The Life Sciences (LS) concentration features an interdisciplinary curriculum that provides a solid foundation in the sciences with courses that embody the latest discoveries in biology, chemistry, and physics, and a pedagogy that challenges students to apply what they have learned to realistic scenarios. Within the Life Sciences concentration, students practice science through authentic research experiences that train students in experimental design, data collection and analysis, and presentation of experimental results.
To fulfill the LS concentration requirements, students take at least one foundational course that is a prerequisite for many upper level LS courses: Foundations of Chemistry (CHEM 150) or Organisms to Ecosystems (BIO141). With Integrated Biology and Chemistry (IBC 200), these two courses can either fulfill the physical science and biological science general education requirements, or they may count as LS concentration courses; they cannot be double-counted.
Students concentrating in Life Sciences are required to take at least one Project-Based Laboratory (PBL) course and a minimum of two additional 300 or 400-level concentration courses. LS students also complete a capstone project with a scientific focus. Students are able to fulfill their concentration requirements in either a focused or broad fashion from course offerings within the fields of biology and chemistry, or through courses from other concentrations that are cross-listed with Life Sciences.
When Life Sciences students graduate, they should be able to
One goal of the Life Sciences Concentration is to prepare students for post-graduate study in medical and affiliated health fields (dental, veterinary, physical therapy, physician’s assistant, nursing, pharmacy, etc) or graduate study toward a masters or doctoral degree in the sciences. In addition, students should be well-prepared to directly enter the workforce after graduation in biotechnology, basic or medical research, or pharmaceutical careers as laboratory technicians. Students will also be able to use their scientific training in diverse careers, such as those related to policy, communication, law, forensics, education, and food science.
Some LS courses have redundant and overlapping content with some Science and Mathematics general education courses. Therefore, enrollment in certain LS courses will prevent co- or later enrollment in some general education Science and Mathematics courses. Please check course catalog descriptions carefully.
Topics (290), Advanced Topics (390, 490), Special Study (298, 398, 498), and Independent Study (299, 399, 499) courses may be offered as needed at 1-4 units.
This course offers a fundamental introduction to evolutionary biology, patterns of diversity, and ecology. We will discuss evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift and explore how those processes can lead to genetic diversity within species as well as the creation of new species. We will also explore the form and function of various phyla from the tree of life and discuss how they interact within communities and ecosystems.
This course is an introduction to statistics, a field which involves the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of continuous or categorical data. This course will focus specifically on biological and chemical examples and datasets.
This course will take an in-depth analysis of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genetics at the level of molecular, cellular, organismal, and population genetics. Data analysis will rely on a quantitative approach. An integrated laboratory project will utilize basic genetic techniques.
CHEM 150 and IBC 200.
Bioinformatics is the use of computer databases and algorithms to analyze biological data. This course will apply bioinformatics to the field of genomics: the study of the protein, mRNA, and DNA sequences that comprise an organism’s genome. Topics will include sequence databases, pairwise and multiple sequence alignments, genome browsers, genome assembly and annotation, molecular evolution, phylogenetic analysis, and population genetics. The computer-based laboratory component will provide students with training in several command-line and web-based bioinformatics tools.
This course will explore the fascinating workings of the human body in both form and function. We will take a tour of the major organ systems and learn about how they work together to maintain homeostasis. This tour will include the respiratory system, circulatory system, digestive system, including energy and metabolism, introduction to the immune system, renal (urinary) system, reproductive system, and finally, how these systems communicate with one another via the endocrine system and nervous system. This course will use a combination of lectures, class discussions, interactive polling, and lab activities that involve both case studies and measuring/analyzing biological signals using physiological equipment. This course will be useful for those who are planning on pursuing a career in the health sciences.
Prevents co- or later enrollment in BIO 120.
Theodosius Dobzhansky famously said, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Evolution is genetic change over time, and as genes change, so does the organism. This course will explore microevolution, which is evolution at the population level, and macroevolution, which is evolution at the species level and higher. An example microevolutionary question is: Why does a male peacock have such a large tail when it makes him more vulnerable to predation? An example macroevolutionary question is: Why do some modern humans have gene variants that originated in Neanderthals?
This course will enable students to describe cellular contents in terms of membranes, organelles, and intracellular trafficking; recognize amino acids, their modifications, and the implications on protein structure and function; describe cellular biochemistry including basic enzyme kinetics, glycolysis, TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, photosynthesis, fermentation, and alternative pathways; manipulate signaling pathways from extracellular or intracellular stimuli to generate a cellular response; describe how cells divide and die, specifically in terms of protein regulation of these pathways; and apply all these normal cellular processes to neurobiology and its pathology. A laboratory component will practice basic tissue culture techniques by imaging cellular proteins under different signaling conditions.
CHEM 150 and IBC 200.
This course will explore the evolution, physiology, behavior, and ecology of major phyla within Kingdom Animalia as well as the phylogenetic relationships between animal taxa. We will learn how natural selection and genetic drift have made modest changes to the “operating instructions” of the animal genetic toolbox that have resulted in major variations to body form. We will examine how key morphological innovations define major branches on the animal tree of life and we will determine how representatives from each branch sense their environment, exchange gases, acquire nutrition, excrete wastes, reproduce, and move about. Students will explore these topics through lectures and group activities that include dissections, live animal observations, field trips, and group projects.
Are you fascinated by the incredible way the tiniest organisms (microorganisms) can impact our lives? They are small but mighty impacting health (human and animals), environment, food, energy, water, and industries. This course begins with an overview of microbial groups, their physiology, growth, metabolism, and genetics. We will learn how these concepts enable microbes to cause disease and how they can be controlled. The understanding of how microbes feed, grow, utilize nutrients, acquire and alter their genes, and the ability to function effectively as pathogens will provide the foundation in microbiology for the subsequent study of infectious diseases, their use in sustaining the environment, food production, and safety and the synthesis of various useful products. The laboratory sessions will equip students with basic technical skills required for growing, identifying, and studying antibiotic sensitivity of microorganisms using cultural, microscopic, biochemical, and molecular methods.
This course is an introduction to anatomy from a clinical perspective. Students will learn anatomical structures and functions from drawings, images, virtual learning tools, 3D models, physical exam techniques, medical imaging (e.g., radiographs, ultrasound, CT, MRI, and PET), and footage of clinical interventions (e.g., open surgeries, laparoscopy, bronchoscopy, endoscopy, cystoscopy, hysteroscopy, and colonoscopy). We will cover the major structures of the musculoskeletal system, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, head, neck, brain, and spinal cord. We will cover select topics related to pathophysiology to help facilitate understanding of anatomical relationships and functions and their relevance to disease processes and treatment. Throughout the course, students will also engage in discussions on what makes someone human beyond the structures and functions of their human body.
Have you ever wondered how scientists determine the three-dimensional structure of nucleic acids and proteins? Or what can be gleaned about the function of a macromolecule from its structure? Focusing on nucleic acids and proteins, this course includes an introduction to structural bioinformatics, methods of macromolecular structure determination by diffraction and spectroscopic techniques, and the visualization and representation of biomolecules. Representative biomolecules provide the framework for the discussion of such concepts as motifs, domains, folds, conformation, molecular assembly, dynamics and recognition, as well as for addressing how specific biological questions are answered at the atomic level.
Every second of the day, the human body encounters a myriad of non-self agents that could hamper human health, however, the body is able to fight and maintain its integrity through a collection of cells, tissues and organs called the immune system. The course will explore the immunologic sites on the human body and elucidate the mechanisms underlying the immune system’s recognition and eradication of invading pathogens. It will also shed light on the ways in which pathogens have evolved strategies to evade destruction, which has sometimes resulted in misperceptions that the immune system is not functioning effectively. The course will provide insight into how allergies and autoimmune disorders can arise from the immune system as a result of mistakenly attacking self-cells. Furthermore, students will gain an understanding of the critical role of vaccines in boosting the immune system’s ability to combat invading pathogens.
The objectives of this course are to introduce students to the theories and empirical research currently addressing the neuronal basis of human behavior. This combination lecture/seminar-based course, including bioinformatics research projects, will provide introductions to the basic concepts of brain neuroanatomy and biochemistry, molecular neurogenetics, evolutionary psychology, and human genomics, with readings and discussions from selected books, reviews and research articles. Emphasis will be placed on how disruptions of typical brain function, resulting in disorders such as autism, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and depression, can reveal how the brain mediates our most fundamental experiences.
This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.
Students will be studying the symbiotic relationship between the Aggregating Anemone, A. elegantissima, and its zooxanthellae symbionts in the genus Breviolum. More specifically, students will design experiments to elucidate how a given environmental variable (ex. light, temperature, pH, host feeding frequency) can affect this delicate symbiosis. Students will learn how to care for marine animals in saltwater aquaria, the intricacies of experimental design, lab techniques associated with measuring dependent variables of the symbiont (ex. cell density, cell size, mitotic index, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic efficiency), statistical data analysis, and how to communicate science through a research paper.
CHEM 150 and IBC 200.
This project-based, laboratory-intensive course will focus on primary literature, experimental design and techniques, data collection and analysis, and science communication in the context of cell biology. Students will do a structured, skills-building experiment to examine cell signaling using tissue culture techniques and then design their own novel experiment to understand subcellular localization or protein-protein interactions inside a cell.
This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.
Using techniques relevant to evolutionary genetics, this laboratory-intensive course will focus on primary literature, experimental design, data collection and analysis, and science communication. In this course you will gain research experience in the field, in the laboratory, and in silico. We will start by collecting marine invertebrates at local marinas, then extract DNA from tissue, amplify genes using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), visualize the PCR products using agarose gel electrophoresis, sequence the genes, edit and align the sequences, and finally analyze the sequences. First, we will determine the population structure of the species using population genetics software. Population structure is driven by the combined effects of the processes that disrupt Hardy Weinberg equilibrium: genetic drift, gene flow, non-random mating, mutation, and natural selection. Next, we will build phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks to visualize the relationships between the individuals of these species.
This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.
This course is an introduction to general chemistry with an emphasis on developing problem- solving skills for students planning a professional career in science, engineering, and medical fields. We will explore basic concepts of chemistry along with the mathematics required for quantitative problem solving. The topics include elements and compounds, chemical calculations, atomic structure, bonding, stoichiometry, chemical equations, reactions in aqueous solutions, oxidation-reduction, energy and chemical changes, quantum mechanical atom, chemical equilibrium, and acids & bases & buffers. This course can be taken at the same time or before CHEM 150L. Prevents co- or later enrollment in CHEM 112 and CHEM 115.
Instructor consent.
This laboratory is a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to complement Foundation of Chemistry (CHEM 150) course and will build upon the basic general chemistry knowledge. The CURE project is designed to challenge students to frame real-life practical research questions and design viable approaches to acquire meaningful data. This is a student-centered, guided, and inquiry-based research project that will allow students to engage in activities with greater decision-making and collaborative work.
CHEM 150 is a pre or co-requisite
This course provides a fundamental overview of organic chemistry to students interested in pursuing careers in the sciences, engineering, or medical fields. We will explore the relationship between the structure and function of molecules, the major classes of organic compounds, and their reactions and reaction mechanisms. Students will learn how to determine molecular structure via spectroscopic techniques. In the laboratory, students will be introduced to some techniques and procedures for the isolation, purification, and characterization of organic compounds and to some of the reactions used in the organic chemistry laboratory such as the Grignard, elimination, and substitution reactions.
This course is continuation of CHEM 301 that provides a deeper overview of organic chemistry to students interested in pursuing careers in the sciences, engineering, or medical fields. We will specifically explore the synthesis and reaction mechanisms of aromatic compounds and organic molecules with carbonyl and carboxylic acid functional groups. Students will learn how to plan for multi-step synthetic pathways to form a given organic molecule and the reaction mechanisms involved. A complementary laboratory will reinforce content.
Drug design and development is a complex interdisciplinary enterprise that draws upon many disciplines in science, engineering, and business. The cost to develop the average FDA-approved drug is estimated to be as much as $1.5 billion. This course will explore core medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and molecular biology topics related to drug design and development. Using a case study-focused approach, students will study and present on traditional small molecules, biologically derived larger drugs, and next-generation gene therapies. Topics for discussion include receptor theory, common drug targets, lead molecule discovery and development, pharmacokinetics, ADMET, monoclonal antibody therapies, vaccines, nucleic acid-based drugs, CRISPR, and more.
We will learn, in detail, how the cell uses just a few types of raw materials to construct complex structures. Some have evolved to catalyze chemical reactions with a high degree of selectivity and specificity; we will uncover their enzymatic strategies. Living things harvest energy from their environment to fuel metabolic processes, reproduce, and grow; we will keep account of these transactions and consider the exquisite control that permits a cell to be responsive and adapt its responses to inputs from the environment. Key topics: protein structure and function, thermodynamics, enzyme mechanisms, transport, signaling, intermediary metabolism, and regulation. (Recommended prerequisite for medical school admissions.)
Using techniques relevant to biochemistry, this wet laboratory-intensive course will focus on primary literature, experimental design, data collection and analysis, and science communication. We will start by learning about a biologically important cascade (eg. blood-clotting). Next, we will develop protocols for isolating proteins from tissue and purifying them using column chromatography. Then, we will assess the purified products using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Homology modeling and docking software will help us to visualize how individual components of these pathways interact at the molecular level. Finally, with homogenous proteins in hand, we will reassemble the cascade to recapitulate and probe the cascade in vitro.
This is a project-based laboratory course focusing on the fundamental and practical aspect of analytical instrumentation typically employed in chemical and biochemical research laboratories. Through assigned projects, students will make new organic and inorganic compounds and apply various instrumental methods for separation, purification, and identification.
This project-based, laboratory-intensive course will focus on primary literature, experimental design and techniques, data collection and analysis, and science communication in the context of biochemistry. Students will express, purify, detect, quantify, and perform biochemical assays of recombinant enzymes to gain new insights into their mechanism of action and how they may be inhibited. Students will gain experience with lab techniques such as sonication/homogenization, column chromatography, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, immunoblotting, etc. Students will communicate their results and ideas through oral presentations, research proposals, and research articles.
This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.
This interdisciplinary course will focus on the molecular biology of cancer and the underlying chemistry of cell biology. Students will learn how proteins are encoded and the impact of genomic instability on protein structure and function; alterations of normal metabolism in cancer cells; and basic pathways of cell division and death. Complementary chemistry topics include chemical structure and bonding, biological polymerization, thermodynamics, enzyme kinetics, and redox reactions. Laboratory research will use model systems to understand cancer biology. Prevents co- or later enrollment in BIO 115 and BIO 130.
This interdisciplinary course will focus on the molecular biology of cancer and the underlying chemistry of cell biology. Students will learn how proteins are encoded and the impact of genomic instability on protein structure and function; alterations of normal metabolism in cancer cells; and basic pathways of cell division and death. Complementary chemistry topics include chemical structure and bonding, biological polymerization, thermodynamics, enzyme kinetics, and redox reactions. Laboratory research will use model systems to understand cancer biology. Prevents co- or later enrollment in BIO 115 and BIO 130.
The first of two courses covering the usual introductory physics topics but re-ordered to follow the timeline of the universe: evolution of the cosmos, evolution of life on earth, and evolution of human social reality. Computer labs will promote modeling and simulation skills using Python. Biological, chemical, medical, or health-related contexts or applications will be used where suitable as are connections to enduring questions of humanity or modes of inquiry. The courses are algebra-based, though a few essential calculus concepts will be introduced via computer labs.
The second of two courses covering the usual introductory physics topics but re-ordered to follow the timeline of the universe: evolution of the cosmos, evolution of life on earth, and evolution of human social reality. Computer labs will promote modeling and simulation skills using Python. Biological, chemical, medical, or health-related contexts or applications will be used where suitable as are connections to enduring questions of humanity or modes of inquiry. The courses are algebra-based, though a few essential calculus concepts will be introduced via computer labs.
The objectives of this course are to introduce students to the theories and empirical research currently addressing the neuronal basis of human behavior. This combination lecture/seminar-based course, including bioinformatics research projects, will provide introductions to the basic concepts of brain neuroanatomy and biochemistry, molecular neurogenetics, evolutionary psychology, and human genomics, with readings and discussions from selected books, reviews and research articles. Emphasis will be placed on how disruptions of typical brain function, resulting in disorders such as autism, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, and depression, can reveal how the brain mediates our most fundamental experiences.
This course satisfies the advanced writing skills course requirement.
All SUA students participate in a Capstone research project during their senior (fourth) year, consisting of three courses. Capstone 390 is usually taken in the fall semester, Capstone 400 during the winter block, and Capstone 450 during the spring semester. This research project is intended to be a culminating experience, drawing upon the skills and expertise that they have developed during their career at SUA. Each student works with a faculty mentor to develop and carry out a research project related to their chosen Concentration. Students meet regularly with their Capstone mentor for support and feedback. All Capstone work must meet the criteria set in the Undergraduate Capstone Policy as well as standards set by the individual Concentration.
Beginning in academic year 2026/2027, the credit value and grading basis for Capstone courses will change. Until and including academic year 2025/2026, Capstone 390 will remain a 1-unit course graded on a P/NP basis.
Prerequisites: Senior standing. This course cannot be taken on a P/NP basis.
All SUA students participate in a Capstone research project during their senior (fourth) year, consisting of three courses. Capstone 390 is usually taken in the fall semester, Capstone 400 during the winter block, and Capstone 450 during the spring semester. This research project is intended to be a culminating experience, drawing upon the skills and expertise that they have developed during their career at SUA. Each student works with a faculty mentor to develop and carry out a research project related to their chosen Concentration. Students meet regularly with their Capstone mentor for support and feedback. All Capstone work must meet the criteria set in the Undergraduate Capstone Policy as well as standards set by the individual Concentration.
Beginning in academic year 2026/2027, the credit value and grading basis for Capstone courses will change. Until and including academic year 2025/2026, Capstone 400 will remain a 4-unit course. Capstone 400 may not be taken on a P/NP basis.
CAPSTONE 390. This course cannot be taken on a P/NP basis.
All SUA students participate in a Capstone research project during their senior (fourth) year, consisting of three courses. Capstone 390 is usually taken in the fall semester, Capstone 400 during the winter block, and Capstone 450 during the spring semester. This research project is intended to be a culminating experience, drawing upon the skills and expertise that they have developed during their career at SUA. Each student works with a faculty mentor to develop and carry out a research project related to their chosen Concentration. Students meet regularly with their Capstone mentor for support and feedback. All Capstone work must meet the criteria set in the Undergraduate Capstone Policy as well as standards set by the individual Concentration.
Beginning in academic year 2026/2027, the credit value and grading basis for Capstone courses will change. Until and including academic year 2025/2026, Capstone 450 will remain a 4-unit course. Capstone 400 may not be taken on a P/NP basis.
CAPSTONE 400.This course cannot be taken on a P/NP basis.
