Guidelines For Research Proposal
Course Description
This course is an in-depth examination of DNA and RNA structures and how these structures support their respective functions during replication, transcription, and translation of the genetic material. Emphasis is on the detailed mechanims associated with each step of gene expression. Discussions incorporate many recent advances brought about by recombinant DNA technology. Prereq. Biol 210, Chem 302, Biochemistry 311 or permission of instructor; 2 meetings (75 minutes), 1 discussion (50 minutes), 1 lab (4 hours); 4 credits.
Textbook: Biochemistry by Voet and Voet, 2nd edition.
| Week | Chapter Reading | Topic |
| 1 | 27 | Central Dogma of Molecular Biology:
Flow of Genetic Information Genome Structure: DNA/RNA; d.s./s.s.; Size; Linear/Circular |
| 2 | 28 | Structures of DNA Double Helix: A-,
B-, Z-, H-DNA DNA Supercoiling Chromatin Organization |
| 3 | 31 | DNA Replication Mutagenesis DNA Repair and Recombination |
| 4 | 28 | Forces Stabilizing DNA: Denaturation
& Hybridization Enzymatic Analysis of DNA: Restriction & Modification Molecular Cloning Techniques |
| 5 | 28 | Exam #1 Molecular Cloning Techniques |
| 6 | 28 | DNA Synthesis: Oligonucleotide Technology,
PCR Amplification DNA Sequencing Methods Footprinting Techniques |
| 7 | 26 | De Novo Synthesis of Purines
and Pyrimidines Synthesis of Ribonucleotides & Deoxyribonucleotides Catabolism of Nucleotides & Salvage Pathways |
| 8 | Spring Break | |
| 9 | 29 | RNA: Structures and Cellular Roles Transcriptional Regulatory Elements: Promoters and Terminators Exam #2 |
| 10 | 29 | Prokaryotic RNA Polymerase and the
Transcription Cycle Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases Eukaryotic Transcription & Chromatin Remodeling |
| 11 | 29 | RNA Processing-Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes Split Genes: Introns and Exons Splicing Mechanisms: Self-Splicing vs. Spliceosome |
| 12 | 29 | Transcriptional Regulation: Repression Transcriptional Regulation: Activation Protein Synthesis-An Overview |
| 13 | 30 | Structure and Function of tRNAs and
rRNAs Ribosome Assembly Deciphering the Genetic Code |
| 14 | 30 | Suppressor Mutations & tRNA Identity Translational Regulation & mRNA Stability Exam #3 |
| 15 | Oral Presentation of Research Proposal Projects |
Guidelines for Research Proposal
Topic: Choose a topic early in the semester. The topic can be anything related to molecular biology. I need to okay the topic to avoid overlaps in the subject matter among your classmates.
Oral Presentation: About 15 minutes per presentation, on the background material and significance of the project, questions being posed, and what experiments can be performed to clarify them.
Written Proposal: Length should be no more than 12-15
double-spaced pages.
The format of the proposal should be written as a research plan to answer these questions:
A. Specific Aim: What do you intend to do? (1-2 page)
State concisely and realistically what the proposed research intends to accomplish: what hypothesis is to be tested, what question is being addressed.
B. Significance: Why is the work important? (4-5 pages)
Briefly sketch the background to the present proposal; for example, why is the problem you have identified important to study, how does it fit into the larger context of biology. Critically evaluate existing knowledge, and specifically identify the gaps which the project is intended to fill.
C. Preliminary Studies/Progress Report: What has already been done? (2-3 pages)
Provide an account of the preliminary studies in the literature pertinent to the proposal; i.e., the findings that brought out a discrepancy, or led to the question you are interested in examining or resolving.
D. Experimental Design and Methods: How are you going to do the work? (4-5 pages)
Propose an experimental design and the procedures to be used to accomplish each specific aim of the project. Discuss in detail how the proposed experiment will distinguish the various models possible, the hypotheses you have formulated, or the questions you have framed. Each model/hypothesis/question predicts a certain anticipated outcome, so you need to interpret and analyze possible outcomes from the proposed experiments. The "detail" referred to above is concerned with the conceptual one, such as the choice of your experimental approach, controls and/or standards that you may need to include in your experimental set up to allow a critical distinction of the hypotheses, implications of your findings, and further experiments to confirm or disprove the emerging model. Picky details such as buffer compositions, reaction volumes, and exact amount of substrates, etc., etc., are not necessary unless one of the factors is a critical parameter in the proposed experiment (e.g., pH, or choice of metal ion, etc.)