Research Courses
Undergraduate Research: Research Courses
MCD majors may receive credit for participating in research at UCSC. There are various ways to complete Undergraduate Research by completing courses at UCSC.
In your first or second year at UCSC and not sure where to start with research? Want more experience in reading and analyzing research papers? Look to enroll in BIOL 86: Research Deconstruction: MCD Biology. NOTE: in previous years, BIOL 86 was linked to the CUREs Labs - BIOL 86 is no longer used in the CUREs Lab sequence and is a stand alone course.
BIOL 186: Undergraduate Research in MCD Biology
MCD majors may receive credit for participating in research at UCSC. Completion of 5 units of undergraduate research may be used to satisfy one general elective/lab.
All Research Courses require a faculty sponsor.
How to find a faculty sponsor:
- Familiarize yourself with the research in the department.
- Identify an area of research you are interested in.
- Read up on faculty in that area, i.e. their research focus and publications. Faculty are much more likely to take on a student who has made an investment in learning about their research work.
- Attend office hours or make an appointment to meet with the faculty member. Be clear about your intentions and what you have to offer. You may also consider bringing a copy of your transcript.
Research Courses sponsored by the Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Department below are by DocuSign application only. Please complete the Application here (be sure you are logged into your UCSC.EDU email address).
BIOL 186F Undergraduate Research in MCD Biology:
Supervised undergraduate research in laboratory of an MCD biology faculty member accompanied by weekly lectures on ethical and practical scientific issues. Topics include: laboratory safety; the scientific method; the collection, treatment, and presentation of data; critical evaluation of scientific literature; scientific misconduct; and peer review. Career issues, including how to apply for admission to graduate and professional schools, are also discussed.
Prerequisite(s):BIOL 100 or BIOC 100A; and BIOL 20L or BIOL 102J; and previous completion of the Disciplinary Communication requirement. Each enrolled student must have a committed MCD faculty sponsor by the first class meeting. Enrollment is restricted to biology and affiliated majors. Credit: 2 units; may be repeated for credit.
BIOL 186L Undergraduate Research in MCD Biology:
Supervised undergraduate research in laboratory of an MCD biology faculty member accompanied by weekly lectures on ethical and practical scientific issues. Topics include: laboratory safety; the scientific method; the collection, treatment, and presentation of data; critical evaluation of scientific literature; scientific misconduct; and peer review. Career issues, including how to apply for admission to graduate and professional schools, are also discussed.
Prerequisite(s):Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements; BIOL 100 or BIOC 100A; and BIOL 20L or BIOL 102J. Each enrolled student must have a committed MCD faculty sponsor by the first class meeting. Enrollment is restricted to declared Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Biology B.S.; Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and Neuroscience B.S. majors. Other majors may enroll by permission of the instructor. Students cannot enroll in BIOL 186L after receiving credit with a 'C' or better in BIOL 100L, BIOL 103L, BIOL 105L, BIOL 106L, BIOL 108L, BIOL 109L, BIOL 115L, BIOL 120L, BIOL 121L, BIOL 129L, or METX 119L. Credit: 5 units
BIOL 186R Undergraduate Research in MCD Biology:
Supervised undergraduate research in the laboratory of an MCD biology faculty member accompanied by weekly lectures on practical scientific issues. Topics include: laboratory safety; the scientific method; the collection, treatment, and presentation of data; critical evaluation of scientific literature; ethics and scientific misconduct; and peer review. Career issues, including how to apply for admission to graduate and professional schools, are discussed. Students cannot receive credit for this course and BIOL 186L.Prerequisite(s):BIOL 100 or BIOC 100A; and BIOL 20L or BIOL 102J; and previous completion of the Disciplinary Communication requirement. Each enrolled student must have a committed MCD faculty sponsor by the first class. Enrollment is restricted to MCD Biology-affiliated majors. May be repeated for credit. Credit: 5 units.
CURE Labs
Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Labs are year-long research project experiences with a faculty member in the MCD Biology department. Through the Academic Year (Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters), students complete 1 course each quarter for the CURE Lab experience. Though all CURE Labs in the MCD Biology department fall under the same course number, each section has a different faculty member and different project to complete. Each lab has a description of their project below.
All students interested in a CURE Lab will add themselves to the waitlist of the CUREs Lab they are interested in during Second Pass Enrollment for the Winter Quarter. An application for the CUREs Lab may be Required. The CUREs Lab instructor will reach out to you after Second Pass Enrollment with more information on how to enroll in their CUREs Lab. Any additional questions you may have about the specific CUREs Lab should be directed to the instructor.
The Winter and Spring quarters of the CURE Lab courses will also meet 2 major requirements.
The Winter quarter course (104A/105A/BIOL 102L/BIOL 107L) will grant students credit for the BIOL 101L: Molecular Biology Laboratory major requirement.
The Spring quarter course (BIOL 103L/104B/105B/BIOL 108L) will grant students credit for the Senior Exit Lab and Disciplinary Communication (DC) General Education/Graduation Requirements.
Toxic RNA Lab (BIOL 102L/103L)
Faculty: Jeremy Sanford
Capacity: 20 students
Prerequisites for BIOL 102L: BIOL 20A; and BIOL 20L or BIOL 102J. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior molecular, cell, and developmental biology B.S., Biology B.S., and biochemistry and molecular biology majors. Interested students should add to the waitlist. Application will be required. Inquire with instructor.
Prerequisites for BIOL 103L: BIOL 102L and satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements. Enrollment is by application. Students cannot enroll in BIOL 103L after receiving credit with a 'C' or better in BIOL 100L, BIOL 105L, BIOL 106L, BIOL 108L, BIOL 109L, BIOL 115L, BIOL 120L, BIOL 129L, BIOL 121L, BIOL 186L or METX 119L/100L.
Lab Description: Introduces hypothesis-driven laboratory research. Students create models of a unique, uncharacterized, disease-causing mutation and determine how it impacts the process of pre-mRNA splicing. An understanding of introductory molecular biology and genetics is required.
There are two courses: BIOL 102L (5 Units) and Biol 103L (5 units). 102L satisfies the requirement for BIOL 101L; 103L satisfies the upper division 5 unit lab and fulfills the Disciplinary Communication (DC) and Senior Exit Lab requirements.
Human Genetic Variation Laboratory (BIOL 104A/104B)
Faculty: Olena Vaske
Capacity: 20 students
Prerequisites for BIOL 104A: BIOL 20L and BIOL 105. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior molecular, cell, and developmental biology B.S., Biology B.S., and biochemistry and molecular biology majors
Prerequisites for BIOL 104B: BIOL 104A and satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition requirements. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior biology B.S. molecular, cell, and developmental biology, and biochemistry and molecular biology majors. BIOL 104B after receiving credit with a 'C' or better in BIOL 100L, BIOL 105L, BIOL 106L, BIOL 108L, BIOL 109L, BIOL 115L, BIOL 120L, BIOL 129L, BIOL 121L, BIOL 186L or METX 119L/100L.
Lab Description: This course together with its companion course BIOL 104B provide a supportive research immersion experience and training in computational and experimental approaches in cancer genomics. Instruction in cancer biology, genomics, and applications of genomic analysis for precision medicine is provided. Students work on their own projects to identify, visualize and interpret genetic variants that contribute to human cancers. BIOL104A focuses primarily on computational biology research, while BIOL104B focuses on experimental laboratory research.
There are two courses: BIOL 104A (5 Units) and Biol 104B (5 units). BIOL 104A satisfies the requirement for BIOL 101L; BIOL 104B satisfies the upper division 5 unit lab and fulfills the Disciplinary Communication (DC) and Comprehensive Lab requirements.
Synthetic Gene Regulation Lab (107L/108L)
Faculty: Rohinton Kamakaka
Capacity: 20 students
Prerequisites for BIOL 107L: BIOL 20L. Completion of BIOL 107L is necessary to enroll in BIOL 108L. Enrollment is restricted to sophomore, junior, and senior molecular, cell, and developmental biology B.S., Biology B.S., and biochemistry and molecular biology majors. Interested students should add to the waitlist. Application will be required. Inquire with instructor.
Prerequisites for BIOL 108L: BIOL 107L and satisfaction of the Entry Level Writing and Composition is required. Students cannot enroll in BIOL 108L after receiving credit with a 'C' or better in BIOL 100L, BIOL 103L, BIOL 105L, BIOL 106L, BIOL 109L, BIOL 115L, BIOL 120L, BIOL 121L, BIOL 186L and METX 100L. Enrollment by permission of instructor.
Lab Description: The Synthetic Gene regulation course is a goal-oriented research laboratory. Students are given a project and discuss and design experiments to reach that aim. Students develop molecular tools and use these and other methods to investigate various aspects of gene silencing in eukaryotes. An understanding of introductory biology and genetics is required.
There are two courses: BIOL 107L (5 Units) and Biol 108L (5 units). BIOL 107L satisfies the requirement for BIOL 101L; BIOL 108L satisfies the upper division 5 unit lab and fulfills the Disciplinary Communication (DC) and Comprehensive Lab requirements.
