Did you know that the heart can beat more than 2 billion times in a lifetime? If the heart stopped suddenly, cells in the body can die within minutes. How does the heart function? What happens in a heart attack? What are some healthy habits that help keep the heart in good shape? This class is an introduction to the cardiac anatomy, function, as well as diseases.

The heart can beat more than two billion times in a lifetime. In order for us to stay alive, Its constant function is necessary. In this course we address the following questions: 1) How does the heart work? 2) What are tools that can evaluate cardiac function, such as EKG and echocardiogram? 3) What causes "heart attacks"? 4) What are some other diseases of the heart, such as arrhythmias and heart failure?

With significant breakthroughs over the past few decades, stem cell research is a rapidly growing field with the potential to revolutionize medicine. In this course, we will explore the following questions: 1) What are the defining characteristics of stem cells? 2) What is the difference between embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells? 3) How do stem cells differentiate into different mature cell types? 4) What are key applications of stem cells in medicine? 5) What are current obstacles to stem cell research? While ethical aspects of stem cell use are worth discussion, the focus of this class will be given to the scientific aspects.

In this course we will discuss the following topics: 1) What is the "genetic code"? 2) How does DNA underlie inheritance? 3) How does DNA sequencing and fingerprinting work? 4) What are some genetic mutations that cause illness?

A beating heart is a sign of life. On average a human heart beats more than 2.5billion times over a life time without fail. How does the heart work, and what happens when things to wrong? In this course we shall examine the anatomy of the heart as well as several heart diseases, including myocardial infarction (heart attack), arrhythmia, and heart failure.