Department of
Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine

BIOC 339 Syllabus

Introduction To Biochemistry-339 (BIOC-339)

Fall 2019 - Syllabus

Course Description:

Prerequisite: Students must have taken Organic Chemistry and Biology to enroll for this course. BIOC-339 is a 4 credit, introductory course suitable for undergraduates and graduate students. It is strongly biased towards the study of the biochemistry of higher animals and is especially suited to students intending to progress further in the Health Sciences. Material covered in this course includes structures, properties and functions of biomolecules, including sugars, fats, amino acids, nucleotides, proteins, and nucleic acids. Topics also include enzyme kinetics and mechanisms, structure and functions of bio-membranes, metabolic pathways, and mechanisms regulating metabolism and gene expression. It consists of four 50 min lectures per week, with 4 exams, a comprehensive makeup exam and a comprehensive final exam.

FACULTY:

Dr. Vazhaikkurichi Rajendran, Professor, co-coordinator
Room: 3146 HSC-N
Phone: 293-0510
Email: vrajendran@hsc.wvu.edu

Dr. Michael Schaller, Professor and Chair, co-coordinator
Room: 3123 HSC-N
Phone: 293-9514
Email: mschaller@hsc.wvu.edu

Dr. Max Sokolov, Associate Professor
Room: WVU Eye Institute, Ophthalmology E227
Phone: 598-6958
Email: sokolovm@wvumedicine.org

BIOCHEMISTRY 339 - FALL 2019

RULES AND REGULATIONS

  1. Lectures. Four 50 min lectures per week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 to 10:50 AM in HSN-H 2116. Students are expected to attend all the lectures. Optional review sessions will be held on select Fridays at 9 AM (see schedule) in HSN-H 2116. Quarterly exams and the makeup exam will be given at 9 AM in the Okey Patteson auditorium.
    ** Note that the exam scheduled for Oct 8/Oct 9 will be given in HSN-H 2116. Some students will take the exam each day.
  2. Course Materials.*
    1. Textbook. Biochemistry: The Molecular Basis of Life, 6th edition, by McKee & McKee. This text is available in the Health Sciences Book Store. Lectures are based on this text, and most students will benefit from having this text to follow or supplement lectures.
    2. iClicker2. The classes will be interactive and students will require an iClicker2 to participate in quizzes, interactive questions and discussions. It is expected that most students have iClickers from other classes. If not, they are available at the Health Sciences Book Store.
    3. PowerPoint Files. Lectures will be presented as PowerPoint slide shows. The PowerPoint files will be available on the Health Science Center educational website (SOLE) for viewing and downloading before the lectures are given.
    4. Additional material. Faculty may provide additional material to assist student preparation for lecture or review following lecture. This material will be posted on the SOLE site.
      * All course materials, including lectures, class notes, quizzes, exams, handouts, presentations, and other materials provided to students for this course are protected intellectual property.
  3. Quizzes and Class Participation. Participation will be an important component of class. There will be class quizzes to test comprehension of material that students are asked to master before a class or review after a class. Students will also be asked to participate during class using iClickers to reinforce concepts, review facts and assess effectiveness of the instructor. Quizzes/class participation will be graded. There will be a quiz in every class (50 quizzes) and there will be NO opportunity to make up a missed quiz. Students with an excused absence (arranged in advance) will be given credit for a missed quiz. To accommodate unforeseen circumstances resulting in an unexcused absence and a missed quiz, the final cumulative quiz score will count only 46 quizzes.
  4. Exams. During the semester, there will be 4 quarterly exams, a makeup exam and a final exam. Students with an excused absence on an exam day should consult the course coordinators in advance of the exam.
    1. Quarterly Exams. 4 exams of 50 questions (10-12 lectures/exam; 60 min/exam) scheduled on Fridays (9:00 – 10:00) in the Okey Patteson auditorium (except the Oct 8/Oct 9 exam – exam 2). Questions will mostly be of multiple-choice with a few True/False types.
    2. Makeup Exam. There will be a single, comprehensive makeup exam on Friday, December 6, 2019. No other makeup exams for unexcused absences will be provided. The makeup exam will cover material from each lecture and will consist of 100 questions, mostly of multiple-choice with a few True/False types. The makeup exam will be 110 minutes long. If a student takes all four quarterly exams and the makeup exam, the score on the makeup exam could be used to replace a grade of any of the 4 quarterly exams.
    3. Final Exam. At the end of the semester, there will be a final exam (100 questions; 110 minute exam), which will be a comprehensive exam covering material from each lecture and will mostly be of multiple-choice with a few True/False types.
  5. Grading. Each of the quarterly exams will count for 15% of the final grade. The Final Exam will count for 25% of the final grade. After an exam, students will have one week to bring any questions regarding that exam’s grade to the faculty member involved. No grade changes will be made after this deadline (an exception will be made to accommodate Thanksgiving). Quizzes/class participation will count for 15% of the final grade (7.5% for quizzes and 7.5% for participation).
  6. Grades. The following scale is a guide for how grades are usually assigned; however, final grades may deviate slightly from the scale below:
    A = 90 – 100%
    B = 80 – 89%
    C = 70 – 79%
    D = 60 – 69%
  7. Attendance. Students will need to attend the lectures to successfully complete this course. Attendance is required for class participation. Quizzes will occur during class time.
  8. Faculty Consultation. Students are encouraged to consult Drs. Schaller or Rajendran, course co-coordinators, concerning any aspect or problem related to the course. Concerns relating to lecture material should be addressed to the individual instructor, preferably at the end of lectures, although Drs. Rajendran, Schaller and Sokolov are available for consultation at any time. Students should contact instructors by email to schedule a meeting outside of lecture hours. Faculty often contact students via email regarding information related to this course – students should check their email accounts daily.
  9. Academic Integrity/Dishonesty. Students enrolled in BIOC-339 should be aware that the Department of Biochemistry will enforce the approved regulations on Academic Integrity/Dishonesty as laid out in the WVU catalog and the WVU Student Code of Conduct.
  10. Summary.
    Lectures: Monday and Wednesday 9:00-10:50 AM (HSN-H 2116)

    Exam Schedule:
    Exam 1 (Lectures 1-12): Friday, 9/20/19, 9:00-10:00 AM; Okey Patteson Auditorium
    Exam 2 (Lectures 13-23): Tuesday, 10/08/19, 5:00-6:00 PM; HSN-H 2116 and Wednesday, 10/9/19, 9:00-10:00 AM; HSN-H 2116
    Exam 3 (Lectures 24-35): Friday, 11/08/19, 9:00-10:00 AM; Okey Patteson Auditorium
    **Exam 4 (Lectures 36-47): Friday, 11/22/19, 9:00-10:00 AM; Okey Patteson Auditorium
    Makeup Exam (Comprehensive): Friday, 12/06/19, 9:00-10:50 AM; Okey Patteson Auditorium
    Final Exam (Comprehensive): Date and location to be determined

    ** This is the Friday before Thanksgiving break. Travel arrangements that conflict with this exam are an unexcused absence.

The West Virginia University community is committed to creating and fostering a positive learning and working environment based on open communication, mutual respect, and inclusion.

If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation in order to participate in this class, please advise Dr. Rajendran or Schaller and make appropriate arrangements with the Office of Accessibility Services(304-293-6700). For more information on West Virginia University’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives, please see http://diversity.wvu.edu