Listed in: Biology, as BIOL-311
Moodle site: Course (Login required)
Mona Wu Orr (Sections 01 and 01L)
This lab course will provide students a hands-on mentored research experience in protein biochemistry and molecular microbiology. Through structured primary literature analysis and studying historic examples, students will learn how to develop scientific questions, structure a convincing scientific argument, design experiments to address those questions, and critically analyze data and present findings to a scientific community. In addition to participation in classroom workshops and discussions, students will work in teams to design and execute a short research project in an area of active faculty research investigating a small protein involved in antibiotic resistance in the bacterial model organism Escherichia coli. Students will present the results of their work in a short research talk and in a poster session. At the end of this course, students will be able to apply the fundamental skills used to conduct scientific research.
Professor Wu Orr
How to handle overenrollment: If overenrolled, preference will be given to in-major juniors with no prior Amherst College research experience. Instructor consent required.
Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: independent research, oral presentations, group work, lab work, reading primary literature, data analysis and quantitative work