There is no required textbook — and no exams
The syllabus is explicit: "There is no required textbook for this course. Required readings will be assigned as primary literature in the field." What you actually need is a calculator (not a phone or tablet — those are barred in lab and during quizzes) and a lab notebook or binder.
An earlier version of this page described a 15-unit Alberts Molecular Biology of the Cell walkthrough with a 40-question final exam. None of that is this course. The reader still on this site (Lodish MCB 9e) is a reference, useful when a lecture concept needs background — not an assigned text. See Books for the four titles the syllabus actually names as optional.
Quick start
The weekly quiz rhythm
One quiz every week, alternating between two very different formats. Both post Thursday and are due 10:00 AM the following Tuesday, online through Canvas.
| Concept Quiz (CQ) | Paper Quiz (PQ) | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Lab-relevant math and concepts from lecture | Assigned primary literature |
| Cumulative? | Yes — may repeat questions from earlier quizzes | No |
| Proctoring | Respondus LockDown Browser + Monitor | None |
| Notes | Closed | Open note, but timed |
| How many | 7 × 10 pts = 70 | 6 × 10 pts = 60 |
| Prep | Papers posted in Canvas 2 weeks ahead — up to 5 per quiz | — |
Two things this rhythm implies
- Concept Quizzes are cumulative and proctored, so the lab math never stops being examinable. Dilutions, hemocytometer counts and seeding densities are the recurring core — they are drilled in the Study Guide.
- Paper Quizzes are open note, and the papers appear two weeks early. Reading them as they post — and bringing notes to the ungraded in-class discussions — converts them into nearly free points.
Estimated schedule
Three units, fifteen weeks. CQ-n and PQ-n mark which quiz lands that week. (G) group submission · (I) individual.
| Wk | Dates | Lab / material | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 — Basics in cell culture and maintenance | |||
| 1 | Aug 24–28 | Lab 1: intro, lab safety, pipette exercise, calculations | Pipette assignment — calculations online by Friday (I) |
| 2 · CQ-1 | Aug 31–Sep 4 | Lab 2: aseptic technique, cellular observation | Cell Observations (I) · first Concept Quiz due Tue |
| 3 · PQ-1 | Sep 7–11 | Labor Day — Monday lab meets Thursday 10 AM. Lab 3: cell passage, estimation | First Paper Quiz due Tue |
| 4 · CQ-2 | Sep 14–18 | Lab 4: cell passage, hemocytometer count | Compound Selection (G) |
| 5 · PQ-2 | Sep 21–25 | Lab 5: cryopreservation | Lab 3 & 4 Results (I or G) — 10 pts |
| Unit 2 — Cellular assays | |||
| 6 · CQ-3 | Sep 28–Oct 2 | Lab 6: fluorescent imaging · Lab 7 growth-curve split | |
| 7 · PQ-3 | Oct 5–9 | Lab 7: viability assays (Trypan by estimation) | Labs 5 & 6 Results (G) 10 pts · Lab 7 growth-curve figures (G) |
| 8 · CQ-4 | Oct 12–16 | Lab 8: proliferation assay (alamarBlue) | Cytotoxicity Proposal (G) · grads: first 6 paper critiques by Fri |
| Unit 3 — Cellular response / cytotoxicity group projects | |||
| 9 · PQ-4 | Oct 19–23 | Fall Break Mon–Tue. Lab Project: plan and prep stocks Thursday | Lab 7 Trypan Results (G) |
| 10 · CQ-5 | Oct 26–30 | LP: cytotoxicity assays (alamarBlue + Trypan) · online primer-design assignment | Lab 8 alamarBlue Results (G) |
| 11 · PQ-5 | Nov 2–6 | RNA isolation of untreated cells, or repeat cytotoxicity assays | Primer Design Exercise (I or G) |
| 12 · CQ-6 | Nov 9–13 | RNA isolation of treated cells | LP Cytotoxicity Results (G) 10 pts · Primer Selections with rationales (G) 10 pts |
| 13 · PQ-6 | Nov 16–20 | qPCR lecture and analysis | |
| 14 · CQ-7 | Nov 23–27 | Thanksgiving Wed–Fri · no lab all week | |
| 15 | Nov 30–Dec 4 | Final Experiment Proposal (G) 10 pts · LP qPCR Results (G) 10 pts | |
| Prep | Dec 7–11 | Cell Bio Symposium — poster presentation, by appointment Tue & Thu | Final poster due at your appointment |
| Finals | Dec 14–18 | Symposium, by appointment Thursday | Final manuscript / project proposal (G) due Monday · grads: last 6 critiques by Fri |
Grading — 440 points
| Component | Points | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Concept Quizzes | 70 | 7 × 10 pts · cumulative · Respondus |
| Paper Quizzes | 60 | 6 × 10 pts · open note |
| Lab Skills Assignments | 110 | Pipette exercise 14 · Cell Observations 5 · Experimental Results 55 (5/lab) · Daily Activities 26 · Primer Design 10 |
| Cytotoxicity Project | 190 | Proposals/prep/discussion 40 (compound 10 · primer 10 · protocols 10 · final proposal 10) · Paper 65 · Poster 45 |
| Group Participation | 10 | From peer evaluations |
| Total | 440 | Plus two optional 10-point extra-credit assignments (details day 1) |
Two arithmetic snags in the syllabus — worth asking about
- The Cytotoxicity Project is listed at 190 points, but its named components add to 150 (40 + 65 + 45). Forty points are unaccounted for.
- The percentages printed beside each row (17% · 14% · 32% · 35% · 2%) do not match the point values against a 440-point total, which give 16% · 14% · 25% · 43% · 2%. The project is worth considerably more of your grade than 35%.
The point columns sum to 440 cleanly, so treat points as authoritative and the percentages as stale — but confirm with Dr. Johnson, since the project is the single biggest block.
Grading scale. A+ 97–100 A 93–96.9 A− 90–92.9 B+ 87–89.9 B 83–86.9 B− 80–82.9 C+ 77–79.9 C 73–76.9 C− 70–72.9 D+ 67–69.9 D 63–66.9 D− 60–62.9 F 0–59.9
Policies worth memorizing
- Late work loses 10% per day, and scores 0 after 4 days. Steeper than most courses — a four-day slip is the whole assignment.
- Attendance at lecture and lab is mandatory. Missing a lab costs that day's points, and the experiments are cumulative — cells you fail to passage are not there next week.
- Contesting points requires a one-paragraph rationale plus two peer-reviewed sources, within 2 days of receiving the grade.
- Hood work outside your lab section needs an appointment — but is allowed, and is how you buy time for the project.
- Group work is pervasive: most results assignments are (G), and 10 points come straight from peer evaluations.
The cytotoxicity project
Worth 190 of 440 points — the largest single block in the course, and it runs from week 4 to finals week. You design, run and interpret your own experiment: treat mammalian cells with a compound of your choosing, measure cytotoxicity, then look at gene expression by RT-qPCR.
| Milestone | Week | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Compound Selection (G) | 4 | Pick early — everything downstream depends on it. |
| Cytotoxicity Proposal (G) | 8 | |
| Cytotoxicity Protocols · Primer Selection (G) | 10–12 | Primer selections need written rationales. |
| Final Experiment Proposal (G) | 15 | Your own adapted experiment. |
| Poster — Cell Bio Symposium | Prep week | 45 pts · by appointment Tue & Thu, location TBA. |
| Final manuscript | Finals Monday | 65 pts · class format requirements apply. |
Graduate section (8146): two experiments of your own design rather than one, plus 12 one-page critiques of primary literature (24 pts) — first six due Friday of week 8, last six due Friday of finals week. Each is a summary plus proposed future experiments.
Instructors & logistics
| Lecture | AH 302 · Tue & Thu 10:00–11:15 AM |
| Lab | AH 408 · Monday or Thursday 1:00–3:50 PM · appointments needed for hood work |
| Kristen Johnson, PhD | krisjohnson@unomaha.edu · 402-515-4513 · office hours Tuesdays 11:30–12:30 |
| Matthew Northam, PhD | mnortham@unomaha.edu · office hours via Zoom, by appointment |
| Teaching assistant | Princess Sunday-Jimmy |
| Prerequisites | BIOL 2140, BIOL 3020, and CHEM 2210 or 2250 |
| Cross-listed | BIOL 4140 / 8146 — graduate section carries extra work |
Accessibility. Accommodations for students registered with the Accessibility Services Center who request them sufficiently in advance — MBSC 126 · 402-554-2872 · unodisabilty@unomaha.edu (address as printed in the syllabus). Title IX Coordinator Charlotte Russell 402-554-3490 · Counseling Services 402-554-2409 · Ombudsperson Dr. Shereen Bingham 402-554-4857.
Course objectives
- From lectures, primary literature and discussion, recognize, interpret and apply concepts including cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, cell signaling, and gene expression.
- Through caring for human cell cultures, show proficiency in aseptic technique, cell line maintenance, characterization, microscopy and cryopreservation.
- By investigating cellular response and gene expression under drug treatment, perform and interpret cytotoxicity experiments, RNA isolation, and nucleic-acid detection by qPCR.
- Through writing and formal presentation of your own lab work, communicate and interpret findings in the biological sciences.
Objective 1 is the one the Concept Quizzes test, and it names the five concept areas explicitly — that list is the best available guide to what lecture material is fair game.
References
- Optional texts named in the syllabus — Freshney, Barker, Clark & Russell, Cooper & Hausman
- Lodish Molecular Cell Biology 9e reference, not assigned
- NCBI Bookshelf — Alberts MBoC 4e (free full text)
- PubMed · Google Scholar — for the paper quizzes and critiques
- UNO Accessibility Services
- UNO Academic Integrity policy