BIONB 4300 - Experimental Molecular Neurobiology

(BIO-AS, PBS-AS)

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: BIOMG 3300 or BIOMG 3310. Recommended prerequisite: BIOMG 2801.

D.L. Deitcher.

Experiments include PCR, western blots, RNAi, antibody staining, optogenetics, calcium imaging of neurons and behavioral assays. Students will also construct their own epifluoresence microscope. Experiments emphasize how molecular techniques can be applied to studying neurobiological problems and will culminate in designing your own experiments. It is critical to be present at the lab from 9am- 11am and then again from 1pm-2pm as the experiments have incubation steps at the beginning and the experiments must be evaluated at the close of class. However, if students would like to take a conflicting course in the 11am-1pm range on Tuesdays, the instructor will support a time conflict approval form. A discussion section on Thursdays will also be scheduled after the course begins. Instructor will work with students to find an agreeable time on Thursdays. If you have additional questions please contact me at dld14@cornell.edu.

Outcome 1: Demonstrate competence in basic molecular biology and protein biochemistry skills in the laboratory and the underlying principles of these techniques.

Outcome 2: Demonstrate mastery of basic bioinformatics tools such as BLASTN, TBLASTN, and BLASTP and using model organism databases such as FlyBase.

Outcome 3: Develop a clear understanding of how different laboratory techniques provide complementary information about gene expression.

Outcome 4: Demonstrate deep understanding of scientific procedures and results through written laboratory reports.