Integrated Undergraduate Laboratories for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

培养今天的本科生的一个关键挑战是以一种实用的方式将对生物化学、免疫化学、微生物学和分子生物学的理解结合在一起。这个项目的目的是为生物科学系生物化学和微生物学学士学位课程的本科生专业开发一门为期一年的实验室课程，包括三个综合模块，目前正在扩大到包括分子生物学。这些实验单元旨在为学生提供在生物化学、免疫化学、微生物学和分子生物学中使用的基本方法的最新培训。这一实验课程序列将补充为期一年的生物化学和分子生物学讲座课程，该课程是学习生物化学和微生物学的学生需要的一套三个一学期的模块。目前的情况是，只提供一门为期一学期的实验室课程，而且只涵盖生物化学中使用的基本方法和对核酸的简要介绍。拟议的项目是我们课程的合乎逻辑的延伸，它将结合使用现代仪器的现代方法来改善这些学生的学习环境。为了实现这一项目的发展，我们将在实验室方法中整合我们的课程，将学生对生物化学、免疫化学和微生物学的理解与分子生物学联系起来。将购买的主要仪器包括：UV-Vis光谱仪、PhastSystem凝胶电泳仪、FPLC层析系统(包括IBM型个人计算机)、制备离心机、台式发酵罐、DNA测序仪和DNA序列分析软件。这个项目的意义在于围绕着一个中心主题进行独特的整合，包括分析酶和重组基因产物的生化和免疫化学方法，调节细菌中的基因表达，以及克隆和表征细菌基因。

A key challenge in educating today's undergraduate students is to bring together understanding of biochemistry, immunochemistry, microbiology and molecular biology in a functional manner. The aim of this project is to develop a year-long laboratory course with 3 integrated modules for undergraduate majors in the Department of Biological Sciences' Bachelor of Science degree programs in Biochemistry and Microbiology which are now being expanded to include Molecular Biology. These laboratory modules are designed to provide up- to-date training for the students in fundamental methods used in biochemistry, immunochemistry, microbiology an molecular biology. This laboratory course sequence will complement the year-long lecture course in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which is a set of 3 one-term modules required for students studying Biochemistry and Microbiology. The current situation is that only a single one-term laboratory course is offered and it covers only the basic methods used in biochemistry and a brief introduction to nucleic acids. The proposed project is a logical extension of our curriculum, which would bring together contemporary methodology using modern instrumentation to enhance the learning environment for these students. To achieve this program development, we will integrate our offerings in laboratory methods to link the student's understanding of biochemistry, immunochemistry and microbiology to molecular biology. The major instruments to be purchased include: UV-Vis spectrophotometers, PhastSystem gel electrophoresis system, FPLC chromatography system (including an IBM-type personal computer), preparative centrifuge, bench-top fermenter, DNA sequencing gel apparatus and DNA sequence analysis software. The significance of this project lies in the unique integration around a central theme of biochemical and immunochemical methods for analysis of enzymes and recombinant gene products, the regulation of gene expression in bacteria, and the cloning and characterization of bacterial genes.