BIOMG 4330

Effective Communication in Molecular Cell Biology

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2022-2023.

This course uses writing and oral presentations as tools to help understand modern research papers. Students will read an assigned research paper every two weeks. Two or three students will summarize in Powerpoint format the methodology and conclusions of the paper. After this presentation to the class, each student will write a summary (abstract), written not for an expert readership but for biology majors at the college freshman level. Each abstract will be critiqued by peer review in a "workshop" format during class, and by the instructor. After four such 2-week cycles, students will draft a 1-2000 word term paper on a topic of their choosing. The draft will be critiqued by the instructor, before submission of a final version at semester end.

When Offered Fall.

Permission Note Preference given to: juniors and seniors.
Prerequisites/Corequisites Prerequisite: an upper-level biochemistry/molecular biology course (e.g. BIOMG 3300, 3331, 3332, 3335), or approval of instructor. Strongly recommended prerequisite: an upper-level cell biology course (e.g. BIOMG 4320 or BIOAP 3160).

• To be able to read and describe modern research papers in molecular cell biology.
• To be able to follow the experimental logic used in such papers to make inferences about cellular processes.
• To be able to distill out and explain orally the major conclusions of research papers in cell biology.
• To be able to summarize in writing the major conclusions and methodology of a research paper.

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