Welcome to the class page for BIOL 3900 in Fall 2018! The title of the course this semester is "Advanced Research Course in Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology."

The faculty and staff for your course, left to right, are Dr. Kent Chapman, instructor; Drs. Ashley Cannon and Mina Aziz, Post-Doctoral Teaching Associates; and Ann Price, Graduate Teaching Assistant and doctoral student. 

The objective of this course is to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to conduct research in the areas of Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The research course will be focused on identifying protein interactors of N-acylethanolmines (NAEs), a class of fatty acid derivatives that play a role in plant growth and development. Related lipids in mammals function as part of the endocannabinoid signaling pathway largely through G-protein coupled receptors, a receptor class that is particularly poorly represented in the plant kingdom. Consequently, a new paradigm for NAE perception in plant systems may be defined from our studies. A yeast three-hybrid system will be used to determine if protein targets of interest interact with biotinylated derivatives of NAE 18:2. During the course, students will read the scientific literature, design experiments and evaluate/interpret their own results. Emphasis will be placed on critical thinking, data collection and analysis, and presentation of their scientific findings.

This course is based on real-world experimentation and will provide first-hand knowledge of the process of scientific discovery with its triumphs and frustrations. Students will be part of research teams and responsible for their own experimental results.  It is expected that findings from student research will be of the highest quality and suitable for research publication.

Open the BIOL 3900 syllabus and schedule by clicking on the links below. You can then choose to view or download the documents.