Courses 2024-25

This course develops principles of solution thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, and transport processes applied to living systems.

Undergraduate research with a written report at the end of each term; supervised by a Caltech faculty member, or co-advised by a Caltech faculty member and an external researcher. Graded pass/fail. May not be taken after BE 99.

Research in Bioengineering, supervised by a Caltech faculty member, culminating in a thesis. The topic is determined by the research adviser and the student and is subject to approval by the Bioengineering faculty. The first and second terms are taken pass/fail and require a written report at the end of each term. The third term is taken on grades and requires completion of a thesis and final presentation. The last two terms must be completed in the final year of study. Total units arranged with the advising faculty member.

This course covers tools needed to analyze quantitative data in biological systems. Students learn basic programming topics, data organization and wrangling, data display and presentation, parameter estimation, and resampling-based statistical inference. Students analyze real data in class and in homework.

This course introduces students to statistical modeling and inference, primarily taking a Bayesian approach. Topics include generative modeling, parameter estimation, model comparison, hierarchical modeling, Markov chain Monte Carlo, graphical display of inference results, and principled workflows. Other topics may also be included. All techniques are applied to real biological data sets in class and in homework.

This course explores the fundamental underpinnings of experimental measurements from the perspectives of information, noise, coupling, responsivity, and backaction. Its overarching goal is to enable students to develop intuition about a diversity of real measurement systems and the means to critically evaluate them. This involves developing a standard framework for estimating the ultimate and practical limits to information that can be extracted from a real measurement system. Topics will include the fundamental nature of information and signals, physical signal transduction and responsivity, the physical origin of noise processes, modulation, frequency conversion, synchronous detection, signal-sampling techniques, digitization, signal transforms, spectral analyses, and correlation methods. The first term will cover the essential underpinnings, while second-term topics will vary year-by-year according to interest. Among possible Ph 118 b topics are: high frequency, microwave, and fast time-domain measurements; biological interfaces and biosensing; the physics of functional brain imaging; and quantum measurement. Part b not offered 2024-25.

Quantitative studies of cellular and developmental systems in biology, including the architecture of specific circuits controlling microbial behaviors and multicellular development in model organisms. Specific topics include chemotaxis, multistability and differentiation, biological oscillations, stochastic effects in circuit operation, as well as higher-level circuit properties, such as robustness. The course will also consider the organization of transcriptional and protein-protein interaction networks at the genomic scale. Topics are approached from experimental, theoretical, and computational perspectives.

This course will explore the process of creating and validating theoretical models in systems biology and physiology. It will examine several macroscopic physiological systems in detail, including examples from immunology, endocrinology, cardiovascular physiology, and others. Emphasis will be placed on understanding how macroscopic behavior emerges from the interaction of individual components.

The neuroscience of drugs for therapy, for prevention, and for recreation. Students learn the prospects for new generations of medications in neurology, psychiatry, aging, and treatment of substance abuse. Topics: Types of drug molecules, Drug receptors, Electrophysiology, Drugs activate ion channels, Drugs block ion channels, Drugs activate and block G protein pathways, Drugs block neurotransmitter transporters, Pharmacokinetics, Recreational drugs, Nicotine Addiction, Opiate Addiction, Drugs for neurodegenerative diseases: Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Drugs for epilepsy and migraine, and Psychiatric diseases: Nosology and drugs. The course is taught at the research level. Given in alternate years; offered 2024-25.

Physical models applied to the analysis of biological structures ranging from individual proteins and DNA to entire cells. Typical topics include the force response of proteins and DNA, models of molecular motors, DNA packing in viruses and eukaryotes, mechanics of membranes, and membrane proteins and cell motility.

The course introduces rational design and evolutionary methods for engineering functional protein and nucleic acid systems. Rational design topics include molecular modeling, positive and negative design paradigms, simulation and optimization of equilibrium and kinetic properties, design of catalysts, sensors, motors, and circuits. Evolutionary design topics include evolutionary mechanisms and tradeoffs, fitness landscapes and directed evolution of proteins. Some assignments require programming (Python is the language of instruction).

Part a covers the principles of optical photon transport in biological tissue. Topics include a brief introduction to biomedical optics, single-scatterer theories, Monte Carlo modeling of photon transport, convolution for broad-beam responses, radiative transfer equation and diffusion theory, hybrid Monte Carlo method and diffusion theory, and sensing of optical properties and spectroscopy, (absorption, elastic scattering, Raman scattering, and fluorescence). Part b covers established optical imaging technologies. Topics include ballistic imaging (confocal microscopy, two-photon microscopy, super-resolution microscopy, etc.), optical coherence tomography, Mueller optical coherence tomography, and diffuse optical tomography. Part c covers emerging optical imaging technologies. Topics include photoacoustic tomography, ultrasound-modulated optical tomography, optical time reversal (wavefront shaping/engineering), and ultrafast imaging. MedE/EE/BE 168 bc not offered 2024-25. Part a offered 2024-25.

Lectures and discussions on the underlying principles behind digital, video, differential interference contrast, phase contrast, confocal, and two-photon microscopy. The course will begin with basic geometric optics and characteristics of lenses and microscopes. Specific attention will be given to how different imaging elements such as filters, detectors, and objective lenses contribute to the final image. Course work will include critical evaluation of published images and design strategies for simple optical systems and the analysis and presentation of two- and three-dimensional images. The role of light microscopy in the history of science will be an underlying theme. No prior knowledge of microscopy will be assumed. Given in alternate years; offered 2024-25.

Biology is becoming an increasingly data-intensive science. Many of the data challenges in the biological sciences are distinct from other scientific disciplines because of the complexity involved. This course will introduce key computational, probabilistic, and statistical methods that are common in computational biology and bioinformatics. We will integrate these theoretical aspects to discuss solutions to common challenges that reoccur throughout bioinformatics including algorithms and heuristics for tackling DNA sequence alignments, phylogenetic reconstructions, evolutionary analysis, and population and human genetics. We will discuss these topics in conjunction with common applications including the analysis of high throughput DNA sequencing data sets and analysis of gene expression from RNA-Seq data sets.

Students will learn to use an Arduino microcontroller to interface sensing and actuation hardware with the computer. Students will learn and practice engineering design principles through a set of projects. In part a, students will design and implement biosensing systems; examples include a pulse monitor, a pulse oximeter, and a real-time polymerase-chain-reaction incubator. Part b is a student-initiated design project requiring instructor's permission for enrollment. Enrollment is limited based on laboratory capacity.

This course investigates computation by molecular systems, emphasizing models of computation based on the underlying physics, chemistry, and organization of biological cells. We will explore programmability, complexity, simulation of, and reasoning about abstract models of chemical reaction networks, molecular folding, molecular self-assembly, and molecular motors, with an emphasis on universal architectures for computation, control, and construction within molecular systems. If time permits, we will also discuss biological example systems such as signal transduction, genetic regulatory networks, and the cytoskeleton; physical limits of computation, reversibility, reliability, and the role of noise, DNA-based computers and DNA nanotechnology. Part a develops fundamental results; part b is a reading and research course: classic and current papers will be discussed, and students will do projects on current research topics.

This course will introduce students to the conceptual frameworks and tools of computer science as applied to molecular engineering, as well as to the practical realities of synthesizing and testing their designs in the laboratory. In part a, students will design and construct DNA circuits and self-assembled DNA nanostructures, as well as quantitatively analyze the designs and the experimental data. Students will learn laboratory techniques including fluorescence spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy and will use software tools and program in Mathematica. Part b is an open-ended design and build project requiring instructor's permission for enrollment. Limited enrollment.

In consultation with, and with the approval of, a faculty advisor (usually the student’s academic advisor) and the Caltech Center for Teaching, Learning, and Outreach. Students may obtain credit for engaging in volunteer efforts to promote public understanding of science; to mentor and tutor young people and underserved populations; or to otherwise contribute to the diversity, equity, and inclusiveness of the scientific enterprise. Students will be required to fill out short pre- and post-outreach activity forms to describe their proposal and to report on the results. Students may petition their option representative (graduate students) or academic advisor (undergraduate students) if they seek credits beyond the 12-unit limit. Offered pass/fail.

By arrangement with members of the staff, properly qualified graduate students are directed in bioengineering research.

Participants will read, discuss, and critique papers on diverse topics within the bioengineering literature. Offered only for Bioengineering graduate students.

This course provides an intensive, hands-on, pragmatic introduction to computer programming aimed at biologists and bioengineers. No previous programming experience is assumed. Python is the language of instruction. Students will learn basic concepts such as data types, control structures, string processing, functions, input/output, etc., while writing code applied to biological problems. At the end of the course, students will be able to perform simple simulations, write scripts to run software packages and parse output, and analyze and plot data. This class is offered as a week-long summer "boot camp" the week after Commencement, in which students spend all day working on the course. Students who do not have a strong need for the condensed boot camp schedule are encouraged to take BE/Bi 103 a instead. Graded pass/fail.

This course is a practical introduction to machine learning methods for biological data, focusing on three common data types in biology-images, sequences, and structures. This course will cover how to represent biological data in a manner amenable to machine learning approaches, survey tasks that can be solved with modern deep learning algorithms (e.g. image segmentation, object tracking, sequence classification, protein folding, etc.), explore architectures of deep learning models for each data type, and provide practical guidance for model development. Students will have the opportunity to apply these methods to their own datasets.

Topics relevant to the general educational goals of the bioengineering option. Graded pass/fail.

Maximum enrollment: 12. Applications of spatial genomics technology to various biological samples. Projects will be selected to represent problems in neurobiology, developmental biology and translational medicine. Emphasis will be placed on generating experimental data and analysis of data with machine learning algorithms for segmentation and clustering cells with single cell genomics tools, and preparation for publication.

Internal flows: steady and pulsatile blood flow in compliant vessels, internal flows in organisms. Fluid dynamics of the human circulatory system: heart, veins, and arteries (microcirculation). Mass and momentum transport across membranes and endothelial layers. Fluid mechanics of the respiratory system. Renal circulation and circulatory system. Biological pumps. Low and High Reynolds number locomotion.

This course provides an intensive introduction to thinking like a quantitative biologist. Every student will build a microscope from scratch, use a confocal microscope to measure transcription in living fly embryos and perform a quantitative dissection of gene expression in bacteria. Students will then use Python to write computer code to analyze the results of all of these experiments. No previous experience in coding is presumed, though for those with previous coding experience, advanced projects will be available. In addition to the experimental thrusts, students will use "street fighting mathematics" to perform order of magnitude estimates on problems ranging from how many photons it takes to make a cyanobacterium to the forces that can be applied by cytoskeletal filaments. These modeling efforts will be complemented by the development of physical models of phenomena such as gene expression, phase separation in nuclei, and cytoskeletal polymerization. Graded pass/fail.

Introduction to current research topics in Caltech bioengineering labs. Graded pass/fail.