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 Fall 2025 theme for the Journal Club is  Molecular Mechanisms of Semaglutide Action. Semaglutides are the basis of the new class of weight loss drugs, such as Wegovy and Ozempic. How do semaglutides work in cells and at the organism level to produce weight loss? What receptors are they binding to? What cellular processes do they disrupt or modify? We are not discussing who should be prescribed the drugs or insurance/cost issues. All of the meetings will be in Agnes Arnold Hall room 205. 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, September, 11, 4-5 p.m.

Thursday, October 9, 4-5 p.m.

Thursday, November 13, 4-5 p.m.

Journal Club Symposium: Friday, December 5, 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

Spring 2025 Theme: Antifungal treatments and Antifungal Resistance Mechanisms

Fall 2024: hiatus semester

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