Joselyn Todd, Advanced Biotechnology, US Science Department
The Advanced Biotechnology Course provides students with a broad overview of the science of biotechnology as it relates to the human health and food production industries, with particular emphasis upon cell biology, genetics, recombinant DNA methodology, and protein production and isolation. Students will develop proficiency in the laboratory techniques unique to the biotechnology field and work in concert with area scientists and academic/industrial partners to apply their learning to authentic experiments.
In this first independent project, students were given the task to investigate a given phenotype or human disease, identify the gene(s) that are associated with the disease/phenotype, and then design an experiment to clone the gene from your own genome and possibly others. The students were to design a diagnostic test that could be used to determine if an individual had or did not have the disease by analyzing protein sequences and the mutations in the enzymes that have been shown to confer disease states. Working backwards, students then explored cDNA sequences and finally DNA sequences to design PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) primers that would target the mutation areas. Follow-up experiments included RFLP analysis. Students posted their work to the ADV. Biotechnology Blog, and scientists commented on the quality of their experimental design as well as their video presentations.
Student Work:
Video of Experimental Design
Scientific Paper: DiGeorge’s Syndrome-2kfrpfb
Photos:
