BIONB 4300 - Experimental Molecular Neurobiology

(PBS-AS, BIO-AS)

Spring. 4 credits. Letter grades only.

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

D.L. Deitcher.

Experiments include PCR, immunoprecipitations, western blots, RNAi, antibody staining, optogenetics, and behavioral assays. Experiments emphasize how molecular techniques can be applied to studying neurobiological problems and will culminate in designing your own experiments. Labs frequently last to 1 or 2 PM but it is possible to attend one class on Tuesday if it meets after 11 AM as the experiments have incubation steps or other breaks. But plan on returning after class to finish the experiments. A section on Thursday will be scheduled after the course begins. 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.