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I currently teach the following courses:
Intro. to
Recombinant DNA (BIOL 411)
This course was newly designed in Spring 2008, and
is offered each spring semester to students majoring in Biology,
Biochemistry and Forensic Science. It is a laboratory-intensive
course with lecture intermingled with lab experiments. The intent
of the course is to involve the students in an ongoing research project
in the area of cellular and molecular biology. Students will
experience what 'real' research in cellular and molecular biology
involves. The experiments will differ each year, as the research
project moves forward and new biological questions are addressed.
Students will learn commonly used molecular techniques. The
course formally meets twice a week, but requires that students come to
lab at other times as well, to tend to their experiments.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course,
a student should be able to:
• Appreciate how research is conducted in
cell and molecular biology
• Demonstrate proper culture methods of
yeast and bacteria, using sterile technique
• Isolate and analyze plasmid DNA using
restriction enzymes
• Demonstrate standard gene-cloning
techniques
• Perform a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
experiment
• Describe the yeast two-hybrid system and
its use to identify protein-protein interactions
• Perform a DNA sequencing reaction, analyze
the sequence data and apply simple bioinformatics analysis tools
2009
syllabus
2010
syllabus
Genomics (400-level
and 700-level)
The course
subject, genomics, is a
relatively new discipline that impacts other areas of biology, medicine
and pharmaceutical science, and society as a whole. The
determination
of the human genome sequence, in particular, propelled the world into
the ’era of the genome’. This
course is an introduction to the field of genomics, from its birth as a
discipline to current approaches for analysis of genome sequence
data. Students can enroll in either the undergraduate or graduate
section, as appropriate. Topics include genome sequence
determination, sequence annotation, comparative genomics, functional
genomics and expression profiling.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able
to:
• Describe the methodology used to obtain the DNA
sequence of a genome
• Use computational methods to predict genes using
raw genomic sequence
• Perform and interpret BLAST analyses
• Describe how function is assigned to novel genes
• Interpret microarray data
• Explain how genomic data can be used to address
biological questions
2008
undergraduate syllabus
Epigenetics
(700-level)
This is a literature-based course for graduate
students with an interest in chromatin and related epigenetic
phenomena. Students will be expected to read the assigned papers
from the current literature, and to be prepared to discuss these papers
in class. The dual goals of this course are to promote the
development of skills in reading and analyzing the primary literature
and to expose students to the breadth of epigenetic phenomena, while
imparting in-depth and current knowledge in 'hot' areas of
research. The topics and assigned readings will necessarily vary
from year to year. Recent topics included histone variants and
modifcations, DNA methylation, small noncoding RNAs, nuclear
organization, imprinting, and X-inactivation.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, a student should be able to:
• describe examples of epigenetic regulation
in multiple organisms
• describe experimental discoveries that
significantly advanced our understanding of mechanisms underlying
epigenetic phenomena
• identify both similarities and key
differences in epigenetic mechanisms operating within and between
organisms
• exhibit greater skill at critical analysis
of the primary literature
2009
syllabus
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