Advanced Seminar in Biochemistry - BCH479H1

The learning outcomes of this seminar course are to improve the written and oral scientific communication skills of specialist students, as well as to increase their knowledge of classic papers in biochemistry and cell biology. The course will foster close interactions between students and faculty through the in-depth discussion of key papers in in four different areas of research. Critical thinking skills will be developed as students analyze data, present results, and discuss experimental methods and the significance of the findings. Writing skills will be developed through a project proposal and other written assignments. The course is restricted to eight Biochemistry specialist students to enhance the interaction with faculty mentors. Two students will be assigned to each faculty member, who will assist them in their paper selection and presentations. See Further Details of the course structure and content below. 

Prerequisites:
BCH340H1
BCH377H1
Students must obtain permission of Department 

Course Coordinator:
Angus McQuibban

Course Instructors:
Hue Sun Chan
Angus McQuibban
Roman Melnyk
Andrew Wilde

Method of Student Evaluation:
25% Participation in Discussions
15% Session 2 Paper Presentation
10% Session 3 Paper Presentation
10% Session 3 Project Pitch
10% Session 3 Written Paper Summary
10% Cover Letter
20% Project Proposal

Resources:
BCH479H1 2024 Syllabus

Enrollment Cap:
8

Further Details:
The course will be presented in 2- hour classes over 12 weeks, arranged in three sessions.

There are no formal lectures in this course, which will focus on round-table discussions of classic papers. Each student will be assigned a faculty mentor to discuss papers in advance of the class presentations.

Session One (Weeks 1-4)

Faculty members will provide a brief introduction to the four different topics, and presentation of two classic papers in each field that students are expected to read in advance and be prepared to engage in a round table discussion.

Session Two (Weeks 5-8)

Two more modern classic papers chosen by the faculty member, will be presented this time as a student-led discussion using the same format as session one. Each student will meet with their faculty mentor in advance (meet for ~2 hours as a team of 2) to discuss the papers that they will lead in discussion.

Session Three (Weeks 9-12)

Student selects a recent publication in each field in consultation with their faculty mentor from a lab where they intend to carry out PhD studies. Student: 1) distributes a summary of the publication acting as a reviewer focusing on why the paper should be published, 2) presents (10 min) the publication highlighting the key findings, strengths, limitations, and implications for future studies, 2) facilitates a class discussion for 15 minutes about the paper and 3) presents a 10-minute pitch for a project proposal (without slides) geared towards the senior author of the publication with feedback from the class.