A. Malcolm Campbell's Genomics Syllabus: Spring 2018

Bio309 Genomics, Proteomics and Systems Biology <www.bio.davidson.edu/genomics>

Class Meets: MWF 9:30 Chambers 3068	Lab: offered as a separate course spring semester
Office Hours: M 11-noon, or T 3 - 4; or most anytime by appointment	Personal pronouns: he/him/his
Office: Wall 327 (wing closer to library)	macampbell@davidson.edu_ Phone: 704-894-2692

The college welcomes requests for accommodations related to disability and will grant those that are determined to be reasonable and maintain the integrity of a program or curriculum. To make such a request or to begin a conversation about a possible request, please contact the Office of Academic Access and Disability Resources, which is located in the Center for Teaching and Learning in the E.H. Little Library: Beth Bleil, Director, 704-894-2129; or Alysen Beaty, Assistant Director, 704-894-2939.  It is best to submit accommodation requests within the drop/add period; however, requests can be made at any time in the semester.  Please keep in mind that accommodations are not retroactive.

Note: Prior to taking this genomics lecture course, you should have taken at least one of these courses: Microbiology, Genetics, Cell, Developmental, Biochemistry (biology or chemistry versions), Immunology (biology or chemistry versions), Biotechnology, Molecular Genetics, Genome Editing, or Bioinformatics. A thorough understanding of Bio111 or 113 is the bare minimum required for non-biology majors (talk to me if you have not taken any upper level biology courses). Genomics builds upon the foundation provided by these other courses. You will need access to a computer to take this course. You can bring laptop or tablet to class. If you do not have access to one, let me know and I will print color copies for you. 

Educational Goals for the Course

Grades: (see previous Exams and Answer Keys)

Source of Grade	Percentage of Final Grade
2 exams during semester plus 1 during finals	75%
2 web pages pilot page - Genomics, Proteomics & Systems Biology Review Paper	20% 10% 10%
Class Participation	5%

Grading Scale:

Conversion of Percentage to Letter Grade

	A = 100 - 94	A- = 93 - 90
B+ = 89 - 87	B = 86 - 83	B- = 82 - 80
C+ = 79 - 77	C = 76 - 73	C - = 72 - 70
D+ = 69 - 66	D = 65 - 60
	F = < 59

Attendance policy:

I will take attendance to facilitate a more objective means for assigning the class participation grade. In order to receive a passing grade in this course, you cannot miss more than 5 classes without a legitimate reason. Legitimate reasons include illness requiring physician’s care, family emergency, etc. Unacceptable reasons include social function, sleeping, exam in another class, etc.

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General Information:

You are among the very few students in the world who will take a comprehensive course in genomics. The term "genomics" does not mean the same thing to everyone. Most undergraduates get a blurred overview of genomics and never go into depth. This course is comprehensive and intensive. 

This will the first semester of what I am calling a redesigned genomics course. I no longer use a textbook and all we read are research papers. I chose these papers carefully, but I have never taught them before. Therefore, some may prove to be too difficult or require too much time to extract the key points. We will adjust to this issue if and when it arises.

The format of each class will require all of you to read each day’s assignment BEFORE you come to class. Each class will begin with a period where you can ask specific questions related to the previous day's material or specific areas you do not understand from the current day's assignment. We will stick closely to the schedule because there is so much to learn and so little time. We will discuss some topics as a group, I will call on you randomly to answer a question or lead a discussion, and I will present some information in the traditional lecture format. If I call on you to answer a question, it is OK to say, "I got this part but this other section lost me." It is not OK to say, "I didn't read it." I understand that some days you might fall behind a day or two but do not make this a practice since class participation is also graded.

Exams: you may have heard the exams in this course are very long. I am working to reduce the time required for genomic exams, but I do not want to cheat you of an educational opportunity. The exam questions will be drawn from cases you have not read for class. All my old exams are available to give you a sense for the style and length of exams. 

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Honor Code

All of your exams are open book, open notes, open internet, take-home exams. You do not have a time limit for these tests other than the alloted days, and you can take them any place you want. This form of testing is possible only because of the Honor Code. If you violate my trust in you and the Honor Code, we will have to take the tests during the 50 minutes of class. You are required to not cheat on these tests, and to report to me or the Dean of Students any violations you observe or hear about second hand. This means that even your lab partners or best friends must be reported if you know they are cheating. The entire system will break down when individuals make exceptions to the rule in order to spare their friends.

The content of all written assignments are also covered by the Honor Code. Each person must write his or her own web pages and exam answers. The content is what I will be evaluating, not the layout. Therefore, you may work collaboratively to create the layout for your web pages but not the content. For example, it is fine to ask someone for help in creating relative links, inserting Jmol files, how to use a particular public web site for sequence analysis, etc. However, it is unacceptable for you to "borrow" text from another student or any document, or electronic source unless you explicitly cite the reference. You can consult the Biology Department's plagiarism web page

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Reading Schedule

The following reading assignments are available from the reading schedule. 

Web Assignments