20.109(F16): Fall 2016 schedule

Welcome to 20.109! It is our goal to make this class a useful and fun introduction to experiments and techniques in biological engineering. Though there is not time enough to show you everything needed to do research, after this class you will feel confident and familiar with some fundamental experimental approaches and laboratory protocols. You will develop good habits at the bench -- ones that will increase the likelihood of success in your work and ensure the health and safety of you and those around you. By the end of the semester, you should also be aware of good scientific practice, having had some experience with scientific writing, notebook keeping, and orally presenting data and your ideas. All of us involved in teaching 20.109 hope you will find it a satisfying challenge and an exciting experience that has lasting value.

Schedule details:
Lecture: T/R 11-12 (16-220)
Laboratory sections: T/R 1-5 or W/F 1-5 (56-322)

MODULE	DAY	DATE	LECTURER	LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS	ASSIGNMENTS
		R/F Sept 8/9	NLL Orientation lecture	Orientation Prelab T/R Prelab W/F
1	1	T/W Sept 13/14	BE	Prepare microwell array and practice tissue culture Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Lab orientation quiz Homework due
1	2	R/F Sept 15/16	BE	Develop experiment to test loading variables and quantify growth rate Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
1	3	T/W Sept 20/21	BE	Test role of biochemical factors in genomic stability Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Lab quiz Homework due
		R/F Sept 22/23	BE	Lecture, but no laboratory Career fair student holiday
1	4	T/W Sept 27/28	NLL	Query inter-individual variability in exposure susceptibility Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Lab quiz Homework due
1	5	R/F Sept 29/30	BE	Develop approach for sub-nuclear visualization of DNA damage Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
1	6	T/W Oct 4/5	BE	Query DNA repair capacity in tumor cells Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Lab quiz Homework due
1	7	R/F Oct 6/7	BE	Analysis of sub-nuclear foci Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
		T/W Oct 11/12		Columbus day holiday	Data Summary draft due Wed, Oct 12 at 5 pm
2	1	R/F Oct 13/14	NLL M2D1 lecture	Complete in silico cloning Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due Mini-presentation due Sat, Oct 15 at 10 pm
2	2	T/W Oct 18/19	NLL M2D2 lecture	Design gRNA for CRISPRi Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
2	3	R/F Oct 20/21	NLL M2D3 lecture	Generate gRNA plasmid Prelab T/R Prelab W/F Journal article discussion	Homework due Data Summary revision due Mon, Oct 24 at 5 pm
2	4	T/W Oct 25/26	NLL M2D4 lecture	Journal club I	Lab quiz Blog post due Tue, Oct 25 at 5pm
2	5	R/F Oct 27/28	NLL M2D5 lecture	Confirm gRNA sequence Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
2	6	T/W Nov 1/2	NLL M2D6 lecture	Journal club II	Lab quiz
2	7	R/F Nov 3/4	NLL M2D7 lecture	Induce CRISPRi system Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
2	8	T/W Nov 8/9	NLL M2D8 lecture	Measure fermentation products Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Lab quiz Homework due
		R/F Nov 10/11		Veterans' day holiday
3	1	T/W Nov 15/16	AB	Growth of phage materials Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
3	2	R/F Nov 17/18	AB	Purify active materials Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due Research article due Sun, Nov 20 at 5 pm Blog post due Mon, Nov 21 at 5pm
		T/W Nov 22/23		Lecture, but no laboratory
		R/F Nov 24/25		Thanksgiving holiday
3	3	T/W Nov 29/30	AB	Cathode construction Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Lab quiz Homework due
3	4	R/F Dec 1/2	AB	TEM Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Homework due
3	5	T/W Dec 6/7	AB	Battery assembly and testing Prelab T/R Prelab W/F	Lab quiz Homework due Blog post due Wed, Dec 7 at 10pm
3	6	R/F Dec 8/9		Research proposal presentations	Research proposal presentation slides due Thu/Fri, Dec 8/9 at 1 pm
		T Dec 13		Feedback and celebratory lunch	Biomaterials engineering mini-report due Mon, Dec 12 at 10 pm Blog post due Wed, Dec 14 at 10pm