Tuesday 5 January 2016

MICB 447

MICB 447 (with Dr. Dave Oliver)

  • Course Taken: Tuesday 8am, Tuesday Lab (September 2015 - December 2015) You end up going into the lab regardless of lab day though.
  • Format: Working in groups of 3/4 for the entire term where you design and carry out an original research project. There are weekly lecture and team meeting. At the end of the course, you will publish a primarily research article in JEMI or if your paper is really good, JEMI+. 
  • Grading Scheme: Multiple schemes depending which gives you higher grade (depends on primarily lab notebook, midterm, project proposal, lab report)
  • Textbook: Optional Lab Book $10 (also posted online for free)
  • Class Average: 86%
  • Personal Experience: You learn a lot from this course from experimental design, lab techniques, to working in a team. Pick a group you work well with not necessarily your friends. Even the simplest project will often take triple the amount of time expected, so perhaps consider a less ambitious project. Do not trust any reagent you did not personally make yourself! Remember that this is a course, and mistakes will happen but that is how everyone learns. If possible, do not take directed studies with this lab course since this course will take A LOT of outside time. A rough estimate will be 16 hours per week for each team, and possibly more at the end of term. When deciding a project, it might be easier if your project did not ask a question where the experiment either worked or did not. 
Answers from readers' questions: 
  • Choose a good group to work with. I think groups work best if people have different lab experiences and strengths (ie. organization skills, writing, experimental techniques, troubleshooting). Also, ensure that everyone has time to come into the lab outside of the course time.
  • When you choose/ design a project, choose a project where at no point it hinges on a “yes/ no” answer. For example, what are the effects of caffeine vs does caffeine do this? Cause when it comes to writing up, it is easier to talk about the broader question than a yes/no question. If you can work on multiple parts of the project at the same time, it will save you time. For example, optimizing both protocol A and B at the same time before combining the two for your proper experiment. You can see the projects people did in previous years here: https://www.microbiology.ubc.ca/undergraduate/jemi
  • Read as much as possible before you dive into your project. The more pre-planning you do, the less troubleshooting you’ll probably run into.  

0 comments:

Post a Comment