incentivize “complete” cases that achieve prolonged remission or, for acute patients, functional recovery. To keep selling meds and getting paid for them, patients need to be taking them continuously. For many indications, patients have many pharmaceutical options. Successful companies will differentiate themselves in the market by offering digital support for their pharmaceuticals, engaging patients in their care on their smartphones through gamification and incentive programs.

How technology can advance new biologics for treatment of plague psoriasis

Bills and regulations will increase the adoption and application of AI

AI underpins the trends mentioned above. While AI technology has been around for decades, its adoption in life sciences has accelerated over the last several years, impacting drug development, clinical trials and supply chains. AI is infused into many of our daily interactions, from calling an airline to rebook tickets, asking Alexa to play music and turn on the lights, receiving an approval for a loan, to providing automated treatment recommendations to patients based on their clinical history and the latest treatment guidelines.

As AI continues to permeate our lives, oversight will be front and center. Both the United States and EU consider regulation to be essential to the development of AI tools that consumers can trust. Life sciences companies must understand the impact AI regulations have on their business models and that they play a proactive role in influencing these policies in the interest of better patient outcomes.

As an example, IBM’s Policy Lab takes a proactive approach to providing policymakers with a vision and actionable recommendations to harness the benefits of innovation while ensuring trust in a world being reshaped by data. IBM works with organizations and policymakers to share our perspective to support responsible innovations. One such bill was the Biden-Harris administration’s Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights released in September 2022. As stated in the Bill, “AI systems have the potential to bring incredible societal benefits, but only if we do the hard work of ensuring AI products and services are safe and secure, accurate, transparent, free of harmful bias and otherwise trustworthy.” The Bill lays outs five commonsense protections to which everyone in America should be entitled in the design, development and deployment of AI and other automated technologies:

• Right to safe and effective systems. You should be protected from unsafe or ineffective systems.
• Algorithmic discrimination protections. You should not face discrimination by algorithms, and systems should be used and designed in an equitable way.
• Data privacy. You should be protected from abusive data practices via built-in protections and have agency over how your data is used.
• Notice and explanation. You should know that an automated system is being used and understand how and why it contributes to outcomes that impact you.
• Human alternatives, consideration and fallback. You should be able to opt out where appropriate and have access to a person who can quickly consider and remedy problems you encounter.

The application of AI is not slowing down, nor is scrutiny of it. Life sciences organizations will differentiate themselves by having a seat at the table. They will seek opportunity to influence AI-health policy and deliver ethical and responsible AI-powered solutions that augment their existing product portfolio and improve patient and provider experiences and healthcare outcomes at reduced costs.

Embrace new technologies to offer major advances

Life sciences companies, particularly in pharma and biotech, can prove resilient despite inflationary pressures. They must focus on business model specialization across innovation and invention, generics business and consumer health. Strong demand can help companies overcome business challenges and position the industry for steady innovation-led growth. It is crucial to embrace new technologies, particularly state-of-the-art computing and AI, to offer major advances that may represent a paradigm shift in drug discovery, clinical trial site optimization, and, ultimately, engagement with a person receiving care. Acting boldly in 2023 with a clearly articulated strategy and prioritization will set both mature life sciences organizations and new players on the right path. Companies that focus on strategy and innovation will be the biggest winners.

If you are a C-suite executive, reach out to our IBM Consulting Life Sciences and Enterprise Strategy teams at the forefront of innovation backed by IBM Research and IBM Technology

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Life Science Strategy

Our Life Science Strategy: A Sharpened Focus to Drive Transformation

​Over the past decade, our Life Science business has emerged as a top global player serving academia, the biopharmaceutical industry, and the industrial sector. Our purpose is to impact life and health with science.​

To fulfill this aspiration, deliver our ambitious growth plans and meet the needs of our customers in an evolving and dynamic market, we will focus on capitalizing on the key trends, including:​ 

• The growing market for complex and novel modalities such as viral vectors, antibody-drug conjugates and mRNA. ​ 
• Focus on network and capacity expansions in-region, for-region. Continue to invest in new capacity for key portfolios in our bioprocessing business, including single-use, filtration, and cell culture media, and in globally key regions, such as China.  ​ 
• Unite our top-tier positions across diverse lab and testing segments, enabling us to remain a leading player in the academic and government scientific communities.​ 
• Provide service offerings that continue leadership in the attractive and growing contract testing, development, and manufacturing organization (CTDMO) segment, where we are positioned to become a multi-modality CTDMO with differentiated technologies. 
• Perform innovation and improve customer experience, enabled by state-of-the-art eCommerce, digitally enabled solutions and end-to-end offerings.​

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Life Science Marketing: A Comprehensive Guide

• FirstHeading

Table of contents

The importance of marketing in life sciences, unique challenges facing life science marketers, establishing a strong brand identity, differentiating your company and products, positioning in the market, the unsung hero of life science marketing: messaging that conveys value and builds trust, simplify complex concepts, build trust and credibility, regulatory compliance, customer centricity: tailoring messages to your target audience, messaging in life science marketing: craft compelling and effective communications, crafting a compelling value proposition, developing clear and concise messaging, adapting messaging for different audiences, life science content strategy: creating engaging and informative content for your audience, identifying key content types.

• Mapping Content to the Buyer's Journey

Creating Engaging and Informative Content

Integrated marketing strategies for life science companies: fueling growth through diverse channels, the life science website: the hub of your online presence, social media: connecting with your audience, paid campaigns: amplifying your reach, email marketing: nurturing leads and customers, trade shows: building relationships face-to-face, navigating regulatory compliance and ethics in life science marketing, understanding relevant regulations, fda guidelines, hipaa regulations, international standards and guidelines, ensuring ethical marketing practices, truthful and transparent communications, respecting patient privacy, promoting products responsibly, measuring success in life science marketing: kpis, analytics, and reporting, key performance indicators (kpis), website traffic and engagement, lead generation and conversion rates, social media and email metrics, analytics and reporting, identifying trends and patterns, evaluating campaign performance, making data-driven decisions, the role of a marketing agency in the growth of a life science company, what’s next: navigating the evolving landscape of life science marketing: adaptation, innovation, and growth, the evolving landscape of life science marketing, the importance of continuous learning and adaptation, the role of marketing in driving life science innovation and growth.

The life sciences industry has experienced a rollercoaster of changes over the past few years. From the “ pandemic-driven exuberance of the 2020s , when funding seemed limitless and even the smallest startups were going public, to the belt-tightening lows of 2022”, marked by layoffs, liquidations, and falling valuations, calling this a rollercoaster doesn’t even begin to cover what we’ve seen. 

Amidst this turbulent backdrop, life science marketers face the daunting task of navigating these uncertainties and finding innovative ways to propel their organizations forward.

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the ever-evolving world of life science marketing, exploring the strategies, channels, and tactics that have proven successful in this dynamic landscape.

We’ll touch upon the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapidly changing industry, offering practical advice and insights to help you effectively engage your target audience, strengthen your brand, and drive success in the face of adversity.

From content marketing and digital advertising to event promotion and influencer collaborations, we’ll provide you with the tools and knowledge needed to excel and market in the highly regulated world of life sciences .

So, buckle up as we embark on this journey to unlock the secrets of life science marketing success.

Mapping Content to the Buyer’s Journey

Marketing is essential for life science companies as it builds brand awareness, distinguishes you from competitors, and attracts customers, investors, and skilled professionals.

Marketing can help communicate intricate scientific concepts and value propositions to various stakeholders, like healthcare professionals, patients, and regulators all while ensuring compliance and safeguarding the company’s reputation.

In working with life science brands for the last 20 years, this last piece is critical. We’ll get into that more later. Let’s start by looking at each of these pieces at a high level. 

Building brand awareness: With numerous players in the market, it’s crucial for life science companies to create a strong brand identity that sets them apart from the competition. Effective marketing helps build brand recognition and credibility, making it easier for companies to attract customers, investors, and top talent.

Communicating complex information: Life science products and services often involve intricate technologies and scientific concepts. Marketing plays a key role in breaking down this complexity, effectively communicating the value proposition to target audiences, including healthcare professionals, patients, and regulators.

Navigating regulatory hurdles: Marketing in life sciences is subject to strict regulations that vary by region. It’s essential to ensure that all promotional materials and communications comply with the relevant guidelines, avoiding costly fines and preserving your company’s reputation.

You might think that marketing life sciences is like marketing anything else. Having marketing everything from cutting edge shoe brands to mission-critical cybersecurity platforms, I can tell you it’s not at all like that. 

Let’s look at some interesting challenges you’ll face. 

On the surface, marketing to scientists, doctors, or even business users might seem like marketing to anyone else.

However, Life Sciences has a unique combination of challenges that it’s important to acknowledge and work with. These include: 

Long development cycles: Life science products often take years, if not decades, to develop and bring to market. This extended timeline presents challenges for marketers, who must maintain interest and engagement over a protracted period.

Highly specialized audiences: Life science marketers must cater to a diverse range of stakeholders, each with their unique needs and preferences. Crafting tailored messages that resonate with these specialized audiences requires in-depth knowledge and expertise.

Evolving industry landscape: The life sciences industry is constantly evolving due to technological advancements, regulatory changes, and shifts in market dynamics. Marketers must stay abreast of these developments, adapting their strategies accordingly.

With that in mind, let’s look at the components of marketing for the life sciences. We’ll start with branding.

We’ll take a quick look at how to establish a strong brand identity, differentiate your company and products, and position your brand effectively in the market. 

Let’s get started!

Establishing a strong brand identity is crucial for any life science company. According to a study from 2020, a strong brand can account for up to 20% of a company’s market value, which is pretty significant! 

In the life sciences sector, where new technologies and research are continually emerging, having a recognizable brand helps you stand out in a crowded market.

A strong brand identity goes beyond just having a memorable logo and tagline. It’s about creating a consistent visual and verbal representation of your company’s values, mission, and unique selling points. This can be achieved through your website, marketing materials, and even the way you communicate with your customers and partners. 

Now, let’s talk about differentiation. With so many players in the life sciences market, it’s essential to set your company and products apart from the competition. A 2021 survey revealed that 89% of B2B marketers believe differentiation is essential for success in today’s competitive landscape.

To differentiate your life science brand, start by conducting a thorough analysis of your competitors, identifying their strengths and weaknesses. Then, focus on what makes your company and products unique, whether it’s a specific technology, a novel approach to solving a problem, or a superior customer experience. Highlighting these differentiators in your marketing materials and communications will help you gain a competitive edge.

Lastly, let’s discuss market positioning. In the life sciences industry, it’s crucial to position your brand in a way that resonates with your target audience. A 2020 study found that 64% of consumers cite shared values as the primary reason for maintaining a relationship with a brand.

To effectively position your life science brand, you’ll need to identify your target audience and understand their needs, preferences, and pain points. By tailoring your messaging and value proposition to address these factors, you can create a strong connection with your audience and foster lasting relationships.

Establishing a strong brand identity, differentiating your company and products, and positioning your brand effectively in the market are crucial components for success in the life sciences industry.

By investing time and resources into these aspects of your marketing strategy, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the competitive landscape and drive growth for your company.

Branding isn’t the only factor in driving growth. 

In fact (and I hate to admit it), but I’ve often said that I’d take a company with a bad logo and good messaging over one with bad messaging and a good logo any day. Scientists, doctors and engineers can see beyond bad design to the value, but they can’t get beyond bad messaging. 

Ultimately, crafting clear, compelling, and consistent messages is critical to successfully market your products and services in this highly specialized field. 

Let’s dive into why messaging matters and how to get it right for your life science brand.

Life sciences is a field riddled with complex concepts and scientific jargon. From innovative drug therapies to breakthrough medical devices , the technologies being developed can often be difficult for non-experts to grasp. 

This is where messaging comes into play. 

Crafting clear and concise messages helps simplify these complex ideas, making it easier for your target audience to understand the value your products or services bring to the table.

To achieve this, focus on translating technical information into easily digestible, benefit-driven statements. This not only makes your offering more accessible but also enables potential customers, investors, and partners to appreciate its significance.

In the life sciences industry, trust and credibility are paramount. According to a 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust in healthcare and life sciences companies has been on the rise, reaching 73%. However, maintaining that trust requires consistent, honest, and transparent messaging.

Ensure your messaging is backed by solid scientific evidence and research, and avoid making unsubstantiated claims. 

This seems pretty obvious, but I was in a conversation last year with the head of sales for a company that wanted to included language using the word “unlimited” in it. We know for a fact this word 1) can’t be supported and 2) regulatory is going to have a field day with it. 

Now… YOU wouldn’t have made that mistake, however we do so people trying to sneak that kind of language into guerilla tactics, and that can only end up hurting you. 

Provide accurate and reliable information, and you’ll foster trust among your audience and solidify your brand’s credibility.

Life sciences marketing often involves navigating a complex web of regulations and guidelines. Your messaging must adhere to the rules set forth by regulatory bodies like the FDA, EMA, or other regional agencies. Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines, damage to your reputation, and a loss of trust from your stakeholders.

To tackle this challenge, work closely with your regulatory affairs team to ensure all promotional materials and communications align with the appropriate guidelines. 

This will not only help you stay compliant but also reinforce your commitment to ethical marketing practices.

Pro Tip: Every regulatory professional is a little different, so if you’re working with a digital marketing agency with a focus in life sciences , they should have flexible processes in place to accommodate your specific needs. 

Finally, effective messaging in life sciences hinges on understanding your target audience’s needs and preferences. Whether you’re targeting healthcare professionals, patients, or regulators, it’s essential to tailor your messaging to address their specific concerns and expectations.

Conduct market research to gain insights into your audience’s pain points, motivations, and decision-making criteria. By incorporating these insights into your messaging, you’ll create a stronger connection with your audience, ultimately driving engagement and conversions.

There are a number of ways we help our clients keep the customer at the center of the conversation. These include: 

Be consistent: Maintain a consistent tone, voice, and style across all your marketing channels to reinforce your brand identity and create a unified message. This will make your brand more recognizable and memorable to your audience.

Use storytelling: Incorporate storytelling techniques to make your messaging more engaging and relatable. Share success stories, case studies, or testimonials that demonstrate the real-world impact of your products or services.

Back up claims with evidence: Ensure your messaging is grounded in solid scientific research and data. This not only fosters trust and credibility but also helps avoid making unsubstantiated claims that could damage your reputation.

Prioritize clarity and conciseness: Aim for clear, concise, and straightforward language, avoiding jargon or overly technical terms that could confuse your audience. Keep your messaging focused on the most important aspects of your offering.

Simplify complex concepts: Life sciences often involve intricate technologies and scientific jargon. Make sure to translate these complex ideas into easily digestible, benefit-driven statements that clearly convey the value of your products or services.

Test and refine: Continuously test your messaging with your target audience, gathering feedback and analyzing performance metrics. Use these insights to refine your messaging, optimizing it for better engagement and results.

In the life sciences industry, effective messaging is crucial for reaching and engaging target audiences. 

With intricate technologies, diverse stakeholders, and a highly regulated landscape, crafting a compelling value proposition and clear messaging can be a challenge. 

Let’s look at three key aspects of messaging in life science marketing: creating a compelling value proposition, developing clear and concise messaging, and adapting your messaging for different audiences.

Your value proposition is the foundation of your messaging, as it outlines the unique benefits your products or services offer to customers. To create a compelling value proposition in the life sciences, consider the following:

Identify your target audience’s pain points: Understand the challenges your customers face and how your product or service can address those issues.

Differentiate yourself from competitors: Highlight what sets your products or services apart from others in the market.

Focus on tangible benefits: Emphasize the real-world impact your products or services can have on your customers, whether it’s improving patient outcomes, streamlining workflows, or reducing costs.

Once you’ve established your value proposition, it’s essential to communicate it effectively. In the life sciences, messaging must be clear and concise to convey complex information in a digestible manner. To achieve this, consider the following:

Use simple language: Avoid jargon and technical terms, opting for straightforward language that your target audience can easily understand.

Be specific: Provide concrete examples and data to illustrate the benefits of your products or services.

Keep it brief: Be mindful of your audience’s time and attention, focusing on the most critical points and avoiding unnecessary details.

In lifesci, your messaging will often need to resonate with diverse audiences, including healthcare professionals, patients, regulators, and investors. To adapt your messaging for different stakeholders, consider the following:

Understand your audience’s priorities: Different stakeholders have different concerns and interests, so tailor your messaging to address their specific needs.

Use appropriate language and tone: Ensure that your messaging is suitable for each audience, considering factors like their level of expertise and cultural background.

Provide relevant examples and data: Offer evidence that demonstrates the impact of your products or services for each specific audience, using case studies or testimonials when possible.

Messaging is key to your success, but it isn’t the only written aspect of your marketing. Every life science company needs content at some point in the buyer’s journey, so let’s look at what a content strategy looks like for you. 

A well-planned content strategy is essential for life science marketing, as it helps you engage you target audiences, establish thought leadership, and ultimately drive business growth. 

Let’s explore three crucial components of a successful life science content strategy: identifying key content types, mapping content to the buyer’s journey, and creating engaging and informative content.

The first step in creating a content strategy is to identify the types of content that will resonate most with your target audience. In the life sciences industry, some key content types include:

Blog posts: Share insights and expertise on industry trends, research developments, and best practices to establish thought leadership.

Whitepapers/Published Studies: Provide in-depth analysis and data-driven insights on specific topics, demonstrating your company’s expertise and the value of your products or services. Scientists and surgeons want to see the data , so if you don’t have it, your options are super limited (reach out and we’ll show you how we were able to grow a company with almost no data 31%!). 

Case studies: Showcase real-world examples of how your products or services have helped customers, illustrating the tangible benefits and success stories.

Webinars and podcasts: Engage your audience with interactive content that allows them to learn from experts and ask questions.

Social media posts: Share timely updates, industry news, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of your company to connect with your audience on a more personal level.

Understanding the buyer’s journey is crucial for creating content that speaks to your audience at each stage of their decision-making process. By mapping your content to the buyer’s journey, you can ensure that you’re providing relevant and timely information to guide your prospects towards a purchase. 

The buyer’s journey typically consists of three stages:

Awareness: At this stage, your audience is becoming aware of their problem or need. Focus on content that educates and informs, such as blog posts, infographics, or social media updates.

Consideration: Prospects are now actively seeking solutions to their problem or need. Offer content that showcases your expertise and the value of your products or services, such as whitepapers, webinars, or case studies.

Decision: Your audience is now ready to make a purchase decision. Provide content that helps them evaluate their options and choose your solution, such as product demos, testimonials, or comparison guides.

With your content types and buyer’s journey in mind, focus on creating content that is both engaging and informative. To achieve this, consider the following tips:

Tell a story: Use storytelling techniques to make your content more relatable and memorable, helping your audience connect with your brand on an emotional level.

Be authentic: Show your company’s personality and values through your content, creating a sense of trust and credibility.

Use visuals: Incorporate images, videos, and infographics to make your content more visually appealing and easier to digest.

Keep it fresh: Regularly update and refresh your content to stay relevant, addressing the latest trends and challenges in the life sciences industry.

In the life sciences industry, a well-rounded and integrated marketing strategy is key to driving business growth. By leveraging multiple channels, companies can create a unified message, engage their target audiences, and ultimately generate more leads and sales. 

In the following section, we’ll provide a quick overview of how your website, social media, paid campaigns, email marketing, and trade shows can all work together to help your life science company grow.

Your website is the foundation of your online presence, serving as a one-stop-shop for information about your company, products, and services. 

To maximize its impact, ensure that your website is:

User-friendly: Make it easy for visitors to navigate and find information, with clear calls-to-action and a responsive design that works on all devices.

SEO-optimized: Incorporate keywords and metadata to improve search engine rankings, making it easier for potential customers to find you online.

Content-rich: Provide valuable content, such as blog posts, whitepapers, and case studies, to establish thought leadership and engage your audience.

Social media platforms offer a unique opportunity to connect with your audience on a more personal level, sharing insights, news, and updates in real-time. 

To make the most of social media, consider the following tips:

Choose the right platforms: Focus on the platforms where your target audience is most active, such as LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. These three platforms are considered the most widely useful in marketing to life science audiences. 

Share a mix of content: Post a variety of content, including educational content, industry news, company updates, and behind-the-scenes looks, to keep your audience engaged.

Engage with your followers: Respond to comments and messages, fostering a sense of community and trust among your audience.

Paid advertising campaigns, such as Google Ads and sponsored social media posts, can help you reach a wider audience and drive targeted traffic to your website. 

To optimize your paid campaigns, be sure to:

Lead with education: Too often, life sciences companies lack an audience for their marketing. It’s simple enough to build an audience, but to do that, you must lead with education. 

Segment your audience: Target specific demographics, interests, or behaviors to ensure that your ads reach the right people at the right time.

Test and optimize: Regularly monitor your campaigns’ performance and make adjustments to improve their effectiveness and return on investment (ROI).

Email marketing is a powerful tool for nurturing leads, keeping your audience informed, and driving repeat business. 

To make the most of email marketing, remember to:

Segment your list: Group subscribers based on factors such as their interests, behaviors, or stage in the buyer’s journey, allowing you to send more targeted and relevant messages.

Personalize your content: Tailor your emails to each subscriber, addressing their specific needs and preferences.

Analyze and optimize: Track key metrics, such as open rates and click-through rates, to refine your email marketing strategy and improve your results.

Trade shows offer a valuable opportunity to build relationships with potential customers, partners, and investors in person. 

To maximize your trade show presence, consider these tips:

Choose the right events: Attend industry-specific events that attract your target audience, ensuring that your time and resources are well-spent.

Design an engaging booth: Create an eye-catching booth that showcases your products or services and encourages visitors to stop by.

Network effectively: Make the most of networking opportunities, connecting with industry influencers, potential clients, and partners to expand your reach and grow your business.

Now that we’ve reviewing the basics, let’s get into the weeds on some areas that are specific to life science marketing. 

In the life sciences industry, navigating regulatory compliance and adhering to ethical standards are crucial components of a successful marketing strategy. Not only do these practices protect your company from potential legal issues, but they also help to build trust and credibility with your target audience. 

In the following we’ll discuss the importance of understanding relevant regulations, such as FDA guidelines and HIPAA regulations, as well as the need for ethical marketing practices in life science marketing.

A solid understanding of the various regulations that govern life science marketing is essential for creating compliant promotional materials and avoiding costly fines or damage to your company’s reputation. 

Some key regulations to be aware of include:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets guidelines for the promotion of prescription drugs, medical devices, and other regulated products. These guidelines dictate how life science companies can communicate the benefits and risks of their products, and require that all promotional materials be truthful, balanced, and backed by substantial evidence.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulates the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI). While life science companies may not directly handle PHI, it’s essential to be aware of these regulations to ensure the proper handling of any patient data used in marketing efforts, such as testimonials or case studies.

For life science companies operating globally, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the regulatory standards and guidelines in each market. These regulations may differ significantly between countries, so it’s essential to tailor your marketing materials and messaging to comply with each region’s unique requirements.

In addition to compliance with regulatory standards, ethical marketing practices are critical in building trust with your target audience and maintaining a positive brand image. Some key aspects of ethical marketing in the life sciences industry include:

All marketing communications should be accurate, transparent, and supported by credible scientific evidence. Avoid making exaggerated claims or omitting important information that could mislead your audience.

When using patient stories or testimonials in your marketing efforts, it’s important to respect their privacy by obtaining proper consent and ensuring that any shared information is anonymized.

Life science companies have a responsibility to promote their products in a manner that prioritizes patient safety and well-being. This includes providing clear information about potential risks, avoiding off-label promotion, and ensuring that promotional materials are targeted at appropriate audiences, such as healthcare professionals and patients with specific conditions.

With that in mind, how would you’re on your way to life science marketing success! 

Yet… how do you measure success? Keep reading to find out…

In life science marketing, measuring the success of your efforts is essential for making informed decisions and optimizing your marketing strategy. By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and using analytics and reporting tools, you can evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns and identify areas for improvement. 

Read on as we discuss the importance of KPIs in life science marketing and provide insights into analytics and reporting best practices.

KPIs are quantifiable metrics that help you evaluate the success of your marketing efforts. By tracking the right KPIs, you can determine which strategies are delivering results and which need adjustment. Some important KPIs for life science marketing include:

Monitoring your website traffic and engagement can provide valuable insights into your audience’s behavior and preferences. Key metrics to track include page views, average session duration, bounce rate, and the number of new and returning visitors.

Lead generation and conversion rates are critical KPIs for evaluating the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns in driving new business. Track the number of leads generated, the sources of those leads, and the percentage of leads that convert into customers or sales opportunities.

To assess the success of your social media and email marketing efforts, track metrics such as follower growth, engagement rates, click-through rates, and open rates. These indicators can help you determine which content resonates with your audience and inform future content creation.

Using analytics tools and generating regular reports can help you make data-driven decisions and optimize your life science marketing strategy. Key aspects of analytics and reporting include:

By analyzing your marketing data, you can identify trends and patterns that can inform your marketing efforts. For example, you might notice that certain types of content consistently perform well on social media, or that specific keywords drive the most organic traffic to your website.

Regularly reviewing the performance of your marketing campaigns can help you determine their effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. Compare the results of different campaigns to determine which strategies are delivering the best ROI and which may need adjustment.

Using the insights gained from your KPIs and analytics reports, you can make informed decisions about your marketing strategy. This might involve reallocating resources to higher-performing channels, adjusting your messaging to better resonate with your target audience, or refining your targeting to reach a more relevant audience.

With everything in place now, you might be wondering how you can get it all done on your own!? There’s where hiring a marketing agency that specializes in life sciences marketing comes into play. 

When you’re getting ready to commercialize a product or launch, it might be tempting to hire any marketing agency to support you. Just how difficult can marketing your new brand be? 

Unfortunately, you can’t count on just any marketing group. The buying cycles for shoes, pizzas, and furniture just isn’t the same as that for biologics or surgical blades. 

A life science marketing agency can help you in a variety of ways, including: 

Strategic expertise: A specialized marketing agency brings valuable experience and industry-specific knowledge, helping life science companies craft effective marketing strategies that drive growth and success.

Creative solutions: An agency can develop compelling marketing materials and campaigns, ensuring that complex scientific concepts are communicated in a clear, engaging manner that resonates with target audiences.

Regulatory compliance: A marketing agency with life sciences expertise understands the regulatory landscape and can ensure that all marketing efforts are compliant, mitigating risk and protecting the company’s reputation.

Scalability and flexibility: As a life science company grows, so do its marketing needs. Partnering with an agency allows for scalability and flexibility, providing access to a wider range of resources and expertise as needed.

As we stand on the brink of the future, life science marketing faces a transformative landscape, marked by dynamic shifts in the industry and an increasingly digital-focused environment. The journey through this terrain calls for continuous learning and adaptation, not just to survive but to drive innovation and growth in the life sciences field.

From the roller-coaster highs and lows of the biotechnology boom to an ever-changing regulatory landscape, life science marketing has never been more challenging or exhilarating. Establishing a strong brand identity, crafting clear messaging, and devising a strategic content plan are just a few of the steps that can help navigate this landscape. Meanwhile, leveraging channels such as your website, social media, email marketing, and trade shows have become essential tools to connect with your audience and stakeholders.

In the face of these rapid changes, the importance of continuous learning and adaptation cannot be overstated. Regulatory compliance and ethical considerations are paramount in this sector, demanding a keen understanding of guidelines such as FDA and HIPAA regulations, along with international standards. But beyond simply following rules, ethical marketing practices also involve truthful and transparent communications, respecting patient privacy, and promoting products responsibly.

Finally, we cannot forget that at its heart, the ultimate role of marketing in life sciences is to drive innovation and growth. By harnessing powerful analytics and measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, lead generation, and social media metrics, marketers can gain insights, evaluate campaign performance, and make data-driven decisions that propel growth. These analytics, in turn, provide invaluable feedback for refining strategies, tweaking messaging, and enhancing content, thereby driving the engine of progress in the life sciences industry.

In the fast-evolving world of life science marketing, staying agile and adaptable is the key to success. By understanding and embracing this landscape’s challenges, life science marketers can play a pivotal role in driving the industry’s growth and innovation. Whether it’s crafting compelling brand narratives, making complex scientific concepts accessible, or leveraging analytics for better decision-making, every step brings us closer to a future shaped by the life sciences industry’s transformative potential.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help with this, connect with us today! 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in guest posts are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of our website or company.

About MESH Interactive Agency

Founded by an experienced life sciences industry veteran, MESH is a digital marketing agency purpose-built to help you accelerate growth at every stage, from innovation to exit. We help life sciences, healthcare and technology companies build their brands, develop and execute marketing strategies, fill their funnels, and develop ground-brealing interactive technology and experiences.

With offices in Cambridge, Boston and Manchester, we’re probably right down the street, or a video call away.

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The Beginner’s Guide to Biotech & Life Science Marketing 

As life science professionals, we not only continuously handle hard science and research, but we also have to learn how to market our products and interact with a large online audience. However, coming from the sciences, many of us struggle with bio-business.

Here is where you can start. In this article, we will take you through all the essential aspects of digital marketing for biotech and life science companies. You will learn the basic concepts of digital life science marketing and how to connect them with your company’s marketing strategy, or your future business . 

First, let’s recap the difference between B2B and B2C.

What do B2B and B2C mean?

B2B stands for business-to-business, which is a process of selling products or services to other businesses. Whereas B2C stands for business-to-consumer, meaning your product or service is sold directly to individual consumers. 

Most biotech and life science companies are driven by B2B models. One example of a B2B in the biotech market is Novozymes, as the company produces enzymes and commercializes it to other companies, which will apply these molecules to their industrial processes. 

Lactobio, on the other hand, produces probiotic-based skin care products, and they are commercialized directly to individual consumers, illustrating a B2C case.

These two business models aim to draw the attention of two distinct audiences, which differ in scale, cost, communication, sales, and logistics. Therefore, the way you develop a marketing strategy for your product or service tailored to these targets varies.

Understand your target market

If we are analyzing a B2B case, the marketing strategy is dedicated to the needs, interests, and challenges of customers who are making purchases on behalf of their organization. 

In the example above, Novozymes’ account managers will search the industry for decision-makers who apply enzymes in their processes.  While in B2C cases, we are talking about people in their everyday lives. 

In order to understand your customer’s behavior, look for the common characteristics, needs, and demographics of your target group. Your target market is the group of people you want to reach through your life science marketing pitch. 

But be careful, your target can’t be everyone. A product will always have a specific niche, and you must understand that niche if you want to dominate it. 

The better you understand your product’s niche, the more customized your communication in the form of relevant content, ads, and messaging can be. Consequently, with more audience insights, you will also see your conversion rates growing, and you will get a better return of investments — metrics that matter to all marketers!

Here are a few steps to develop your audience research:

1. List all the benefits your product or service is offering.

Who is in need of these benefits? Who is interested in them? How can your product benefit the customer?

2. Check your current customer base (if you have one)

Get started with the basic information. Check all the information possible about your current customers, such as age, location, language, spending power, patterns, interests, stage of life. 

If you are analyzing a B2B model, you might want to collect information focused on the companies you are selling to, like company size, the title of the people making the buying decisions — be it the CEO, the CTO, or the production manager — revenue, and biggest challenges.

3. Watch your competitors

Now that you know who your main customers are, look at your competitors. Who are they targeting? What kind of communication are they using and how are they positioning themselves? 

Analyzing your competitors might provide you great input on do’s and don’ts, and also tell what segments you should focus on, instead of working on the exact same ones.

4. Create your detailed persona

At this point, you have already collected a lot of information about your audience, so it’s time to create an in-depth persona, or in other words, a real human being representing your typical customer.

Let’s take Lactobio as an example. This company has recently launched a new product for acne-prone skin with a novel approach, applying live probiotic bacteria to reduce pimples and impurities. In order to draw the ideal buyer persona for this product, you would consider:

• Your buyer persona’s age: teenagers, young adults with acne issues, or even parents buying for their children. 
• Your buyer persona’s location: Your main customers would probably primarily come from Denmark , as Lactobio is a Danish brand, but could also include European or international buyers, as the company also offers an English website.
• The interests of your buyer persona: as the product is innovative and offers a new approach to treating the problem, the audience would probably consist of millennials and influencers — people interested in experimenting with new things, educated adults or parents who work in the field of science and tech, as they would more likely understand the mechanism of the product and support the science behind it.

Ask yourself, what’s your buyer persona’s daily routine? Their aspirations? Their reading and social media habits? Their purchase behavior, do they buy online? The list of questions is long, and as we mentioned before, the more you know, the better.

Good knowledge of your audience will allow you to develop a great marketing pitch to attract the right customers to your product or service.

What do you see when you think about a brand? Most of us will picture the logo and the color palette in our minds. 

Strong brands have reached a level where they don’t need to write their names on their products anymore. They make a dominant visual impact on people and automatically occupy part of their memories, take Apple or GE healthcare, for example, you’ll recognize their logos anywhere.  However, the logo itself does not build an identity.

It’s the way you communicate with the world, applying a range of tools, that makes you different from others and encourages people to engage with you.

Do you want to be recognized as an innovator? Or at the cutting-edge of science and discovery? No matter what your goal is, there is a psychology behind branding. Whether your business is in biotechnology, health care, or any life sciences, people tend to connect with it in a strong manner. 

It’s a universal interest to follow medical advances and scientific progress. Human health becomes an emotional subject when it reaches people around us, and the psychology of human emotion can drive your branding construction. 

As mentioned by Marty Neumeier , iconic branding master, “Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”

We are talking about everything that expresses your brand and generates a feeling in people: logo, colors, typography, photography, iconography, illustration, video, motion, web design, data visualization, design system, interactive elements, and more. 

All these elements must be distinct, memorable, cohesive, flexible, and easy to apply. Unfortunately, they do not come overnight, it requires deep thinking, strategy, and an intimate understanding of what your brand means.

Building the brand of your business is an emotional experience with your target audience. A fresh and innovative branding approach can be a good marketing strategy for small and new businesses who are finding their place in the market.

Social media for Life Science Marketing

Now that you know about the importance of an effective branding strategy, let’s talk about the benefits of social media on life science businesses . 

You might find it confusing to imagine a biotech company using Facebook or Instagram to advertise themselves, but we are living in a time where social media has become crucial for marketing any kind of business. 

Advertising through traditional channels, such as TV or print media, is not enough to reach your consumers and gain the attention of potentials anymore. Instead, social media can be extremely beneficial to generate brand awareness, drive traffic to your website or blog, and gain market insights.

In the field of life sciences, the favorite channels are LinkedIn and Twitter, and getting deep knowledge of how these and the other channels work, can boost your interaction with customers, and bring your business to another level. 

At the end of the day, even scientists can be interested in spending time on social media, so it’s worth considering.

Content Marketing 

Creating and providing meaningful content allows you to connect with your targeted audience.

The life science sector is full of professionals who are overwhelmingly busy but voracious learners. With the help of business-based language, content marketing is a strategy to expand and retain your audience by offering truly relevant content , which will ultimately drive sales.

When we talk about B2B models, content is the key to achieve your life science marketing goals. Instead of pitching your products or services to life science professionals, you get their attention by offering easy-to-digest content that can be useful to them and will help solve their problems.

For a detailed guide on how to create your content marketing strategy, check this article , where you will learn the minimum effective dose content strategy and how to avoid mistakes. 

Search engine optimization and keyword research

Let’s say your branding is consistent, your social media is well on the way, but you do not get enough traffic on your website, and consequently, are not converting as many sales as you estimated.

It’s time to have a look at these two important components of your life science marketing strategy: search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword research.

Keyword research means looking for the keywords your target market uses when they are searching for content, services, or products. Why is it important to know important keywords? 

Keywords are an essential part of your content strategy.

Having keywords inside your content will bring people to you more efficiently, and moreover, will help you answer questions like:

• What are people looking for? 
• How many people are looking for it?
• When do they search their needs and interests, how and why?
• Which words do they use to search for their needs?

Optimizing your content to specific keywords will help you position your brand at the top of the search results on search engines, such as Google. This will increase your chances of getting traffic on your website. And now we are talking SEO.

Google is committed to delivering the highest quality result to your search, which means not every page will easily get a place in the top results. Only optimized pages providing the most related content will be there.

There is a whole world of search optimization concepts, techniques, and applications to boost your brand onto the first page of Google.

Companies with serious marketing goals usually have a full-time SEO professional dedicated to this part of the marketing strategy. 

A great tool to analyze how your page is ranking (and your competitor’s as well) is  Neilpatel . You can type your website address and have a great overview of how your pages are performing and which keywords are delivering the best results. 

Let’s take a look at Labiotech.eu according to the Neilpatel app:

Based on these results you gain clear feedback on what works better and what doesn’t. This is powerful data, and it can boost your life science marketing strategy to another level.

Other tools to verify your SEO performance are SEMrush, MozBar, and Google Analytics.

Paid campaigns in Life Science Marketing

A well-optimized page will make a lot of difference, but sometimes that’s not even enough to convert sales. You will have to allocate part of your marketing resources in paid campaigns. 

Nowadays, paid search has become a critical advertising component .

Paid search means you pay search engines to include your ads in search results. It works with a pay-per-click model, meaning you pay only when someone clicks on your ads. 

Ads can be in different formats, such as texts and pictures, at the top or bottom of organic search results. Note that it is not possible to pay to place your website at the top of organic listings, that’s SEO work you’ll have to do yourself.

Conversion optimization

Now let’s say you’ve done a great job on your SEO and you managed to bring visitors to your webpage. They are reading your content, checking your products, but are they buying? 

In other words, is your content converting? This means your visitors take the action you want them to take, for example, buying your product.

In fact, your goal might be lead generation , engagement, sales, and awareness. If this is happening, you are converting.

You made it all the way here to build your brand, find the keywords, sharpen your SEO. Now you need to think about how to retain your visitors and make them convert.

These five strategies are the easiest way to turn your visitor into a customer and increase profits:

• Use colloquial language to engage your visitor. In a world where machines are taking over, people tend to miss the human touch, At the end of the day, make them feel that a real person is on the other side of the screen.
• Create a sense of urgency. Proven by studies, people feel more tempted to buy something when they feel time pressure.
• Conduct A/B testing. Testing, testing, testing. You won’t know immediately what works best for your marketing strategy, it’s all about being flexible and adapting continuously.
• Define your customer value proposition and make it visible. People need to know why they should buy from you and not from the competitor.
• Make your customer feel comfortable about their purchase decision. For example, you can add an FAQ to your website, or testimonials, or live chats to answer questions in real-time. 

So, now that you’ve gained this new knowledge, it’s time to take action! With this overview, we hope to have clarified the basics of life science marketing for businesses in the industry. For a deep understanding of each of the mentioned areas, check out our life science marketing tips for biotech and biopharma here .

At Labiotech, we create compelling digital biotech content for our readers from around the world. If you want to know more about how we are sustaining the digital transformation and how we reach the right audience, book a call with our team or download our 2020 media kit for more information! We are always happy to share our wisdom with you! 

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The health benefits and business potential of digital therapeutics

Around the world, the burden of chronic disease is increasing at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, most of these conditions are irreversible and need to be managed through lifelong medication use. However, many patients struggle with adhering to prescribed medications and implementing the behavioral and lifestyle changes that are needed to manage their diseases and stabilize their conditions. Often, physicians and other healthcare providers have little ability to monitor the extent to which patients are following their recommendations and maintaining treatment regimens. As a result, disease burdens at a population level are higher than they should be.

These challenges have created a need for compre­hensive disease management solutions that are best enabled by digital technologies. In 2021, global digital health funding grew 79 percent over the previous year to reach $57.2 billion. 1 State of digital health 2021 report , CB Insights, January 20, 2022. Much attention and funding have flowed toward digital therapeutics , which can include multiple points of intervention along the patient journey, including monitoring, medication adherence, behavioral engagement, person­alized coaching, and real-time custom health recommendations. Within digital health, funding for digital therapeutics (including solutions for mental health) has grown at an even faster pace—up 134 percent from the prior year to reach $8.9 billion in 2021. 2 Heather Landi, “Global digital health funding skyrockets to $57.2B with record cash for mental health, telehealth,” Fierce Healthcare,January 21, 2022.

The impact potential here is significant, both in terms of clinical outcomes and economic benefits for stakeholders and societies. For example, research has shown that digital disease management can drive a 45 percent reduction in the three-month rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and a 50 percent reduction in the 30-day readmission rates for patients after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). 3 Jerilyn K. Allen et al., “Digital health intervention in acute myocardial infarction,” Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes , July 15, 2021, Volume 14, Issue 7; Pawel Buszman et al., “Managed care after acute myocardial infarction (MC-AMI) reduces total mortality in 12-month follow-up—results from Poland’s National Health Fund Program of Comprehensive Post-MI Care—A population-wide analysis,” Journal of Clinical Medicine , 2020, Volume 9, Issue 10. Similarly, it can help lower hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels by one percentage point among patients with type 2 diabetes. 4 Marcy K. Abner et al., “A novel intervention including individualized nutritional recommendations reduces hemoglobin A1c level, medication use, and weight in type 2 diabetes,” JMIR Diabetes , 2017, Volume 2, Issue 1. These data points illustrate the extent to which digital disease manage­ment can help save lives while also keeping patients healthier, which reduces costs for many stake­holders, including the patients themselves.

Research has shown that digital disease management can drive a 45 percent reduction in the three-month rate of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and a 50 percent reduction in the 30-day readmission rates for patients.

Many players are trying to disrupt the disease management space and develop new innovative models to manage chronic diseases. New-age start-ups bring radical, unconstrained perspectives, while incumbents contribute a much more detailed understanding of the challenges and various stake­holders. Ultimately, both start-ups and incumbents have critical roles to play in disrupting the space and scaling up solutions.

Digital therapeutics can play an important role in chronic-disease management

The burden of chronic diseases has been increasing globally and is expected to continue. Chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disease) were causes or contributing factors in 75 percent of worldwide deaths in 2010 and 79 percent in 2020. By 2030, experts predict that chronic diseases will contribute to as much as 84 percent of total global mortality (exhibit).

Poor monitoring of and adherence to prescribed medications undermine the management of chronic diseases. According to a 2021 global study, compliance among patients with type 2 diabetes ranges from 69 to 79 percent. 5 Diagnosis-related groups (DRG) treatment data: compliance (medication possession ratio) among patients with type 2 diabetes ranges between 69 to 79 percent for top-20 type 2 diabetes drugs; compliance rates for cancers according to a study on 52,450 patients was 37 percent. Patients were found to be most compliant in the 50- to 59-year-old range (49 percent compliant), with decreased compliance at the extremes of age. See Joseph Blansfield et al., “Analyzing the impact of compliance with national guidelines for pancreatic cancer care using the National Cancer Database,” Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery , August 2018, Volume 22, Issue 8; Nathan Levitan, “Industry Voices—Here’s how AI is impacting the delivery of cancer care right now,” Fierce Healthcare, June 28, 2019.

Of course, chronic diseases need to be managed not only by medication but also with regular monitoring and lifestyle changes. Hence, providers need better end-to-end solutions that proactively and comprehensively monitor patient health, as well as encourage behavioral changes to improve adherence to prescribed medications, diet, and lifestyles.

Digital technologies can play an important role in improving disease management by tackling these challenges. The potential for digital therapeutics to have a big impact is evidenced by the fact that almost two-thirds of the global population now has internet access.

Research has shown that digital solutions for disease management can drive better outcomes for patients living with chronic diseases. Examples include the following:

• A study of ten thousand patients by the Poland National Health Fund showed a 45 percent reduction in three-month MACE rate and a 40 percent reduction in 12-month mortality rate achieved through managed care after AMI. The study involved cardiac rehabilitation with physician guidance, counseling sessions on lifestyle modification, education on the associated risk factors, therapy, and in-person relaxation sessions. 6 “Managed care after acute myocardial infarction,” 2021.
• A study by the Mayo Clinic in partnership with Healarium showed a reduction in three-month rehospitalizations and emergency department visits of 40 percent for patients following AMI, a weight reduction of 4.0 kilograms, and a 10.8-millimeter reduction in systolic blood pressure. The study involved tracking of vitals, diet, and physical activity, setting reminders and goals, information on current health status, and educational courses for patients. 7 Thomas G. Allison et al., “Digital health intervention as an adjunct to cardiac rehabilitation reduces cardiovascular risk factors and rehospitalizations, Journal of Cardiovascular Translational Research , 2015, Volume 8, Issue 5.
• A US study of more than one thousand patients by Johns Hopkins and Corrie Health showed a 50 percent reduction in the 30-day readmission rate in patients following AMI attained through digital-health-based interventions. The study involved continuous monitoring of vitals with the help of connected devices; educational content on procedures, risk factors, and lifestyle modifications; medication management through reminders and tracking adherence; connection with the care team; mood tracking; and the ability to check the side effects of medication. 8 “Digital health intervention in acute myocardial infarction,” 2021.
• A one percentage-point reduction in HbA1c levels was shown in patients with type 2 diabetes who participated in an online patient community as part of Virta Health’s ten-week nonrandomized parallel arm study with 262 outpatients. The patients were given individualized nutritional recommendations through dedicated health coaches, continuous glucose monitoring kits, and online counseling with doctors. 9 “A novel intervention including individualized nutritional recommendations reduces hemoglobin A1c level,” 2017.

Eight key elements of impactful digital therapeutics solutions

Strong digital therapeutics solutions typically contain most or all of the following eight elements:

• Regular monitoring, measurement, and feedback through connected medical devices . Devices such as smart inhalers for respiratory conditions or continuous glucose monitors for diabetes can provide patients with nudges and alerts for out-of-range readings. For example, Boston-based Biofourmis applies digital therapeutics through the continuous monitoring of connected medical devices. The company offers a doctor-prescribed digital platform approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for patients suffering from chronic heart conditions. Its unique wearable devices offer specialty chronic heart care management, including automated medication management combined with a multidisciplinary remote clinical-care team. In 2022, the company was valued at $1.3 billion.
• Keeping payers and providers in the loop. When patients grant access to their vital statistics, insurance companies, caregivers, and employers can reward them for progress in stabilizing or improving chronic health conditions. For example, Livongo, a program from Teladoc Health, allows patients with diabetes to monitor their condition regularly and send alerts via Bluetooth to an app on their own and their caregiver’s phones if readings exceed normal ranges. Over time, patients enrolled with Livongo have achieved a 0.8 percentage-point drop in HbA1c for diabetics, a 10.0-millimeter hemoglobin drop in blood pressure for patients with hypertension, a 1.8-point drop in body mass index, and a 7.0 percent drop in weight. Livongo allows payers and providers to identify and reward good behavior, as well as deter or penalize poor adherence to health plans prescribed by providers.
• Personalized coaching and support . Patients can connect with specific coaches to obtain a personalized diet and exercise plan tailored to their chronic illnesses. This can be very effective from a therapeutic standpoint. A meta-analysis of digital health interventions on blood pressure management showed that digital counseling alongside antihypertensive medical therapy reduced systolic blood pressure by 50 percent relative to controls. 10 Ella Huszti et al., “Advancing digital health interventions as a clinically applied science for blood pressure reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” Canadian Journal of Cardiology , May 2020, Volume 36, Issue 5. For example, Hinge Health has built a $6.2 billion business that offers wearable sensors combined with personalized exercise therapy and one-on-one health coaching.
• Gamified behavioral modification. Digital therapeutics solutions can include gamified challenges and incentives to track and drive adherence to prescribed diets, lifestyle practices, and medications. For example, Discovery, a South African health insurance company, encourages its members to make healthier choices through its Vitality behavioral change program that combines data analytics with rewards and incentives for healthier lifestyle choices.
• Building a thriving community . An active virtual patient community can drive adherence by challenging and motivating patients to live up to their own health goals. For instance, one study of seven thousand patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, HIV, fibromyalgia, or mood disorders found that nearly 60 percent thought the PatientsLikeMe health network helped give them a better understanding of the side effects of medications. The study also found that nearly a quarter of patients with mood disorders needed less inpatient care thanks to their use of the PatientsLikeMe site. 11 “PatientsLikeMe,” Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, accessed January 2023.
• Health mall. A recent McKinsey survey found that 90 percent of healthcare leaders believe that patients interacting with digital health ecosystems want an integrated journey rather than point experiences or solutions. 12 Stefan Biesdorf, Ulrike Deetjen, and Basel Kayyali, “ Digital health ecosystems: Voices of key healthcare leaders ,” McKinsey, October 12, 2021. Healthcare companies can meet this desire for integration by offering digital health malls that include access to prescribed medications, health supplements, wellness products, and diagnostic tests at the click of a button.
• Patient education . Digital education materials can give patients and their family members information on disease conditions, treatment options, diet, and healthy lifestyle choices. For instance, the Midday app launched by Mayo Clinic and digital health start-up Lisa Health provides support, including educational content, to women experiencing menopause. 13 Tia R. Ford, “Lisa Health launches Midday, an app leveraging AI to personalize the menopause journey, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic,” Mayo Clinic, July 19, 2022.
• Advanced analytics to predict and prevent health events . Organizations are working now to build data algorithms that could identify and predict triggers for healthcare events. They could suggest when to take preventative action or where lifestyle and behavioral changes might forestall adverse events.

How incumbents can thrive in the digital therapeutics space

Digital therapeutics have tremendous potential to reduce disease burdens, deliver better clinical outcomes, help providers make more informed treatment decisions, and improve patients’ lives by offering better ways to manage chronic health conditions. Digital therapeutics also offer incumbents access to new sections of the healthcare value chain and a way to play in the much larger end-to-end healthcare market. Given these opportunities, healthcare and pharma incumbents may wish to explore ways to compete and win in this space.

Incumbents have certain inherent advantages in building digital therapeutics offerings. They already have direct access to patients, plus deep knowledge of the pain points in the disease management journey. They also fully understand the disease science that needs to be integrated into the digital health offering.

Still, incumbents also have some work to do to be competitive in digital therapeutics. To successfully launch and scale an offering, they may need to recruit or upskill employees with skills in product development, design, technology, medicine, data science, and strategic partnerships. Incumbents should plan to spend from three to five years building their digital capabilities and inculcating their new digital workforce with the culture, vision, mission, and values to compete successfully against nimble start-ups.

Incumbents that move quickly still have an opportunity to gain a first-mover advantage in the growing digital therapeutics sector, where promising start-ups can receive multibillion-dollar valuations. By developing their own digital therapeutics offerings, incumbents may also find themselves in a stronger position to protect their core businesses from being disrupted by others.

Chirag Adatia is a partner in McKinsey’s Gurugram office, where Samarth Shah is a consultant. Ralf Dreischmeier  is a senior partner in the London office.  Kirtika Sharma is a partner in the Mumbai office.

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Life Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program Delivers Real-World Business Skills

As director of the Life Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship (LiSIE) program and advanced graduate certificate, Louis Peña sometimes jokes that he is a “recovering scientist.” In his current role, the inventor, author of eight patents, businessman, and entrepreneur gets to indulge two passions, keeping one foot in the worlds of both science and business.

The goal of the program, a joint effort between the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the College of Business , is to teach key business principals to life sciences students so they’re equipped to work in the business side of science.

“Not all science students want to be researchers or academics,” said Peña , an associate professor of practice with a joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and in the College of Business. “Many want to go into industry and that’s often a big unknown. This is like a mini-MBA program for STEM students that facilitates the transition.”

The LiSIE program gives graduate students a path to join a biotech company or a pharmaceutical company on the management side or get involved in startups. 

“To do that they have to know what ideas are worth,” said Peña. “How do you commercialize them? This program covers that whole area to help give them a jumpstart in biotech.”

LiSIE is an extension of a program called the Fundamentals of the Bioscience Industry that has been running for almost 20 years under SBU’s Center for Biotechnology . 

“That’s been an incredible project-based immersion program that provides an introduction into how the biotech industry works, and became the course that anchors the LiSIE program , ” he said. “Students work with actual biotech leaders on Long Island and learn about things like intellectual property, finance, and valuation.”

Peña says that what elevates Stony Brook’s program from others is the nature of the projects.

“In many university courses, there’ll be a project that students do at the end, but it’s kind of ‘make believe,'” he said. “In our course, it’s real. The instructors, who are local industry professionals, go to the Intellectual Property Partners (IPP) office here on campus, they look at the patents that are coming out and pick three or four real patents to use with permission.”

Peña said the students are required to sign nondisclosure agreements, and then they work on r eal intellectual property, create a business model and pitch it to actual investors or industry experts.     

Elpida Manolas ’24, a biomedical engineering master’s student, entered the program after completing an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering. 

“I’m interested in pursuing a career within the biotechnology industry, and I felt that it would be valuable to take the classes offered as part of the LiSIE graduate certificate,” she said. “The information and knowledge I gained about the foundations of bioengineering was incredibly valuable. But I also wanted to ensure that I understood each component of this field, including the business side.” 

Manolas said she was able to hear lectures on basic financial skills, legal knowledge and the overall life cycle of creating one’s own business. 

“We covered a great scope of topics and I really appreciated gaining that knowledge,” said Manolas, who hopes to pursue a career in the engineering/biotechnology industry. “Understanding how biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies function as a whole is necessary to seeing the big picture and helping that company succeed.” 

Samantha Hayashi, a PhD candidate in the molecular and cell biology graduate program, said she “always had an interest in learning about the business side of industry but was unable to take business or entrepreneurship courses during my earlier years due to my loaded schedule fulfilling PhD requirements.”

“I took the Fundamentals of the Bioscience Industry course during my fourth year and I enjoyed it,” said Hayashi. “At the end, professor Peña came and introduced the advanced graduate certificate in Life Sciences Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I was just about to complete my graduate course work, so the timing was perfect.”

The program introduced Hayashi to intellectual property, regulations, types of companies and management. 

“I also got to hear about different perspectives and experiences from various guest speakers,” she said. “I really enjoyed that these lessons were digested through hands-on learning. A few courses for the program had semester-long projects that required you to work with a team to create a new company and design your own product.” 

Hayashi called those projects a valuable part of the program. 

“The projects had a rigorous yet encouraging environment where you were thrown into building a product or business,” she said. “We were pushed outside of our comfort zones while learning important skills both in business and interpersonal relationships.”

Hayashi plans to pursue a career in industry after her expected graduation in 2025. 

“I envision myself working with a team to create new products or explore more regulations,” she said. “This program has centered my understanding of how industry works, where I can fit in, and helped prepare me to adapt to real scenarios I may face in pursuit of my future endeavors.”

Peña said he would like to see the program extended to the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook.

“If we’re interested in biomedical technologies that will benefit people, it’s not all about scientists developing drugs and devices,” said Peña. “Physicians are on the front lines of medicine and the ideas they may have are not easy to capture. If they see an innovation opportunity, the commercialization process is something they need to have learned about early on, but right now they don’t get that. Entrepreneurship in medicine doesn’t necessarily mean starting a medical practice. Maybe they want to bring a new heart valve to market. There is interest in filling this gap, so we developed a proposal with the help of Dr. Andrew Wackett, assistant dean of medical education. It would incorporate elements of the LiSIE program into medical education training. Let’s hope it gets funded.”        

Peña said the program gives graduates additional paths to explore, that they otherwise might not have been aware of.

“People in graduate programs in science are interested in science and research, of course, but they’re also looking to the future,” he said. “Industry has always been a sort of ‘black box.’ This program opens up that black box and shows you how to do it.”

— Robert Emproto

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Alan Alda’s M*A*S*H Memorabilia to Be Auctioned July 28

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Slice of life video: master of science in business analytics.

Fusing data science with business acumen for global impact in San Francisco and Silicon Valley

• May 15, 2024

The UC Davis Master of Science in Business Analytics develops high-performance professionals who can create business value from data and models. Our program blends data science skills with business knowledge and organizational savvy. You will build competencies in analytics, data, business, and practice. You'll learn to ask the right questions to deploy technical skills, data science tools and the managerial savvy to lead organizational change. You'll thrive in the global innovation hub of San Francisco and Silicon Valley, networking with trailblazers pushing the envelope on business analytics and data-driven decision-making.

Maanvee Mehrotra

Coming to school in San Francisco, it opens a lot of doors. It opens the hesitation of being a first-gen, immigrant, STEM woman. I belong here. I belong in the tech hub. And I'm in those spaces where I see people and women who are just making waves in the tech industry, the data industry. Personally, I want to have a career in data. For me, that is the most important thing.

Keyi (Eddy) Yu

MSBA program is basically the study of data analytics to solve business problems. and I have three years of working experience in the financial industry. Now, I think it's time to combine both together and pursue a future career in the data analytics field. We're not just learning about how to code, how to solve business problems. We are also focused on solving the problems ethically, regardless of which field you are working in.

Abdullah Kazi

Ethics in data science, ethics in data, and ethics in analysis. This is key because when you're working with data, you want to make sure that the data you grab is unbiased. Otherwise, it will lead to a biased analysis. I wanted to learn skills that I didn't know as an engineer. I wanted to go into analysis. I wanted to go into public speaking. So one thing MSBA prides itself on is the concept of data storytelling. How do you condense large amounts of technical information into a small chunk that you can present to your non-technical audience? That's how you kind of get recognition in the business world. MSBA program is located in San Francisco. You go north, you'll hit biotech area. You'll hit DNA-way. You go down south, you'll hit the finance district. So you see, everything is in San Francisco. There's actually a lot of resources that the MSBA program offers. And so one of them is the career services portal. And this is strictly for the MSBA students. Here we have access to resumé help. We have access to the best career staff in the world.

Professor Prasad Naik

The Graduate School of Management is perhaps the only boutique school that you will get in the entire world. I know names of my students. Students know my name. We interact during the program. We interact after the program. Twenty years out, we still are in touch. That only happens when you have a small boutique program like the Graduate School of Management. I taught them advanced statistics and time series analysis. I bring my research into the program because I love time series and dynamics.

The professors who are teaching the MSBA program are doing research in my interest fields. And I chose UC Davis because of that.

Daniela Mallard Juarez

I chose UC Davis because it's one of the most recognized universities in the U.S., definitely in California. And I also really like the MSBA program it offers. It feels just like a community that is available to you to help you in any way. We are roughly 100 students from 11 different countries. It really combines and complements each other's skills and talents. People are united with this one common goal of academic excellence. And just like building up our skills in analytics. We always go back to these core values that the UC Davis community has, and making lifelong friends here.

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A 102-year-old doctor still does consulting work and plans to live at least another 10 years. Here is her daily routine.

• Gladys McGarey is 102 years old and still has a 10 year plan for her life's ambitions.
• She's developed a "simple" daily routine that involves prune juice, salad, and consulting work.
• McGarey also knits to keep her hands busy so she won't be tempted into picking up her cell phone.

At age 102, Gladys McGarey has seen a lot of lives begin and end.

As a trained physician and birthing expert, she's witnessed the births of thousands of babies worldwide. She's also lived through the death of her ex-husband, and some of her own five children have died too. 

Now, living in a sunny home in her daughter's backyard in Arizona, she has developed a practice that she says will help her accomplish her 10-year plan. She wrote about it in her new book, " The Well Lived Life: A 102-year-old doctor's six secrets to health and happiness at every age, " and walked Insider through her daily routine. While the doctor doesn't have a license to practice medicine anymore, "they didn't tell me I had to stop talking," she said.

She starts the day with prayer, Raisin Bran, and prune juice

McGarey begins most days in the same simple way: She gets up, greets the new day with a morning prayer, climbs down the stairs, and enjoys Raisin Bran and prune juice for breakfast. 

Later in the day, "I have salad for lunch and some kind of soup or something for dinner," she told Insider. "It's the routine, and I think it works for me. It's important for each one to find what works for us."

Throughout the day she keeps her hands and her mind busy

To keep her hands busy throughout the day, McGarey continues a regular knitting practice. 

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"I can't see to knit patterns now because my eyes don't, but I can knit little gifts that I give, and that keeps my hands busy," she said. "If I don't keep my hands busy, I do something on the cell phone and that gets people all uptight, you know?" 

She also still consults, and stays true to the "holistic" approach to medicine she helped popularize in the US in the 1970s. McGarey believes that treating the whole person — taking into consideration their mental and social state, as well as any physical symptoms of distress — is paramount to healing.

When she's not knitting or consulting, McGarey listens to audiobooks or talks to friends – something aging experts say is crucial to human happiness and can actually help us live longer.

And, she recently got an infusion of stem cells, which she thinks has made a difference to her vitality — though scientists are still gathering evidence to determine whether this technique actually helps slow aging .

"I'm not really robust and sturdy, but I think it's helped me, and I'm looking forward," she said. 

She says creating a 10-year plan is critical for healthy aging

Finally, McGarey says, the most critical part of aging well is finding your central purpose, a life "juice" that is your mission and what you will endeavor to do with your time on Earth.  

These days, she uses her own "juice" to think about how to create better ways for people to live together and care for each other. Her own 10-year plan — something she thinks everyone should have — includes creating a village for "living medicine" where elders, babies, and everyone in between can live together and care for each other more harmoniously. 

"A 10 year plan makes space for everything," she wrote in the book. "It's a far enough reach that it keeps our life force activated. Yet it's close enough that we can achieve it, dust ourselves off, and plan anew." 

She doesn't worry about what her own final "number" of years on Earth may end up to be. Instead, she keeps her eyes trained on what's coming next. 

"I still think I've got work to do, and I'm gonna keep on working at it," she said. 

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