20.109(F20): Fall 2020 schedule
Welcome to 20.109! It is our goal to make this class a useful and fun introduction to the experiments and techniques used 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, which will increase the likelihood of success in your work and ensure the health and safety of you and your labmates. By the end of the semester, you will also be well-versed in good scientific practices - through your experience with scientific writing, notebook keeping, and orally presenting data and novel 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 times: T/R 11 - 12 pm
Laboratory section times: T/R 1 - 5 pm or W/F 1 - 5 pm
MODULE | DATE | LECTURER | LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS | ASSIGNMENTS | |
T Sep 1 | NLL |
Orientation and laboratory tour |
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M1D1 | R Sep 3 | BE | Learn best practices for mammalian cell culture | Laboratory orientation quiz Homework due | |
M1D2 | T Sep 8 | BE | Prepare and treat cells for repair foci experiment | Homework due | |
M1D3 | R Sep 10 | BE | Use immunoflourescence staining to assess repair foci experiment | Homework due | |
M1D4 | T Sep 15 | BE | Image repair foci experiment and quantify results | Laboratory quiz Homework due | |
M1D5 | R Sep 17 | BE | Treat cells and perform high-throughput genome damage assay | Homework due | |
M1D6 | T Sep 22 | BE | Image and analyze high-throughput genome damage assay | Homework due | |
M1D7 | R Sep 24 | BE | Complete data analysis using statistical methods | Laboratory quiz Homework due | |
M2D1 | T Sep 29 | JN | Complete in silico cloning of protein expression plasmid | Homework due | |
M2D2 | R Oct 1 | JN | Perform protein purification protocol | Homework due Data Summary draft due Sun, Oct 3 at 10 pm [ Blog post due] Mon, Oct 4 at 10 pm | |
M2D3 | T Oct 6 | JN | Assess purity and concentration of purified protein | Homework due | |
M2D4 | R Oct 8 | JN | Prepare small molecule microarray (SMM) slides with purified protein | Laboratory quiz Homework due Mini-presentation due Sun, Oct 10 at 10 pm | |
T Oct 13 | Columbus day holiday | Data Summary revision due Wed, Oct 14 at 10 pm | |||
M2D5 | R Oct 15 | JN | Scan SMM slides to identify putative small molecule binders | Homework due | |
T Oct 22 | Journal club presentations | ||||
R Oct 24 | Journal club presentations | [ Blog post due] Fri, Oct 25 at 10 pm | |||
M2D6 | T Oct 27 | JN | Analyze SMM data | Homework due | |
M2D7 | R Oct 29 | JN | Examine putative small molecule binders for common features?? | Laboratory quiz Homework due | |
M3D1 | T Nov 3 | NLL |
Practice guide RNA (gRNA) design principles | Homework due | |
M3D2 | R Nov 5 | NLL |
Align gRNA sequences with genomic targets | Homework due | |
T Nov 10 | Veterans day holiday | Research article due Wed, Nov 11 at 10 pm [ Blog post due] Thu, Nov 12 at 10 pm | |||
M3D3 | R Nov 12 | NLL |
Analyze ethanol production data | Laboratory quiz Homework due | |
T Nov 17 | Research Proposal pitches | ||||
M3D4 | R Nov 19 | NLL |
Examine genomic features in gRNA-targeted sequences | Homework due | |
T Nov 24 | Thanksgiving holiday | ||||
R Nov 26 | Thanksgiving holiday | ||||
M3D5 | T Dec 1 | NLL |
Design optimized gRNA sequence for enhanced ethanol production | Laboratory quiz Homework due | |
R Dec 3 | Research proposal presentations | [ Blog post due] Fri, Dec 4 at 10 pm | |||
T Dec 8 | Feedback session | Mini-report due Mon, Dec 7 at 10 pm |