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Scientific Foundations

Course Director

Course Description

Organization

Scientific Foundations aims to instill in students a firm understanding of the basic principles in molecular biology, cell biology, physiology, and pharmacology that will serve as a foundation for their subsequent education and development as physician-scientists.

Scientific Foundations presents the foundational material from several disciplines that are the pillars of biomedical science and medicine. These include biochemistry, cell biology/histology, pathology, physiology, and pharmacology. Each of these disciplines will continue throughout the pre-clerkship curriculum, where fundamental concepts are woven into all the master courses.

In Scientific Foundations, students will encounter these concepts for the first time in medical school and will develop modes of thinking that are essential to understanding the function of the healthy human body, and the mechanisms and treatment of disease.

Because the clinical use of biomedical knowledge often draws upon information from multiple disciplines, the content in the course has been integrated and organized into learning units that reflect key biomedical processes:

  • Building a Body
  • Fluids and Gradients
  • Gene Expression
  • Cell Energy
  • Cell Communication
  • Life and Death of a Cell

Each learning unit connects basic science with clinical medicine through discussions of relevant disease processes and seminal discoveries of treatments.

Pedagogy

Because the goal of Scientific Foundations is to promote understanding of a range of fundamental concepts, the emphasis of the pedagogical approach is on flexible ways to encounter new material and active learning pedagogies to facilitate practice and feedback. This includes video-based lectures and tools for asynchronous learning, small-group case-based workshops, labs, and team-based learning, where students apply their knowledge to solve real-world, medical problems.

Assessment snd Feedback

Formative Feedback

Comp EPO: Title Type Initiated by Completed by #/course
MTD 2.1: Mechanism and Treatment of Disease Quizzes Faculty Students 4 - 5
MTD 2.1: Mechanism and Treatment of Disease Mid-course self-assessment Faculty Students 1
CR 3.1: Clinical Reasoning Quizzes Faculty Students 4 - 5
CR 3.1: Clinical Reasoning Mid-course self-assessment Faculty Students 1
PR

CM 		5.3: Professional identity formation
6.2: Communication Skills 		Biochemistry and physiology small-group assessments and High-Engagement small group feedback Faculty Faculty Completed in Genes & Development, based on participation in both courses

Summative

  • End-of-course, pass/fail qualifier

Learning Objectives

Course-specific learning objectives

Comp EPO Course Objective
HP 1.2 Demonstrate basic knowledge of the scientific basis and evidence supporting recommendations for common health promotion and disease prevention strategies.
MTD 2.1 Demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the fundamental concepts in the disciplines covered in the course.
MTD 2.1 Use knowledge of the fundamental concepts to describe disease processes and identify biochemical, cellular, and physiological causes of symptoms in clinical cases.
RS 7.1 Begin to identify biases in the way medical knowledge is generated or interpreted and how these biases affect patient care.

Common learning objectives relevant to this course

Comp EPO Course Objective
PR 5.3 Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively with peers in small-group activities by completing required preparation; showing respect; welcoming teammates’ input; responding to others’ needs; and contributing to a psychologically safe environment grounded in mutual respect and trust.
CM 6.3 Demonstrates the ability to communicate effectively with peers and faculty in small-group activities, including active listening, respectful and honest communication, ability to ask and answer questions, and willingness to receive feedback.

Fundamental Concepts

Biochemistry

  1. Mechanisms and regulation of gene expression, protein function and concentration: transcription, RNA processing, translation, folding, localization, modification, and degradation.
  2. Pathways and key enzymes that convert macromolecules in food to usable energy currency (ATP, NADH, NADPH) and dispose of carbon and nitrogen waste.
  3. Integration of metabolic systems that maintain energy balance and distribute energy-rich molecules.
  4. The pathways and key enzymes that generate the building blocks of macromolecules (amino acids, nucleotides, and fatty acids).

Cell Biology

  1. Structural and functional components of cells and extracellular matrices
  2. Structures and functions of major tissue types: epithelia, muscle, connective and nervous
  3. Structures and functions of different types of blood vessels
  4. Vectorial transport of solutes and water across epithelia
  5. Molecules, pathways and connections that mediate cell communication
  6. The basic pathways and mechanisms that regulate cell division and tissue renewal
  7. Programs that generate cell identity and plasticity

Pathology

  1. Cellular adaptation to stress and injury
  2. Programmed cell death (apoptosis) and necrosis

Pharmacology

  1. How drugs alter receptor activation
  2. Availability, distribution, clearance and efficacy of drugs in patients
  3. Identification and initial development of novel drugs

Physiology

  1. Volumes and composition of the fluid compartments in the body and how fluids move between compartments
  2. Generation and maintenance of membrane potential
  3. Solute transport across biological membranes
  4. Initiation and propagation of action potentials

Health Equity

  1. Social factors that impact decisions on which biomedical processes and diseases are studied through research

Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine

  1. How science supports the development of societal guidelines related to nutrition and other lifestyle factors to promote health maintenance and disease prevention.