To instill in students a firm understanding of the basic principles in molecular, cellular and physiology that will serve as a foundation for your subsequent education and development as physician-scientists.

Welcome to Scientific Foundations 2024

Qualifier study guide is available

WATCH a video of the self-assessment review.

Week Five - September 16 - 20

Quiz for week four is available HERE

This is the final week of Scientific Foundations. We will wrap up Life and Death of a Cell by exploring the molecular mechanisms that regulate cell growth and division and analyzing histological images that illustrate the responses of cells to stressors and damage.

The Cell Communication theme will conclude with discussions of two cases that illustrate how defects in ion channels lead to muscle weakness and hyperthermia.

This week will also feature two sessions that will describe and analyze how cultural and social biases affect decisions made by scientists and the broader research community on which diseases receive attention. These biases can determine which patients are likely to receive therapeutics or cures for their diseases.

Qualifier

The qualifier will open Wednesday, September 18 and close at 11:45 PM on Sunday, September 22.

Assignments to Completed Before Indicated Date

September 16

  • Regulation of Cell Growth - TBL - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE
  • Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis - Physiology Case Conference - Please read the case and try to answer the questions (Available on BlueDogs and synced to GoodReader on your iPad).

September 17

September 20

  • Malignant Hyperthermia - Physiology Case Conference - Please read the case and try to answer the questions (Available on BlueDogs and synced to GoodReader on your iPad).

Week Four - September 9 - 13

Reminder that the mandatory self-assessment closes Sunday night at 11:45 PM. Please upload your answers before then.

The Cell Energy theme will wrap up this week with presentations on how the body metabolizes the major macromolecules and how different metabolic pathways integrate to maintain an adequate supply of energy-rich molecules in the body. We will start two new themes: Cell Communication and Life and Death of a Cell. Cell Communication will describe the major signaling pathways and how we use drugs to influence those pathways. The theme will also describe how the body metabolizes drugs. Life and Death of a Cell will explore how cells respond to injury and damage which is foundational for understanding pathologies.

Important: On Tuesday, September 12 you will participate in a medical simulation. To successfully participate in the simulation and diagnose the case, you should be familiar with lecture material covered through Monday, September 11. Please check BlueDogs for your group assignment and the time of your simulation.

Assignments to Complete

Please complete the following assignments prior to the dates listed below.

September 9

September 10

September 11

September 13

  • Mutations, Proteins and Disease - TBL - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE

Week Three Quiz is available HERE.

Week Three - September 3 - September 6

Week Two Quiz is available HERE.

The focus of this week will be the Cell Energy theme. We will start by looking at the mechanisms of enzymes and then explore the different pathways that generate ATP from macromolecules and store macromolecules for future use and maintain a readily available supply of glucose.

The Building a Body theme will wrap up this week with an analysis of the structure of muscle and nervous tissue and blood vessels and a presentation on the origin and development of the different tissue types during embryogenesis.

The Cell Communication theme will describe how cells propagate action potentials and explore the mechanisms that allow cells to communicate through small molecules and the pathways through which small molecules change cell behavior.

This week has a Biochemistry Conference on Tuesday and Physiology Case Conference on Friday. Be sure to check the notes for both (on BlueDogs or your iPad) for the readings and other preparatory materials that should be completed before the conferences.

Special Session on Health Maintenance

On Wednesday at 8 AM, you will have the opportunity to explore the broad topic of health maintenance. In the interactive session, you will work with your classmates to develop a definition of health and explore how patients and physicians can have different views on health. You will generate a list of ways to measure health and begin to learn how physicians integrate this information to develop recommendations for their patients. Lastly, you will explore areas of health where physicians can increase their impact.

Self-Assessment

On Friday evening, the self-assessment for the course will open. You will download the self-assessment from ExamSoft (instructions coming later this week). The deadline for uploading your answers is Sunday, September 8 at 11:45 PM.

Assignments to Complete

Please complete the following assignments prior to the dates listed below.

September 3

  • Structure and Function of Muscle and Nerves - TBL - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE
  • DNA Sequencing for Emerging Infections - Biochemistry Conference
    • Please read the required paper: Introductions and early spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the New York City area
    • Review the workshop introduction, learning objectives and try to answer the questions (Available on BlueDogs and synced to GoodReader on your iPad).
    • Look at the remaining Biochemistry Conferences and select two at which you would like to present. Sign-up will be done at the first conference.

September 4

  • Structure and Function of Blood Vessels - TBL - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE
  • TCA Cycle - Lecture - Please read this NY Times article written by a Yale Medical School graduate and former member of Dr. Baserga’s Biochemistry Conference: Was Weight-Loss Surgery the Cause of This Patient’s Confusion?

September 5

  • Cell Communication - TBL - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE

September 8

  • Cystic Fibrosis - Physiology Case Conference - Please read the case and try to answer the questions (Available on BlueDogs and synced to GoodReader on your iPad).

Week Two - August 26 - August 30

The quiz for week one is available HERE.

Week two will focus on the Building a Body theme as we will explore how cells assemble into tissues and then examine in greater detail the different tissue types: epithelia, nervous, connective and muscle. The Gene Expression theme will continue with explorations of protein translation, the structure of the genome, and how we use genetic engineering to generate animal models of disease. Two themes will start this week. Cell Energy will present an overview of metabolism and key information on the behavior of enzymes. Cell Communication will describe how cell membranes depolarized to generate action potentials.

This week also has the first Physiology Case Conference (Thursday). Be sure to check the notes for both (on BlueDogs or your iPad) for the readings and other preparatory materials that should be completed before the conference.

Assignments to Complete

Please complete the following assignments prior to the dates listed below.

August 26

  • Cells to Tissues - TBL - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE

August 27

  • Histology of Cell and Epithelia - TBL - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE

August 28

  • Epithelia Structure and Transport Interactive Session - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE

August 29

  • Hypernatremia - Physiology Case Conference - Please read the case and try to answer the questions (Available on BlueDogs and synced to GoodReader on your iPad).

August 30

  • Structure and Function of Connective Tissue and Bone - Please watch the video and/or read the notes which can be accessed HERE

Week One - August 21 - 23

Before we start the course, check out the Primer which covers some basic principles from chemistry that you may find helpful to review.

Also, take a look at the syllabus.

All materials and links to videos can be found on BlueDogs. PDFs of slides and notes should sync with your iPad if you have set that up. If a session does not have slides and/or notes, please let me know.

This week will start with an introduction to the course and then move into presentations on the basic building blocks of cells: protein, nucleic acids and lipids. Next, we’ll look at the cell membrane and how an electrochemical potential is generated across the cell membrane. We’ll end the week by describing the mechanisms that deliver proteins to the cell membrane and other organelles, and we’ll explore the matrix of proteins that surrounds cells. Finally, we’ll present the first two steps in gene expression: transcription and RNA processing.

August 21, 2024

August 22, 2024

  • Lipids - Lecture - How does a molecule form a restrictive barrier and be source of energy?
  • Cell Structure - Lecture - How do cells define their surfaces and change the their shape?
  • Fluid Compartments and Membrane Transport - Interactive Session - How can we determine the composition of fluids and the movement of solutes?
  • Water Transport and Regulation of Cell Volume - Lecture - What are the clinical risks of imbalances in fluid composition and how can they be corrected?

August 23, 2024

  • Secretion and Endocytosis - Lecture - How do cells determine the composition of their surfaces and their external environment?
  • Extracellular Matrix - Lecture - How do a set of molecules hold tissues together, provide mechanical support and regulate cell activity?
  • Gene Expression: Transcription - Lecture - How do cells regulate protein concentration through production of RNA?
  • Gene Expression: RNA Processing - Lecture - How do cells regulate protein concentration through processing and metabolism of RNA?