W3050 - Project Lab in Protein Biochemistry
John
F. Hunt
702 Fairchild
854-5443
jfh21@columbia.edu
Office Hours: TBA
Location: 700 Fairchild
/ 753 Mudd
Tuesday & Thursday: 1:10 pm - 6:00 pm
Course Website: https://www1.columbia.edu/sec/cu/biology/courses/w3050/class/index.html
Prerequisite: 1 year of biology
(C2005-C2006) plus 1 upper-level course recommended.
Enrollment is not restricted as long as
total is no more than 14. Seniors will be given preference in the unlikely
event that restriction is necessary. Students with specific questions should
e-mail the instructor. The course provides an introduction to professional
biomedical laboratory research. Students conduct a portion of an ongoing
biochemical research project and write-up their results in a format suitable
for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific research journal. Techniques in
molecular biology and protein biochemistry are used to address a problem in mechanistic
biochemistry or molecular pharmacology. Students are exposed to the full
spectrum of techniques used in contemporary protein biochemistry including
molecular sequence analysis of genomic databases, molecular cloning and manipulation
of recombinant DNA, protein expression in E. coli, protein purification, and
biophysical characterization. The course emphasizes the use of critical
thinking skills in scientific research while giving students the opportunity to
apply the basic knowledge learned in a wide variety of lecture courses in
biology and chemistry.