Molecular Methods

Catalog description

This course is designed to familiarize you with some of the key techniques used in molecular biology, with a focus on DNA and RNA. You will learn the theory behind HOW and WHY certain techniques work and will get hands-on experience in using and troubleshooting these techniques. You will learn and practice the concepts important for good experimental design and interpretation of results. The topics we will cover, within the framework of a larger project, will include PCR, rtPCR, recombinant DNA, transgenic and homologous recombination strategies, electrophoresis, ligations, transformation, DNA sequencing, immuno-staining, and several others. Some of the projects we will be working on will be slightly different for each student, and results will not already be known. This will require independent thinking and creative troubleshooting.