20.109(F16): Fall 2016 schedule

Welcome to 20.109! For some of you this will be the first time in a research lab and for others it will not; either way, it is our goal to make this class a useful and fun introduction to experiments and techniques in biological engineering. There is not time enough to show you everything you’ll need to know if you go on to do research, but after taking this class you should feel confident and familiar with some fundamental experimental approaches and lab 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 report writing, notebook keeping, and publicly 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.

MODULE	DAY	DATE	LECTURER	LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS	ASSIGNMENTS	DATA / NOTES
		R/F Sept 8/9	NLL	Orientation
1	1	T/W Sept 13/14	BE	Prepare comet chips	Lab orientation quiz Homework due
1	2	R/F Sept 15/16	BE	Test comet chip loading variables
1	3	T/W Sept 20/21	BE	Measure DNA damage with comet chip	Homework due
		R/F Sept 22/23		Career fair student holiday
1	4	T/W Sept 27/28	BE	Asses DNA repair variability with comet chip	Lab quiz Homework due
1	5	R/F Sept 29/30	NLL	Seed cells for immuno-fluorescence assay	Homework due
1	6	T/W Oct 4/5	BE	Complete immuno-fluorescence assay	Homework due
1	7	R/F Oct 6/7	BE	Data analysis	Lab quiz Homework due
		T/W Oct 11/12		Columbus day holiday
2	1	R/F Oct 13/14	NLL	Complete in silico cloning
2	2	T/W Oct 18/19	NLL	Design gRNA for CRISPRi
2	3	R/F Oct 20/21	NLL	Generate gRNA plasmid
2	4	T/W Oct 25/26	NLL	Journal club I
2	5	R/F Oct 27/28	NLL	Confirm gRNA sequence
2	6	T/W Nov 1/2	NLL	Journal club II
2	7	R/F Nov 3/4	NLL	Induce CRISPRi system
2	8	T/W Nov 8/9	NLL	Measure fermentation products
		R/F Nov 10/11		Veterans' day holiday
3	1	T/W Nov 15/16	AB	Growth of phage materials	Homework due Protein engineering report due Sun, Nov 15 at 5 pm‎
3	2	R/F Nov 17/18	AB	Purify active materials	Homework due
		T/W Nov 22/23	AB	Lecture, but no lab
		R/F Nov 24/25		Thanksgiving holiday
3	3	T/W Nov 29/30	AB	Cathode construction	Lab quiz Homework due
3	4	R/F Dec 1/2	AB	TEM	Homework due
3	5	T/W Dec 6/7	AB	Battery assembly and testing	Lab quiz Homework due
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