Perspectives in Marine Biotechnology: Course Outline (12 units)

• Quarter 01 (Fall) Overview of Marine Sciences
  An overview covering the essential information necessary to investigate marine organisms.
  1. The Marine Environment
  The physical and chemical properties of marine environments and the challenges they pose for marine organisms
  2. Marine Organisms
  Survey of marine biodiversity, introducing students to the bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya of the oceans
  3. Physiology and Chemistry of Marine Organisms
  Specialized biochemical adaptations of marine organisms, including an overview of marine natural products chemistry
  4. Marine Communities and Symbioses
  Overview of physiological and biological integration of distinct organisms to create novel processes and adaptations
  
• Quarter 02 (Winter) Tools of Biotechnology
  This quarter?s of the course Introduces six technologies that are recurrent themes in the six focus areas and provides the foundation necessary to understand the literature and develop research projects in marine biotechnology.
  1. Molecular biology
  2. Bioinformatics
  3. Genomics
  4. Proteomics
  5. Chemistry
  6. Bioengineering
• Quarter 03 (Spring) Marine Biotechnology Focus Areas
  This quarter introduces the students to the TPMB subject areas and faculty. The course content is designed to convey the excitement of discovery in these emerging areas of research. The third quarter class is intended to help students comprehend the relationships among subject areas to visualize the research opportunities available in cross-discipline training.
  
  • Marine Biomedical Model Systems
  • Marine Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
  • Marine Pathogens and Infectious Disease
  • Marine Symbiosis
  • Marine Pharmaceuticals Discovery and Development
  • Marine Microbial Technology

Opportunities and Challenges in Marine Biotechnology
This final portion of the course focuses on practical applications of marine biotechnology. What problems can marine biotechnology solve, and what limitations and technological barriers must be overcome to realize the potential of marine biotechnology? We will use case studies of successful and unsuccessful attempts to develop marine products. We will draw upon our substantial corps of industrial partners for guest lecturers who can provide real world perspective. This will also be an opportunity to introduce the students to industrial internship opportunities.