Chemical Biology – Principles and Frontiers
Objective: This course will survey topics in chemical biology with an emphasis on the chemical phenomena underlying biological processes. The first four sections of the course will outline fundamental principles of chemical biology; relevant literature in chemical biology will be used to illustrate the course topics. The fifth section will draw entirely from recent scientific literature in the field to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art in current research.
Assignments:
Discussions: A set of discussion questions and problems will be posted weekly. Weekly participation in the online course discussion is required. Students will receive 5 points for each post that contributes significantly to the discussion to a maximum of 50 points. Satisfactory posts may include data relevant to the discussion, questions about the discussion topics or comments about the information that other students have posted.
Literature reviews: Three two-page “mini-reviews” of current literature will be assigned during the course. They will be due at the end of units 2, 3 and 4. These reviews will discuss the current literature on a given topic, addressing the state-of-the-art and examining the relevant challenges. A list of papers will be given for each unit. Students will choose one paper and use that paper as a starting point for further research. No more than two students may choose any one paper. These papers will be posted to the online course discussion board and are intended to serve as a resource for all the students in the course. Each literature review is worth 25 points.
Teaching Innovation Projects (TIPs): Two teaching innovation projects are required. These are group projects and will be due one week after the second and third literature reviews are due. Each group of students will choose a topic from the previous unit(s) and develop a presentation appropriate for a middle or high school classroom. The literature reviews are intended to serve as reference material for the TIPs. A list of responsibilities for each member of the group will be due one week before the TIP is submitted. Additionally, students are encouraged use the materials developed through TIPs in their own classrooms. Each TIP is worth 25 points.
Final Research Paper: A final research paper (approximately 10 pages) will address a topic from unit 5. A list of suggested topics will be provided in week six; students should submit their topic choice to the instructor by week nine. Students may also choose a topic that is not on the list, subject to approval. The instructor may choose to limit the number of students per topic. The paper should be fully referenced from the primary research literature. Review articles may be used as sources, but a paper that cites only review articles is not appropriate. The final paper must be submitted before the final discussion closes. This paper is worth 75 points.
Grading:
Discussions: 5 pts. ea. 50 points (maximum)
Literature reviews: 25 pts. ea. 75 points
TIPs: 25 pts. ea. 50 points
Final paper 75 pts. ea. 75 points
TOTAL: 250 points
Topics:
Literature review 1 due before week 3 discussion closes.
Literature review 2 due before week 5 discussion closes.
TIP1 due before week 6 discussion closes.
Literature review 3 due before week 7 discussion closes.
TIP2 due before week 8 discussion closes.
Research paper topics due before week 9 discussion closes.
Final research paper due before week 12 discussion closes.