GC 680 LaboratoryTechniques (CRN No. 70176)

Prerequisites -- None specified

Fall Term -- Tue -- 5:00-8:00 -- 2 credits

Starting date: 09/08/09; ending date: 12/01/09

Max enrollment = 16

Regularly assigned classroom: JAH 509;

exception dates & alternate classrooms: None

Instructor: Kuo

Course Description

The purpose of the course is to introduce the students to basic techniques in molecular biology, including genetic engineering. Beginning with an introduction to the biological significance of DNA and the fundamentals of good laboratory practices, students will become familiar with: purification and characterization of nucleic acids; cloning vectors, enzymes used in DNA cloning, and E. coli host strains; principles of restriction mapping, recombinant library construction, and the polymerase chain reaction; production and use of nucleic acid probes in hybridization to filter-immobilized DNA. Students will be instructed in the bio-chemical and biological concepts involved in the selected molecular biology techniques so that, at the completion of the course, students will have the ability to work through technical problems in this “kit-oriented” era, and to assimilate new techniques as they arise.

Download Course Syllabus

GC 680 LaboratoryTechniques [syllabus not yet available online] (Adobe pdf file)

Faculty Information

Dr. Bruce A. Kuo, PhD, earned his degree in Molecular Biology from Hahnemann University. He held postdoctoral fellowships at Thomas Jefferson University. He currently holds a faculty position at Jefferson in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology. Dr. Kuo's research interests are focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms that affect thyroid-host interactions during the progression of thyroid malignancy with a view toward altering leukocyte infiltration into the diseased thyroid.