Advanced Genetics

A survey of experimental approaches in genetics, from classical screens to genome-wide analyses, examining a variety of genetic model organisms and their specific applications, cytogenetics, chromosomal abnormalities and associated genetic counselling issues in humans. Fundamentals are applied to searches for complex disease genes, and understanding genetic variation in human populations.

Course overview

Points

20

Fees

$1264.4 NZD

International fees

$5826.4 NZD

Course offered in

  • Trimester 1

Duration

1 trimester

Prerequisites

BIOL/BMSC 241;

Co-requisites

Restrictions

BIOL 343, BIOL/BMSC 341, 342

Taught by

The School of Biological Sciences

Wellington Faculty of Science

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Course content

This course is optimized for in-person delivery and requires attendance at all four laboratories in order to complete the lab assessments. If you are unable to attend an in-person component due to exceptional circumstances, you should contact the course coordinator at the first opportunity, explaining your circumstances. Alternative scheduling or alternative assignments may be possible. Attendance at scheduled times is required for all four laboratories.
 
Lectures for the course will be in person as well as live streamed via Zoom and recordings of these will be available for students who need to attend remotely. Recordings of lectures will be available for preparation of assessment.
 

This course builds on the fundamental genetic concepts you learned in 200-level Genetics. By the end of the course, you should be capable of explaining classical and contemporary methods of genetic analysis and their application in genetic model systems. Your new knowledge base will be applied to human genetics, both at the population and individual levels, with the ultimate goal of gaining an improved understanding of the genetic basis of human health and disease.

Course learning objectives

Students who pass this course will be able to:

  1. Explain classical and contemporary methods of genetic analysis and their application in genetic model systems

  2. Apply the information relevant to human genetics, both at the population and individual levels, with the ultimate goal of gaining an improved understanding of the genetic basis of human health and disease

Available offerings

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Offering CRN 19861

This course outline is provisional and subject to change until the course commences.

Duration

27 February 2023 - 25 June 2023

Starts

Trimester 1

Campus

Kelburn

Lecture start times

Friday - 09:00, 09:00

Tuesday - 09:00, 09:00

Wednesday - 09:00, 09:00

People

Lecturers

Dr Andrew Munkacsi's portrait'

Dr Andrew Munkacsi

Coordinator

Dr Melanie McConnell's portrait'

Dr Melanie McConnell

Schedule

This course is optimized for in-person delivery and requires attendance at all four laboratories in order to complete the lab assessments. If you are unable to attend an in-person component due to exceptional circumstances, you should contact the course coordinator at the first opportunity, explaining your circumstances. Alternative scheduling or alternative assignments may be possible.
 
 
Attendance at scheduled times is required for all four laboratories.
 
Lectures for the course will be in person as well as live streamed via Zoom and recordings of these will be available for students who need to attend remotely. Recordings of lectures will be available for preparation of assessment.

  • Week 5

    Lecture

    Genetic theories of ageing, Gene-gene and gene-drug interactions, caloric restriction, next-generation sequencing-based analyses of genomes, transcriptomes, microbiomes, methylomes, genome-wide association, quantitative inheritance and polygenic risk

    Weeks 1-5

  • Week 6

    Lecture

    Epigenetics and chromatin structure, normal and abnormal genomes, cancer genetics, targeting cancer genes

    Weeks 6-11

  • Week 12

    Lecture

    Application of the above content in current investigations of genotype-to-phenotype connections in ageing, cancer and other age-related diseases

    Week 12

27 February 2023
Course begins

27 February 2023 to 2 June 2023
Teaching
10 April 2023 to 23 April 2023
Break
5 June 2023 to 8 June 2023
Study period
9 June 2023 to 24 June 2023
Exam period
25 June 2023
Course ends

  • 27 February 2023 - 2 April 2023

    • Friday
      • 09:00 - 09:50 – LT220, Murphy, Kelburn
  • 27 February 2023 - 9 April 2023

    • Tuesday
      • 09:00 - 09:50 – LT122, Cotton, Kelburn
    • Wednesday
      • 09:00 - 09:50 – LT119, Hunter, Kelburn
  • 24 April 2023 - 4 June 2023

    • Tuesday
      • 09:00 - 09:50 – LT122, Cotton, Kelburn
    • Wednesday
      • 09:00 - 09:50 – LT119, Hunter, Kelburn
    • Friday
      • 09:00 - 09:50 – LT220, Murphy, Kelburn

Teaching format

This course is optimized for in-person delivery and requires attendance at all four laboratories in order to complete the lab assessments. If you are unable to attend an in-person component due to exceptional circumstances, you should contact the course coordinator at the first opportunity, explaining your circumstances. Alternative scheduling or alternative assignments may be possible.

Workload

As a 20 point course it is anticipated that a student would expect to commit to a total of 200 hours (based on 1 point being worth 10 hours) of scheduled and unscheduled work to pass the course.

Additional classes

Lectures for the course will be in person as well as live streamed via Zoom and recordings of these will be available for students who need to attend remotely. Recordings of lectures will be available for preparation of assessment.
 
Attendance at scheduled times is required for all four laboratories.

Texts

Required

There are no required texts for this offering.

There are no required texts for this offering.

Recommended

“iGenetics: A Molecular Approach”  by Peter J. Russell, 3rd ed., 2010
"Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications" by Ricki Lewis, 10th ed., 2011 
"Human Genetics and Genomics" by Bruce R. Korf, 4th ed., 2013
"Human Molecular Genetics" by Tom Strachan and Andrew P. Read, 4th ed., 2010

Required materials and equipment

Assessment

  • Test 1

    Due: Week 5, Mar 31

    CLO:

    • 1,
    • 2,

    Mark: 20%

  • Test 2

    Due: Week 11, May 26 

    CLO:

    • 1,
    • 2,

    Mark: 20%

  • Individual Report

    Due: Assessment Period, June 9

    CLO:

    • 1,
    • 2,

    Mark: 25%

  • Quizzes

    Due: Weeks 1-11, weekly   

    CLO:

    • 1,
    • 2,

    Mark: 10%

  • Lab Assessments

    Due: April 7, April 28, May 19

    CLO:

    • 1,
    • 2,

    Mark: 25%

Mandatory requirements

In addition to achieving an overall pass mark of at least 50%, students must:

  • Earn a minimum of 50% on the final assessment (the individual report) as well as attend all four labs unless special permission is granted.

If you believe that exceptional circumstances may prevent you from meeting the mandatory course requirements, contact the Course Coordinator for advice as soon as possible.

Work submission

Unless otherwise advised, laboratory reports must be submitted via Nuku. Tests and laboratory reports take time to mark but staff aim to complete marking within two working weeks from the final date for submission.

Extension

Requests to sit a ‘makeup’ terms test, or an extension of the due date for an assignment, can be granted only if you have been prevented from attending a test (or completing an item of assessment) because of an illness or injury; personal bereavement; or some other critical personal or exceptional circumstance. The illness or impairment must be verified at the time by supporting documents from a registered health professional (medical practitioner, midwife, dental surgeon, psychologist, or counsellor approved by the Convener of the Academic Committee). In other exceptional circumstances some form of official documentation will be required. Applications must be made within a reasonable time of the assessment date, or in circumstances beyond your control on the day of the assessment.

Penalties

Penalties of 5% per day may be enforced for unjustified late assignments.

Communication and additional information

Course information, other than that given in class, will be made available on Nuku. Please ensure that you keep a regular watch on the Nuku site.

Student feedback

Students in 2022 strongly agreed that the way this course was organised helped them prepare for the assessments and learn overall. They were encouraged to think critically, stimulated to learn more, and developed their communication skills. The amount of work was about right for the students. The course will therefore be offered in a similar way for 2023.

You can view Student course feedback collected for the University courses from the last completed trimester for which feedback was collected

Class representative

The class representative provides a useful way to communicate feedback to the teaching staff during the course. They also work with the VUWSA Education Office on any academic issues that arise in their course. Reps are elected by students by the third week of classes every trimester. Being a rep requires a weekly commitment.

The Use of Te Reo Māori for Assessment Policy

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington values te reo Māori. Students who wish to submit any of their assessments in te reo Māori must refer to The Use of Te Reo Māori for Assessment Policy - PDF 134kb

He mea nui te reo Māori ki Te Herenga Waka. Ki te pīrangi koe ki te tuhituhi i ō aro matawai i roto i te reo Māori, tēnā me mātua whakapā atu ki te kaupapa here, The Use of Te Reo Māori for Assessment Policy - PDF 134kb

Course additions and withdrawals

If you want to add or drop a course you need to make sure you follow the correct process.

Important information

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Find out more:

  • Enrolment and course advice
  • Student conduct and feedback
  • Examinations and assessments