CELL 4225/6225–Microbiology Lab

Fall 2016

Tuesday, 2-5 pm

Stern Hall, Room 3000

Instructor:Dr. Elizabeth Abboud

Office: Stern Hall, Room 4009

Phone: 862-3150

Email:

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 9:30-10:45 am or by appointment. Appointments must be made by e-mail.

Teaching Assistant: Ross Shamby

Email:

Office Hours: By appointment. Appointments must be made by e-mail.

All questions about grading decisions should be addressed to Dr. Abboud during office hours, not to the teaching assistant. If a student is unable to attend regularly scheduled office hours, they should make an appointment. Appointments must be made via e-mail at least 24 hours prior to an exam or an assignment due date.

Catalog description:Laboratory studies of microbial taxonomy, physiology, biochemistry, and genetics.; 1 credit; pre-requisite: CELL 4220 (Microbiology)

CMB BS Program Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • apply a broad knowledge of cellular phenomena and molecular mechanisms.
  • solve biological problems through experimentation, which includes the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
  • communicate scientific information precisely and effectively.
  • critically read and evaluate scientific resources.

CMB MS Program Outcomes:Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • demonstrate a mastery of the discipline.
  • demonstrate competence in communication skills.
  • demonstrate an ability to progress to professional schools or become a professional biologist.

All Doctoral Program Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • demonstrate mastery of the discipline.
  • demonstrate competence in oral and written communication skills.

Specific Learning Outcomes:Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • understand and practice the principles of laboratory technique and safety.
  • collect, record and analyze data in the laboratory.
  • work with others to complete complex experiments in a timely manner.
  • grow bacteria under appropriate conditions and identify optimum growth conditions for classes of bacteria.
  • prepare and stain slides in order to study and identify major classes of bacteria.
  • assess the growth rate of common bacteria.
  • use biochemical testing of metabolic products to identify bacteria.
  • understand the methods of identification of bacteria in clinical and public health applications.
  • identify the unique genetic properties of bacteria.
  • understand susceptibility and resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

Required Student Resources:

  1. Microbiology: Laboratory Theory and Application, Leboffe and Pierce (4e). Available in the Tulane bookstore as well as other bookstores, Amazon.com or directly from the publisher.
  1. A scientific calculator without storage capabilities. Graphing calculators, cell phones or PDAs may not be used as calculators during exams. A calculator will be needed for both the assignments and exams.

Optional Student Resource: A Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Laboratory, Leboffe and Pierce (4e).Available in the Tulane bookstore as well as other bookstores, Amazon.com or directly from the publisher.

Grading:

ASSESSMENT / CELL 4225 / CELL 6225
mid-term exam / 100 pts / 100 pts
final exam / 100 pts / 100 pts
quizzes (10 pts each) / 100 pts / 100 pts
lab notebook and reports / 150 pts / 150 pts
homework (10 pts each) / 100 pts / 100 pts
practical skills / 200 pts / 200 pts
participation and technique / 150 pts / 150 pts
unknown identification / 100 pts / 100 pts
6225 additional assignment / ----- / 250 pts
TOTAL / 1000 pts / 1250 pts

Those enrolled in CELL 6225 will have an additional assignment that will be worth 250 points. Thus, grades will be determined on a basis of 1000 pts for students in CELL 4225 and a basis of 1250 pts for students in CELL 6225.

90 / A
80 / B / 90
70 / C / 80
60 / D+ / 70
F / 60

Please note that a grade less than a B- is considered a failing grade for graduate students. In some programs, a grade of B- is considered unsatisfactory and may be grounds for academic probation. There will be NO MAKE-UP LABS, EXAMS OR QUIZZES.

Exams and Quizzes

There will be two exams: the midterm and a comprehensive final. Exams will consist of a combination of practical skills learned in the lab and questions taken from the experiments. If either exam is missed, a written excuse must be presented before a written make-up exam will be administered. No extra credit projects will be available.

The teaching assistant(s) will administer a quiz/mini-practical each week. Up to one-half of the points for each quiz may come from the new experiment. There will be no make-up quizzes should they be missed. If an absence is excused, the missed quiz will be assigned the average of the other quizzes that were taken. If absence is not excused, the grade for the missed quiz will be zero. In order to be prepared for these questions, all assigned material should be read prior to starting each lab session.

Lab Notebook and Homework

Students will be expected to keep a lab notebook and write lab reports. The lab notebook will be somewhat informal and kept like a research notebook. Instructions will be given as to how the lab reports should be completed. Part of the notebook will consist of the data and answers to the questions found in the lab manual, as well as the written protocol that is followed in the lab. Lab notebooks should be kept in a bound journal, which can be as simple as a marble composition book. Entries should be dated and recorded with enough detail that an independent observer could read and understand them. Some examples of data that might be recorded are loading sequences for gels, photographs of gels and blots, etc. Materials will be provided in the lab so that such items can be added as needed to the lab notebook. Notebooks will be checked on a regular basis so they should be kept up to date.

The teaching assistant(s) will assign written pre-lab homework, typically, each week. The assignments are due at the beginning of the next lab, unless otherwise designated. The assignments will be made during lab and posted on CANVAS. The assignments will help students to learn to read and use the literature and research journals and database and/or provide additional resources that may offer more background or more applications for the techniques that are studied in the lab.

Practical Skills

Students’ ability to perform various microbiological lab skills will be evaluated by the teaching assistant(s) and instructor. At times, students will be asked to demonstrate a technique for the instructor and/or teaching assistant(s). Examples of evaluated techniques include sterile technique, three-phase streak, simple stain, Gram stain, skillful use of the microscope and ability to pipette correctly. Other techniques will also be subject to evaluation. These practical skills may be evaluated at any point during the lab and may be unannounced.

Participation and Technique

Participation in the lab and experimental techniquewill be factored into final grades based on attendance in the laboratory, documentation, interpretation and understanding of the experiments and results. Both the teaching assistant(s) and instructor will observe technique during the labs. Lapses in good technique, including proper lab safety, will result in a loss of points. Students that fail to follow safety practices will be warned as to the nature of the problems; failure to conform to good safety practices after a warning may result in being asked to leave the lab and result in a grade of zero for the experiment. Points will be deducted for late arrivals to class and failure to take proper care of equipment or to clean up workstations.

Unknown Identification

During the last few weeks of the semester, students will be asked to separate and identify two different species of bacteria found growing in a mixed culture. As a part of the assignment, it will be required to develop a flow chart that can be used to help identify the bacteria. The flow chart and its use will be a part of the grade as well as the final identification of the bacteria.

Final Grades

Final grades will be based on each student’s performance as assessed by point totals. The grades are not curved; however, grades may be adjusted based on the performance of the class as a whole. Class attendance and participation will be used to determine borderline grades. There will be no assigned extra credit work.

Attendance Policy:Attendance is mandatory and there will be NO MAKEUP LABS. Students will work in groups of two to four. Tasks should be planned accordingly in order to share the work. If it is unavoidable to miss a lab, both Dr. Abboud and the TA should be notified. This may be done by e-mail, provided that there is sufficient time for them to receive the e-mail, otherwise students must call. Should an excused absense be granted, needed data may be obtained from a lab partner, however, it should be indicated in the notebook/lab report from where the data was obtained. Use of another person’s data without permission of the instructor or TA and failure to acknowledge the source of the data are both violations of the Honor Code.

In the case of an excused absence, a makeup quiz will be given and homework will be accepted, provided they are both completed prior to the next lab period. As there is no way to make up participation/technique points, the grade for the excused lab will be substituted with the average the other participation/technique points.

Equipment: Each pair of students will obtain equipment such as a microscope, immersion oil, Bunsen burner, etc. that is needed to complete the lab. Some equipment will be kept at the workstations and other pieces will be kept in central locations. The supplies should be returned to the proper locations after each lab period. If anything is not in good working order, the problem must be reported to the teaching assistant(s) and/or instructor immediately. Any equipment used when returning to check results must be returned to the proper location. Workstations should be cleaned after each use and left in an orderly manner. Failure to keep the workstations clean and to properly store equipment will result in loss of technique points.

Access to the Lab: On several occasions, it will be necessary to return at 24-48 hours to complete an experiment or to obtain results. On most occasions, you will be permitted to enter the lab and make your observations at any time there and a code will be supplied to open the door. On some occasions, the teaching assistant(s) and/or instructor will be available to assist students at pre-arranged times. If there is a problem, students should contact the teaching assistant(s) or instructor. At no time should students ask for help with entry to the lab from the staff in the CMB office unless the proper code has been entered and does not work. No one else should be allowed to enter the lab or supplied with the code. Should this policy be violated, it will result in sanctions and a reduction in the final grade for the course.

Lab Maintenance and Cleanliness: Each group will be assigned a permanent lab station for the semester, including an assigned set of equipment. Each group will be responsible for returning this equipment to its proper place at the end of each lab. Some equipment, i.e. centrifuges, will be shared by two groups at the same bench. Any malfunctioning or broken equipment should be reported immediately to the instructor and/or TA.

In order to complete the experiments in the lab period, many of the reagents will be prepared for you by the teaching assistants. Some reagents will be used on a continuing basis. The first time that these reagents are distributed, they should be stored as indicated with the students’ station number and date on the label. Other reagents will be made available on a main bench either in bulk or as aliquots. Expensive reagents such as enzymes, enzyme buffers and DNA markers will be aliquotted for each lab group.

Instructions will be given as to the proper manner of handling and disposal of reagents, broken glass and plasticware for each lab. It is the students’ responsibility to clean the stations after working in the lab, properly store reagents and equipment and dispose of waste. Failure to maintain the lab bench and the common areas of the laboratory in well kept condition will result in loss of participation/technique points.

Professional Conduct: It is expected that students conduct themselves in a professional manner in the lab, including but not limited to listening to the lecture and taking notes. Students who are talking or moving about the room or attempting to do the experiment while the TAs are lecturing will be warned that the behavior is inappropriate and points will be deducted. If the behavior continues, the student will be dismissed from the lab and receive a zero for participation for that experiment.

Students are not allowed to use their cell phones in the lab. If it is absolutely necessary to make a call or send a message, it must be done outside of the lab. Phones should be silenced during the lab and turned completely OFF during quizzes and exams. If a student has a phone or tablet out and turned on during a quiz or an exam, they will receive a zero on the exam or quiz.

Lab attire should be casual and comfortable, but attentive to safety. Very short skirts or shorts, tank tops that are low cut or do not substantially cover the shoulder and upper arms, baggy or very loose clothing or shirts that don’t cover the midriff area and upper chest completely are all safety hazards. If a student’s clothing is deemed inappropriate, they will be required to wear a buttoned lab coat. (It is the option of each student to purchase their own lab coat for personal use.) Alternatively, a student you may be asked to leave and return with more appropriate clothing. Closed toed shoes must be worn in the lab. Long hair must be secured at all times so as not to fall into the experiments, run the risk of catching on fire in an open flame or become entangled in moving parts of the equipment.

Students are expected to treat all Tulane personnel and each other with respect. Improper behavior will be reported to Student Affairs. A copy of the Code of Student conduct is found at

Tentative Schedule:

Month / Date / Topic / Reading
August / 30 (T) / Introduction and Safety / p. 1-13
September / 6 (T) / Fundamental Skills for the Microbiology Laboratory / Section 1
13 (T) / Microbial Growth / Section 2
20 (T) / Microscopy and Staining / Section 3
27 (T) / Selective Media / Section 4
October / 4 (T) / Differential Tests / Section 5
11 (T) / Midterm Exam / -----
18 (T) / Quantitative Techniques / Section 6
25 (T) / Quantitative Techniques / Section 6
November / 1 (T) / Medical Microbiology / Section 7
8 (T) / Food Microbiology / Section 9
15 (T) / Microbial Genetics / Section 10
22 (T) / Hematology and Serology / Section 11
29 (T) / Review and Data Collection / -----
December / 6 (T) / Final Exam / -----

Code of Academic Conduct: This Code applies to all undergraduate students, full-time, and part-time, in Tulane University. The full text is available at: By accepting admission to Tulane University, each student accepts its regulations and acknowledges the right of the university to take disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion, for conduct judged unsatisfactory or disruptive. The student has the right to be heard at an Honor Beard hearing and retains the right to appeal a decision of the Honor Board hearing panel.

Graduate Students are subject to the Unified Code of Graduate Student Academic Conduct.

Accessibility Statement:Any student with disabilities or other special needs is invited to bring these concerns or requests for special accommodations to the Goldman Center for Student Accessibility. Once accommodations are approved by the Goldman Center staff, the student is encouraged to notify the instructor as early in the semester as possible to avoid unnecessarily delaying accommodations. (504-8)62-8433

Inclusive Values:Tulane University recognizes the inherent dignity of all individuals and promotes respect for all people. As “One Wave,” Tulane is committed to providing an environment free of all forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, creed, religion, gender, gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as all forms of sexual harassment, including sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, and stalking. If you (or someone you know) has experienced or experiences discrimination, domestic violence, sexual assault or sexual harassment, know that you are not alone. Resources and support are available. Learn more at

Because this class needs to be a participatory community where students are able to fulfill their potential for learning, people who disrupt the community by their words or actions will not be tolerated. Rude, sarcastic, obscene, and disrespectful speech and disruptive behavior have a negative impact on everyone’s learning.