Home page of Dr. David S. Richard
BI:307. Cell Biology Lab, 2008
Dr. David S. Richard
Tuesday, 1:00-4:00
FSH 243
Course description and objectives
- The major objective of this lab course is to familiarize you with some
of the laboratory techniques used by cell biologists. In addition, we will
focus on the skills involved in designing, conducting, and analyzing experiments
in this field. During the semester we will be conducting a number of short
experiments which utilize techniques that are used to study proteins and RNA, including
electrophoresis, column chromatography, ELISA, immunofluorescence PCR and Western
blotting. These techniques are applicable to a range of biological subdisciplines such as developmental biology, immunology, molecular biology as well as to cell biology.
Text
- There is no text for the lab. Instead, I will distribute handouts which
describe the experiments you will be conducting. Some of these handouts
will also be posted on the web. You must have some kind of notebook to
use to record your data, and take notes about the procedures, etc, but
I will not collect these. Calculators and rulers will also be necessary
for analyzing results for some labs.
Lab format
- For some of the labs, you will work in pairs, and for some labs, you
will work in slightly larger groups. Some of the experiments for this course
require specialized equipment, making it difficult for everyone to complete
the lab at the same time. Because of this, and because cell biology experiments
do not often fit neatly into a three hour time period, you should expect
to spend time outside the scheduled lab period working on your experiment.
Course requirements and grading
- Your grade in the course will be based on your written analysis of the experiments, and your performance in the lab. For all experiments you will be required to answer a set of questions concerning the procedures involved, your results, and your interpretations of the results. The answers will be individually written and must be typed. These assignments are due one week after the lab is completed, and will comprise 75% of your final grade.
- 5% of the grade will be based on the successful inclusion of materials from this course in your Electronic Portfolio that was begun in your sophomore Genetics course. Materials might include a reflection of skills and knowledge development during this course, and examples of actual lab write-ups.
- The final 20% of your grade will be based on evaluations of both your
group and individual performance in the lab. These evaluations will be
based upon your assessment of each other (10%) and my assessment of your
performance (10%).
- Attendance at the lab is absolutely required. Each unexcused
absence will lower your final grade one letter grade. There are no make-ups
for labs missed. If you think that there is a problem with attendance,
talk to me earlier rather than later!
- Academic honesty is expected, and violations will be dealt with according
to the regulations in your student handbook. Although I encourage you to
discuss your results, study questions, and lab reports with your classmates,
I expect that the writing will be done entirely on your own. Therefore,
be especially careful with regard to the extent of your interactions. The
requirements for each lab report will be discussed each week.
Lab schedule
- We will attempt to adhere to the following lab schedule. Not
all of the exercises can be completed within a three-hour period so you
will have to be flexible.
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