Team-wide goals: Over the course of the spring semester, the team should:

  1. Choose a problem about which they're interested.
  2. Learn enough about the problem, and synthetic biology, to propose a (few) solution(s).
  3. Plan a general approach to the solution (including talking to stakeholders)
  4. Plan specific approaches and the first set of characterization experiments.
  5. Design DNA

Learning Goals (Planning/Design): When students finish the spring, they should be able to:

  1. Identify interesting research problems for which synthetic biology would be an appropriate approach
  2. Find relevant reports from the primary literature and summarize those reports' salient findings
  3. Plan a synthetic biology approach to address an interesting research problem
  4. Design experiments to demonstrate that implementation
  5. Design the DNAs necessary to implement the proposed strategy
  6. Design the cloning strategy necessary to construct those DNAs


DateGoal/Activity
Feb 5
  • Intro: uh ..... olive oil? If available.
  • What is synbio? How is it different than bioengineering?
  • Semester overview / expectations
    • Instructor / advisor roles
  • Project possibilities
    • Weiss lab biases
    • Student roles / specializations
  • Project list - assignments
  • How to find a paper
  • How to read a paper
  • Homework: find and read (at least) one paper about the "state of the art" on your problem
    Come next week prepared to discuss one specific problem
Feb 12

GOAL: Learn more about reading papers; science-as-storytelling; group brainstorming

  • White board silent brainstorming
    • Project owner gives title, specific problem
    • Others: other problems, solutions, observations, connections, approaches
  • Review projects together
  • TPS: paper-reading experience
  • Papers II
    • TPS: paper-reading experience
    • Concept map: parts of a paper < – > parts of an experiment
    • Introduction to science-as-storytelling
    • Intro to record keeping.
  • Homework: meet as a group, find and read one paper about your project; come prepared to present ONE EXPERIMENT
Feb 19

GOAL: Narrow down to three projects

  • Intro: ??
  • Each group presents (10 min each)
  • Vote or self-assort to three projects
  • Intro to synbio as a problem-solving strategy
    • Parts, circuits, input / processing / actuation
  • Homework: meet as a subgroup (with advisors, this time); propose two synbio-based approaches; come up with one relevant paper for each.
Feb 26

GOAL: Narrow down to two projects.

  • Intro: ??
  • Each group presents.
  • Vote one project off the island. (Preference voting?)
  • Classwork & homework: swap projects. (Ie, if you were working on Project #1, this week you work on Project #2. The one that was voted off self-assorts.)
    Propose two (different) synbio-based approaches; come up with one relevant paper for each. 
Mar 6

 

Mar 12 
Mar 19

Final project selection.

  • Project presentation, then feedback about
    • working / group project structure (what are the parallel tracks?)
    • risks?
    • positives / benefits?
Mar 26SPRING BREAK
Apr 2 
Apr 9 
Apr 16 
Apr 23 
Apr 30 

May 7

 
May 14 


Bootcamp planning notes:

 - Safety training: get the ball rolling tomorrow.

  • TC bootcamp: smaller groups – does project involve TC at all?
  • Geneious and cloning together: plan the plasmid, build the plasmid, check the insilico RE map, do the RE
  • Make the plasmids built in the colonig bootcamp count – even if the advisors have to dictate the plasmids
  • Plan: thurs evenings split: 1 hr w/ Ron (planning / design / specification), 1 hr on dry skills (Geneious, etc.)
  • Probably 2 more meetings each week: 1 subgroup meeting with an advisor for planning / specification, 1 (wknd afternoon) for wet skills
  • Human practices - talk to other experts.

 

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