Office Hours: By appointment

This course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of “state of the art ” molecular techniques that are currently used to elucidate mechanisms of environmental contaminants in model systems. The course will focus on genetic/genomic approaches to studying molecular events perturbed by environmental agents in microbial, invertebrate, aquatic, plant, and mammalian model systems. The course consists of lectures, hands-on laboratory procedures, and informal discussions. An emphasis will be placed on experimental design, execution and data analysis. The learning process will be aided with challenging assignments that will introduce you to many of the current tools used in assessment of toxic compounds and other factors of anthropogenic change and risks related to human and ecological health. Topics to include: genome database searching, nucleic acid isolation, real-time PCR, recombinant DNA and cloning, microarrays, microbial fingerprinting/source tracking, Sanger sequencing, next generation sequencing, genotyping, RNA interference, and knockouts. COURSE OBJECTIVES: By the end of the course the student will: Have a clear understanding of gene structure and regulation Be capable of designing experiments to identify genes of interest through DNA sequencing Be familiar with various techniques to measure gene expression in prokaryotes and eukaryotes Demonstrate knowledge of data analysis including bioinformatics Comprehend recombinant DNA techniques Be familiar with methods to create transgenic animal models Understand when it is appropriate to employ the techniques we discuss Be capable of designing appropriate experiments to test a specific hypothesis Be able to effectively review and critique journal article