Laboratory and Instructional Innovations in an Interdisciplinary Biochemistry/Biotechnology Program

该项目旨在改善生物化学/生物技术的萌芽本科课程，该课程已经受到相当大的区域兴趣，以确保其发展成为国家重要性。这一目标正在通过开发和实施细胞和分子生物学，生物化学和免疫学中最先进的实验室序列来实现，以增强现有课程，并在讲座/讨论环境中展示三维分子模型。实验室序列与讲座相关，并说明科学是由研究过程的支柱支持的知识砖建立的;分子建模演示有助于减轻学生对大分子结构/功能关系的理解。每年约有50名本科生直接受到该项目主体的影响，另有300名主要是非科学专业的学生，由于为这三门课程开发的练习向下迁移而获得额外的好处。 几种创新的实验室设计方法正在被用来开发实验室序列适当和可行的一个中等规模的计划，如这一点。其中一些方法是将个别实验室练习整合到连续的项目中;将练习简化，从而减少试剂和动物的使用，同时最大限度地提高结果;用量热或荧光示踪剂取代放射性示踪剂;以及将为高年级专业课程开发的练习纳入非科学专业的大班中，因为它们已经得到了很好的建立和完善。 这些创新不仅使该机构和那些遵循在本科阶段实施最先进技术的人可行，而且开始解决生物和化学教育中实际关注的问题。

This project aims to improve a budding undergraduate program in biochemistry/biotechnology that is already receiving considerable regional interest, to ensure its blossoming into national significance. This aim is being approached by developing and implementing state-of-the-art laboratory sequences in cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, and immunology to augment existing courses and by presenting three-dimensional molecular models in a lecture/discussion setting. The laboratory sequences lend relevance to lectures and illustrate that science is built from bricks of knowledge supported by the pillars of investigative process; the molecular modeling presentations help to ease student understanding of macromolecule structure/function relationships. About 50 undergraduates are directly affected by the main body of this project each year, with another 300, primarily nonscience-majors, receiving additional benefits due to the downward migration of exercises developed for the three courses in question. Several innovative approaches to laboratory design are being used to develop laboratory sequences appropriate and feasible to an intermediately sized program such as this. Some of these approaches are to integrate individual laboratory exercises into continuous projects; to miniaturize exercises, thus reducing reagent and animal use while maximizing results; to replace radioactive tracers with calorimetric or fluorescent ones; and to incorporate, as they become well established and refined, exercises developed for upper-level majors' courses into large classes for nonscience-majors. These innovations not only make it feasible for this institution and those who follow to implement state-of-the-art technology at the undergraduate level, but also begin to address issues of practical concern in biological and chemical education.