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General Information

• This laboratory course advances record keeping, and technical communication skills that were assessed in BIOC 311: Advanced Experimental Biosciences.
  Student teams prepare and orally defend scientific posters to communicate their findings.
  
  • PRE-requisite = BIOC 311: Advanced Experimental Biosciences

• BIOC 413 is taught in the second half of SPRING semester:
  • ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED TO 15 STUDENTS (a minimum of 6 students must register for this course to be offered)
  • Lab meets on Tues./Thurs. for 4 weeks
  • Lab begins the week after midterm recess
  • Lab is scheduled from 1-5 p.m.
    There are a few times you will need to come in on additional days to complete an experiment
  
  
• HOW TO REGISTER:
  • If you have met the prerequisites, you may register on Esther.
    NOTE: please do not attempt to register if you have not taken BIOC 311
  • You will receive a message from Owl-Space before classes start with information about the first day of lab.
  
  
• REQUIRED TEXTS:
  1. BIOC 413 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.
  2. 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 (also available through Amazon.com)
     NOTE: you will need just ONE notebook per TEAM; you may use your notebook from Bios 211 or 311 if you have pages remaining.
  3. McMillan, Victoria E. (2006) Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences, 4th Ed., Bedford/St. Martin's, Boston, MA (also available through Borders.com)
     
  
  
• 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 8 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 partners. 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 lab is typically filled to capacity. Please don't plan to miss any labs.
    
    
• 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 Abmayr (Dr. Beason) and I have a Ph.D. in Physiology & Biophysics from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I teach BIOS 111, 311, 313, and 413.
  ***Dr. Elizabeth Eich (lizmc@rice.edu) is a co-instructor.
• WHERE: My office is Biology 326.
• HOW TO CONTACT ME: I have limited office hours while labs are running. If you need to reach me outside 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 individual appointment with me. Please do not leave me a voice mail message unless it's a true emergency.
• HOW I CONTACT YOU: I will frequently send communications to the class through Owl-Space e-mails and announcements; check any mailing from Owl-Space or the instructor's Rice address or with the subject line starting with "bioc413:" You will be held responsible for all such communications.
  
  ***CRITICAL INFORMATION*** My primary means of communication with you is via Owl-Space and e-mail:
  1. Please use your Rice e-mail account for communications concerning this course
  2. If you use SPAM filters on your mail readers, make sure you list bbeason@rice.edu as "accept"
  3. Check frequently to ensure that you do not exceed your e-mail quota
  4. Send all new messages and replies to bbeason@rice.edu
  5. 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).

Course Organization

• Students work in teams of 2-3 in the laboratory, depending on the total number of students in the course.
  
  
• Individuals are expected to be prepared for the lecture material and to have read over the experiment for the day. Notebooks are a TEAM responsibility; all the data is important to other members of the team so write legibly and try to be neat.
  
  
• Each team has two assigned sets of pipets. These pipets must be kept in good working condition and stored properly at the end of each lab.
  
  
• Each team has an assigned bench-top cooler for storage of samples.
  
  
• Each team will be held responsible for the cleanliness of work areas at the end of each lab. For example, power supplies should be turned off, electrophoresis equipment should be rinsed with RO water and placed on paper towels on the benchtop to dry, and bench-top coolers should be returned to the freezer.
  

Laboratory Safety

• You must review the information on laboratory conduct and safety before working in any of the biosciences labs.
• You will have to buy a pair of safety glasses from the campus bookstore and bring these with you the first day of lab.
• For additional information, please see Rice University Environmental Health and Safety Department.

Copyright, Acknowledgements, and Intended Use
Created by B. Beason (bbeason@rice.edu), Rice University, 16 June 2006
Updated 29 December 2011