Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) Courses

Research rotations are defined periods of research experience under the direction of a faculty member. They are intended to familiarize the student with concepts and techniques in several areas of research and to assist the student in evaluating research laboratories and projects that might be developed into a dissertation project. The student will participate in an ongoing research project, gain familiarity with concepts underlying the research, acquire a working knowledge of techniques used in the research, and write a report and present an oral summary of the results of the research.

Credits: 2-5

Fulfills an elective requirement: No

Course Director: Varies

Semester Offered: Fall, Spring

Last Taught: Taught every Fall and Spring semester

This intense 3-week course will expose students to a variety of topics related to cellular metabolism. The course will cover material ranging from foundational principles to current leading-edge research. The principles and mechanisms regulating metabolism will be explored from multiple perspectives, including biochemistry, biophysics, genetics, molecular biology and cell biology. 

Credits: 2

Prerequisite(s): None

Fulfills an elective requirement: Yes

Course Director: Brian Lewis

Semester Offered: Fall, Summer

Last Taught: Fall 2023

Research rotations are defined periods of research experience under the direction of a faculty member. They are intended to familiarize the student with concepts and techniques in several areas of research and to assist the student in evaluating research laboratories and projects that might be developed into a dissertation project. The student will participate in an on-going research project; gain familiarity with concepts underlying the research; acquire a working knowledge of techniques used in the research; and write a report and present an oral summary of the results of the research.

Credits: 2-4

Course Director: Faculty member in whose research group the student is working

Semester Offered: Fall, Spring, Summer

Last Taught: Taught every Fall, Spring, and Summer

Building on basic skills in epidemiology and scientific research methods, this course will cover research design, including hypothesis development, measurement, and analysis. Students will explore methodological strengths of various quantitative and qualitative techniques and designs. Students will have three examinations, weekly problem sets and assignments to develop original research approaches to specific scientific and clinical questions.

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): CTS605A or equivalent or permission from course coordinator 

Course Director: Anthony Nunes

Semester Offered: Spring

Last Taught: Spring 2024

This course reviews basic principles of epidemiology and biostatistics. The course reviews the application of various observational and experimental research designs and strategies to clinical, epidemiological, and translational research. Didactic instruction, readings, and problem sets (including lab-based analyses) are used to more fully understand epidemics and their causes, as well as various study designs, including cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, cohort designs, and randomized clinical trials. Students also will learn basic principles of biostatistics and will be introduced to STATA for statistical computing. Students are graded on exams, problem sets, and lab assignments.

Credits: 3

Prerequisite(s): None

Course Director: Maira Castaneda-Avila

Semester Offered: Fall

Last Taught: Fall 2023