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Getting Started...
****NOTICE****This course is CLOSED to registration on ESTHER!
To register, you must FIRST get my signature on a form from the Registrar;
take the signed form to the Registrar, and the Registrar will enroll you in the course.
WORDS TO THE WISE: Come EARLY during pre-registration;
the lab sections fill quickly.
General Information
- This laboratory course advances skills introduced
in Bios 312. The ability to work effectively as
part of a team is part of the "Maturity
and responsibility" objective shared by the undergraduate
teaching laboratories in Natural Sciences and Engineering
(see Laboratory
Learning Objectives); teamwork is a major
emphasis of this lab course. Teams use microarrays
to analyze gene expression and prepare and give PowerPoint
presentations to communicate their findings.
- PRE-requisite = Bios 312: Experimental Molecular
Biology
- Bios 313 is taught in the second half
of spring semester:
- ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED TO 12 STUDENTS.
- Lab begins 1-2 weeks
after spring break.
- Lab is scheduled from 1-5 p.m. on Mon./Wed.
for 2 weeks.
There are a few times you will need to come in on additional
days to complete an experiment.
- Remainder of time is self-scheduled for image processing, data analysis, and presentation preparation.
- HOW TO REGISTER:
- My office hours during registration will be posted
on my door (Biology 211C); I will be available during those
times to sign the special registration form from
the Registrar.
- You must give me a RICE e-mail address so I can contact you before the first day of lab; if I am unable to contact you by e-mail, YOU are responsible for obtaining off of this web site ALL the information you need for the first day of lab.
- You will receive an e-mail the week before classes start with information about the first day of lab.
- REQUIRED TEXTS:
- Bios 313 Web site: The course
web site is REQUIRED reading material; failure to follow
instructions/guidelines given on the site because "...I
didn't read that..." is NOT an
acceptable excuse.
- Lab notebook: Hayden-McNeil, Chemistry Top 100-set, ISBN 978-1-930882-00-9 OR Chemistry Top 50-set, ISBN 978-1-930882-50-5
(www.labnotebooks.net)
NOTE: you will need just ONE notebook per TEAM.
- McMillan, Victoria E. (2006) Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences, 4th Ed., Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston, MA
- SCHEDULE CHANGES AND MAKE-UP LABS:
**IF YOU ARE NOT 100% CERTAIN THAT YOU WILL COMPLETE THIS LAB, PLEASE DROP NOW.**
- Do not sign up for this or any Biosciences lab course if there is a strong chance that you will be away for interviews or other travel on a lab day. This course only lasts 7 days--so if you miss one day of lab then you have missed a significant portion of the course. Furthermore, your absence would be a huge inconvenience to your partner and the rest of your group. Check the lab schedules for possible conflicts before making the commitment.
- The laboratory studies require a considerable investment of the instructor's time and the schedule is tight. Therefore there can be no makeup labs. The sections are typically filled to capacity, especially in the fall. Please don't plan to miss any labs, and don't ask to switch lab days during the course.
- If you need to change your assigned lab day before the course
starts or if you were unable to register because the course
was full, show up at 1 p.m. sharp on the very first day of
lab (this is Tuesday in both fall and spring). You may be able
to take the place of someone who failed to show up by the end
of a 10 minute grace period or someone may switch with you.
You may also contact me before the lab starts and I will put
your name on a waiting list. Preference will be given to seniors.
Remember, the course is offered the second half of
spring semester.
- DISABILITY: If you have a disability that you think may affect your degree of success in this or in any other course,
please read the notice.
Instructor Information
- WHO: My name is Beth Beason and I have a Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics
from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I teach BIOS 311, 312, and 313.
***My assistant is Dr. Elizabeth Eich (formerly McCormack): lizmc@rice.edu
- WHERE: My office is Biology 211C.
- HOW TO CONTACT ME: I do not have regular office hours while lab is running; I see each of you for many hours every week. If you need to reach me outisde of the lab,
my preferred method of communication is e-mail (bbeason@rice.edu); I will do my best to respond in a timely manner
(weekends, holidays, and early/late hours are excluded). You may also set-up an appointment with me during lab. Do not leave me a voice mail message.
- HOW I CONTACT YOU: I will frequently send
communications to the class via e-mail; check any mailing from
the instructor's Rice address or with the subject line starting
with "Bios 312:"
You will be held responsible for all such communcations.
***CRITICAL INFORMATION***
My primary means
of communication with you is via e-mail:
- Please use your Rice e-mail account for communications concerning this course.
- If you use SPAM
filters on your mail readers, make sure you list bbeason@rice.edu
as "accept."
- Check
frequently to ensure that you do not exceed your e-mail quota;
- Send all new messages and replies to bbeason@rice.edu.
- If you use an alias, sign the message with your full name.
- RECOMMENDATION LETTER POLICY:
***A good letter can carry a lot of weight once you make it through the initial screening process, so think carefully about choosing your recommenders.***
- Writing a letter of recommendation is an important, albeit voluntary, responsibility. I put quite a bit of thought into each letter, describing special qualities and recalling
specific interactions to emphasize the capabilities of the individual.
To write a credible recommendation letter I must know an individual well enough to defend that person's qualifications.
Successful completion of Bios 311 does not, by itself, provide a basis for a strong recommendation.
If I decline to write a letter for you it is most likely because I have insufficient information for a credible recommendation.
I would be writing a "form" letter based solely on your final grade in my course.
For competitive summer programs as well as graduate or professional schools, you need strong supporting letters,
not strictly academic letters based on completion of a single course.
- I will need a resume, unofficial transcript organized by semester (include your name on printed copies), program address(es), and minimal program information
so that the letter can be appropriately targeted. The information can be provided as e-mail attachments.
- The beginning of each new semester is an extremely busy time, and my attention must be focused on teaching.
If a due date for a letter of recommendation falls during the first seven weeks of classes (fall or spring semester) I must receive all pertinent information for new letters
before the first day of classes. Please plan ahead. With reasonable notice, I will provide letters for those students with letters already on file,
provided no major modifications are necessary (i.e., the letters were written within the last 6 months or so).
- Many summer programs have due dates as early as January 15, with most coming due from February 1 to March 1. Start planning early, and if you want a letter from me
and do not have all of the program addresses, at least give me the information needed to write the initial letter before classes start.
- Do not wait until the fall semester to request a new letter for medical school; the latest I will write new letters for
medical school is JUNE. With reasonable notice, I will provide letters for those students with letters already on file,
provided no major modifications are necessary (i.e., the letters were written within the last 6 months or so).
Research Project Overview
Course Organization
- Students work in teams of 2-3 in the laboratory, depending
on the total number of students in the course. Each
person is expected to contribute to performing and recording
experimental procedures, analyzing the data, and preparing
and presenting the final project. Sharing
data among a team is necessary to prepare the PowerPoint
presentation.
- Individuals are expected to be prepared for the lecture material
and to have read over the experiment for the day. Notebooks
are an individual responsibility but all the data is important
to other members of the team so write legibly and try to be
neat.
- Each team will be assigned a lab drawer with the basic glassware
and supplies for which they are responsible. A list of equipment
to be in each drawer will be provided. The team should check
that the drawer is complete the first day of class since each
team will be accountable for all of the equipment at the
end of the lab course. At the end of the course, the lab drawers
must be checked again to ensure that all equipment is present
and clean. Penalties may be assessed for missing, broken, or
dirty equipment.
- Each bench has an assigned set of pipets. These pipets must be kept in good working condition and stored properly at the end of each lab.
- Each group will be held responsible for the cleanliness of
work areas at the end of each lab. For example, pipets should
be returned to holder, trash should be discarded, and stratacoolers
should be returned to the freezer.
Laboratory Safety
A series of lectures combined with hands-on computer exercises will introduce you to various biologically relevant databases, methods to search the databases effectively, and an overall view of the various aspects of computational biology.
Copyright, Acknowledgements,
and Intended Use
Created by B. Beason (bbeason@rice.edu),
Rice University, 29 June 2006
Updated 3 July 2007