Biology 445 – The Biology of Toxins
Spring, 2007
Dr. Eric C. Toolson
Week / Date / Topic1 / 1/17 / Course Introduction; Principles of Toxicology
2 / 1/24 / Principles of Toxicology
3 / 1/31 / Principles of Toxicology
4 / 2/7 / Principles of Toxicology
5 / 2/14 / Principles of Toxicology ; Cytotoxins
6 / 2/21 / Cytotoxins; GI Toxins
7 / 2/28 / Basic Neurophysiology; Neurotoxins
8 / 3/7 / MIDTERM EXAM
9 / 3/14 / SPRING BREAK
10 / 3/21 / Neurotoxins
11 / 3/28 / Neurotoxins
12 / 4/4 / Neurobiology of Addiction
13 / 4/11 / Cardiovascular System Physiology; CV System Toxins
14 / 4/18 / CV System Toxins
15 / 4/25 / Miscellaneous Toxins
16 / 5/2 / Student presentations
Grading
Your grade will be determined as follows:Homework, in-class quizzes, etc. / 20%
Midterm exam / 30%
Final exam / 35%
Class project/oral presentation / 15%
The in-class quizzes are intended to keep everybody ‘up to speed’ with the material, and will focus on individual toxins and their mechanism of action, leaving the big-picture and conceptual questions for the midterm and final. Figure on a quiz almost every week.
Let’s plan on doing the midterm during the 7th week of classes (March 7). We’ll vote on whether to do the final at its regularly scheduled time (W, 5/12, 5:30-7:30), or during the last scheduled class meeting (5/3). The final will be a second midterm, with a few comprehensive questions thrown in to make it worth 5% more.
The class project will culminate in an oral, poster, or web site or presentation during the last two weeks of the semester. We’ll discuss details of the project sometime during the first couple weeks of the course.
Details on the project.