Teaching

Teaching

Undergraduate courses taught at LSU:

General Biochemistry (Biol. 4093): General Biochemistry (4093) is one of the core courses for biochemistry majors in the Department. The topics include protein structure and function, catalytic and regulatory mechanisms of enzymes, biological membrane and membrane proteins, saccharides and their derivatives, energy metabolism, and biological electron transfer. The goals for this course are to present the fundamental concepts of biochemistry, the links between biochemistry and human health and diseases, and the current biochemical and biophysical approaches for investigating biomedical questions. Highly motivated students are also invited to participate in hands-on research activities in the laboratories in the Department.

Biochemistry Laboratory (Biol. 4385): Biochemistry Laboratory (4385) is another core course for biochemistry majors in the Department. The course consists of two major parts: purification and characterization of E. coli alkaline phosphatase and cloning and purification of E. coli ferredoxin. For the first part, students will learn the skills of ammonia sulfate participation, ion exchange chromatography, protein concentration determination, SDS polyacrylamide electrophoresis, and enzyme kinetics analyses. In the second part, students will isolate genomic DNA from E. coli, clone the gene encoding ferredoxin using PCR, and purify His-tag protein using the Ni-agarose column. Students find this course especially helpful in understanding the concepts presented in General Biochemistry class.

Microbial Genetics (Biol. 4246): Microbial Genetics (4246) is a core course for microbiology majors in the Department. The course convers DNA replication, gene expression regulation, transcription mechanisms, mutation and suppression, DNA damage and repair, plasmids and conjugation, bacterial phages and transduction, and transposon and transposition in bacteria. I taught the course for three years before I switched to teach General Biochemistry 4093 in 2006.

Independent Study (Biol. 3999): Typically, there are 1-3 undergraduate students taking Biol. 3999 in my laboratory every semester. Students will learn the basic laboratory technics and work closely with graduate students on specific research projects. So far, 52 undergraduate have contributed to research projects in various capacities. Among these undergraduates, five (Edward Smith, Jeff Clark, Simon Yeung, Aimee Caillet, and Aaron P. Landry) co-authored one or more peer-reviewed publications, two completed honors theses, eight went on to graduate schools, one to ophthalmology school, five to dental schools, and nineteen to medical schools.

Graduate course taught at LSU

Molecular Biology of Microorganisms (Biol. 7162): This graduate course covers the topics of DNA replication, transcription, translation, DNA damage and repair, conjugation, transformation, transduction, and transposition. The lectures combine historic discoveries with recent advances to provide students a broad view of current molecular biology. Students are also required to write a mini proposal of a selected subject, followed by classroom discussion on the proposal.