20.109(S18): Spring 2018 schedule

Welcome to 20.109! It is our goal to make this class a useful and fun introduction to experiments and techniques in biological engineering. Though there is not time enough to show you everything needed to do research, after this class you will feel confident and familiar with some fundamental experimental approaches and laboratory protocols. You will develop good habits at the bench -- ones that will increase the likelihood of success in your work and ensure the health and safety of you and those around you. By the end of the semester, you should also be aware of good scientific practice, having had some experience with scientific writing, notebook keeping, and orally presenting data and your ideas. All of us involved in teaching 20.109 hope you will find it a satisfying challenge and an exciting experience that has lasting value.

Schedule details:
Lecture: T/R 11-12 (16-220)
Laboratory sections: T/R 1-5 or W/F 1-5 (56-322)

MODULE	DAY	DATE	LECTURER	LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS	ASSIGNMENTS
		T/W Feb 6/7	NLL	Orientation
1	1	R/F Feb 8/9	AK	In silico cloning and confirmation digest	Orientation quiz Homework due
1	2	T/W Feb 13/14	AK	Complete small microarry analysis and induce protein expression	Homework due
1	3	R/F Feb 15/16	AK	Purify protein	Laboratory quiz Homework due
		T/W Feb 20/21		President's day holiday
1	4	R/F Feb 22/23	AK	Assess protein purity and concentration	Homework due
1	5	T/W Feb 27/28	SD	SECONDARY ASSAY D1	Laboratory quiz Homework due
1	6	R/F Mar 1/2	AK	SECONDARY ASSAY D2	Homework due
1	7	T/W Mar 6/7	AK	Complete data analysis	Laboratory quiz Homework due
2	1	R/F Mar 8/9	NLL	Confirm cell lines and practice tissue culture techniques Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
2	2	T/W Mar 14/15	LS Snow day	Prepare Western blot and induce DNA damage for quantitative PCR assay Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Laboratory quiz Homework due Data Summary draft due Mon, Mar 13 at 10 pm
2	3	R/F Mar 16/17	LS M2L2 & L3	Purify RNA for quantitative PCR assay and treat cells for viability assay Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due Mini presentation due Sat, Mar 18 at 10 pm
2	4	T/W Mar 21/22	LS M2L4	Complete cell viability assay and examine transcript levels in response to DNA damage Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Laboratory quiz Homework due
2	5	R/F Mar 23/24	DC	Journal club I
		T/W Mar 28/29		Spring vacation	Data Summary revision due Mon, Mar 27 at 10 pm
		R/F Mar 30/31		Spring vacation
2	6	T/W Apr 4/5	EF M2L6	Practice data analysis methods Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Blog post due Mon, Apr 3 at 10 pm Homework due
2	7	R/F Apr 6/7	EF M2L7	Analyze RNA-seq data Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
2	8	T/W Apr 11/12	LS M2L8	Journal club II
2	9	R/F Apr 13/14	NLL M2L9	Examine quantitative PCR results Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Laboratory quiz Homework due Blog post due Sat, Apr 15 at 10 pm
		T/W Apr 18/19		Patriots' day holiday
3	1	R/F Apr 20/21	AB M3L1	Grow phage active material Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due Research article due April 22 at 10 pm Blog post due Sun, Apr 23 at 10 pm
3	2	T/W Apr 25/26	AB M3L2	Purify phage active material Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Laboratory quiz Homework due
3	3	R/F Apr 27/28	AB	Construct cathode with phage active material Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
3		T/W May 2/3		Lecture, but no laboratory
3	4	R/F May 4/5	AB	Visualize phage nanowires using TEM Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
3	5	T/W May 9/10	AB	Assemble and test battery Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Laboratory quiz Homework due
		R/F May 11/12	no lecture	Research proposal presentations	Blog post due Thu/Fri, May 11/12 at 10 pm
		T/W May 16/17		Open office hours	Mini report due Tue/Wed, May 16/17 at 10 pm
		R May 18		Feedback and celebratory lunch