Molecular Biochemistry

Syllabus


Semester: Fall-18

Course Name: BTC563 Molecular Biochemistry

Name: Dr. Alexandra Martynova-Van Kley

Department: Biology

Email: avankley@sfasu.edu

WELCOME TO BTC563: This course is offered for graduate students. Application of molecular genetics to transcription control mechanisms; gene expression, molecular cloning, and applications to biotechnology.

ATTENDANCE: You are expected to attend all lecture classes. It is vital that you read the chapter text prior to class as this will permit you to pose questions more efficiently. If you miss a lecture class for unavoidable reasons, make sure you get the notes from another student and visit my office to make arrangement for a make-up work.Missing an exam will be permitted only by prior arrangement.

HANDOUTS: Handouts based on lecture slides will be provided before each lecture. The professor reserves the right to make last minute changes to the slides.

TEXTBOOK: Biochemistry, by Donald Voet

ORAL PRESENTATION: According to schedule a team of students will present a current paper from a scientific journal on one of the course topic. The chosen papers need to be approved at least one week prior to the presentation week. The presenters will also be responsible for distributing of copies of the paper one week before the presentation.

OFFICE HOURS: TR 14:00-15:30 and 16:45-17:45 / or by appointment;room S 236. Should you have questions or need additional help feel free to contact me at 936-468-2569. You can also E-mail me at avankley@sfasu.edu.

GRADING CRITERIA:
Participation - 20 pts
Examinations - 50 pts
Oral presentation - 20 pts
TOTAL - 100 pts


GRADES: check here

PATRICIPATION: Participation will be graded based on your involvement (questions and/or answers) during your fellow students oral presentations.

MIDTERM EXAMINATION: See the schedule for dates and times. Format will include but is not limited to multiple choice, short answer and essay type questions. Context will include any material covered during lectures and oral presentations.

CELL PHONES, LAPTOPS AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES: All electronic devices MUST be turned off and PACKED AWAY during the lecture. Students using electronic devices during class will loose up to 10 points of their final grade. Any use of an electronic device during a test will be considered cheating

ACADEMIC HONESTY: All daily scored questions can be answered after discussion within your group, but you must submit your answer individually with your own clicker only. Use of any other person’s clicker is considered cheating.All exam work submitted for grading must be exclusively your own. Any dishonesty or cheating may result in a final score of zero (“F”) for the course. SFA Policy A-9.1 is summarized as:“Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism.Definition of Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit.”(http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/academic_integrity.asp )

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as early as possible in the semester. Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided. Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS: Standard classroom decorum is expected. Please do not carry on a separate conversation that might be distracting to other students. If you have a cell phone or pager, please make sure it is either turned off or set to silent operation. Behavior that interferes with the learning environment will not be tolerated. If necessary, students violating these standards will be removed from the classroom. Additionally, please arrive in class a bit early as we will be starting promptly on time.WITHHELD GRADES, SEMESTER GRADES POLICY (SFA POLICY A-54).Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average.The circumstances precipitating the request must have occurred after the last day in which a student could withdraw from a course. Students requesting a WH must be passing the course with a minimum projected grade of C.

Lectures

Date Lecture topics Handouts
8/29 Meeting with the class. Introduction to the course policies and web-page Suggestions_for_Oral_Presentation
9/05 DNA replication Lec1_563
9/12 DNA replication Lec2_563
9/19 DNA replication (Presentation topics/papers need to be approved/sent) Lec3_563
9/26 Presentations
10/3 DNA damage and repair Lec4_563
10/10 DNA damage and repair (Presentation topics/papers need to be approved/sent) apoptosis
10/17 Presentations
10/24 Midterm Exam
10/31 Transcription Lec5_563
11/7 Transcription (Presentation topics/papers need to be approved/sent) Lec6_563
11/14 Presentations
11/21 Thanksgiving
11/28 Translation (Presentation topics/papers need to be approved/sent) Lec7_563
12/5 Presentations
12/12 Exam

Exam 1

Exam 2

Contacts

e-mail: avankley@sfasu.edu