Reading peer-reviewed scientific articles can be challenging when you're just getting started. The Journal Club on the Biological Sciences is designed to give students the opportunity to read, evaluate and discuss peer-reviewed articles.

Students can take advantage of this risk-free environment and join the conversation. Simply read the article in advance, and bring any questions or comments you have on the paper to the meeting. The students who chose the paper will present it to the group, and then we will discuss it. 

The Spring 2026 theme for the Journal Club is mRNA-based Therapeutics and Mechanisms of Action. mRNA-based therapeutics have been of interest to scientists long before the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine was developed. You can see this review from 2014 for a pre-Covid perspective, and this review from 2022 for a post-Covid perspective. mRNA-based therapeutics hold promise for treating many types of conditions, including genetic diseases. All of the meetings will be in Cougar Village 1 N113 (CVN113). All students are welcome. Meeting dates and times are below. Journal articles that should be read in advance will also be posted on this website. 

Thursday, February, 5, 4-5 p.m. 

Thursday, March 5, 4-5 p.m. 

Thursday, April 9, 4-5 p.m. 

Journal Club Symposium: Friday, April 24, 1-3 p.m.

Presenter Guidelines

Please contact Dr. Rita Sharp with questions about the Journal Club on the Biological Sciences or if you want to sign up to present an article.

Past Journal Club Themes

Fall 2025: Molecular Mechanisms of Semaglutide Action

Spring 2025: Antifungal treatments and Antifungal Resistance Mechanisms

Fall 2024: hiatus semester

Spring 2024: Machine Learning and Biomedical Research
Fall 2023: Microplastics, Human Heatlh, and the Environment
Spring 2023: Drug Development and Delivery
Fall 2022: Antibiotic Resistance: Mechanisms and Solutions 
Spring 2022: Infections and the Gut Barrier
Fall 2021: SARS-CoV-2: Viral genome and particle structure
Fall 2020 & Spring 2021: Gut Microbiome and Human Health and Disease
Spring 2020: Receptors and Disease