Chemical Engineering 145/245 Syllabus

Lecture Room: Boelter Hall 2444

Lecture Time: Mondays and Wednesdays, 4 PM 5:50 PM
Discussion Room: Boelter Hall 5440
Discussion Time: Fridays, 10 AM 10:50 AM

Instructor: Prof. Yvonne Chen
5531 Boelter Hall
yvchen@ucla.edu
Office Hours: TBD

Teaching Assistants: Charlie Chen, changting@ucla.edu
Shanshan Luo, luo.shine@gmail.com
Office Hours: Fridays, 11 AM 1 PM
Boelter Hall 6275


COURSE OBJECTIVES
Selected topics in molecular biology that form the foundation of biotechnology and biomedical industry today
will be introduced. Topics include recombinant DNA technology, molecular research tools, manipulation of
gene expression, directed mutagenesis, protein engineering, metabolic engineering, mammalian cell
engineering, and synthetic biology.

HOMEWORK
An important objective of this course is to train students in scientific reading. The goal is to read critically, using
knowledge learned in lectures to understand and interpret the scientific merit of a published work. The student
should be able to do the following:

1. Understand the motivation of the paper and the scientific question of interest.
2. Understand the approach used to address the question.
3. Interpret the results critically.
4. Evaluate the outcomes and conclusion of the paper.

Six scientific papers will be assigned during the quarter. The contents of the paper will be subject to
examination during midterm and finals. In addition, students are required to prepare a one-page summary of
each paper (1-inch margin, Arial 12 pt, single space). Each summary should include the following:

A general-audience summary (3-4 sentences).
What is the central question or the goal of the research?
What are the experiments performed to answer the question/achieve the stated goal?
What are the experimental results?
What are the conclusions?
Are the conclusions supported by the results? Why or why not?
Provide one original drawing as your graphic abstract for the paper (not part of the 1-page length).

Students are allowed to work in pairs. All summaries must be typed and drawn electronically and submitted in
hard copy in class on the date specified in the syllabus. Late homework will not be accepted with the exception
of prior medical notice, or other reasonable emergency situations.

GRADING
Midterm Exams 1 and 2: 25% each
Final Exam: 25%
Homework: 25%




EXAMS
Each exam will cover material from the literature assignments and classroom instruction.

RECOMMENDED TEXT
Molecular Biotechnology: Principles and Applications of Recombinant DNA, 4
th
Edition
Bernard Glick, Jack Pasternak, and Cheryl Patten

CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to change)
1 30-Sep Mon Introduction and DNA Overview

2 2-Oct Wed RNA and Protein Overview

4-Oct Fri Section: Molecular Biology Review
3 7-Oct Mon Prokaryotic Gene Expression Regulation

4 9-Oct Wed Eukaryotic Gene Expression Regulation

11-Oct Fri Section: Paper 1 Discussion & Lecture Review
5 14-Oct Mon Recombinant DNA Cloning: Digestion, Ligation, Vectors Paper 1
6 16-Oct Wed
Recombinant DNA Cloning: PCR, High-Throughput
Assembly, Transformation

18-Oct Fri Section: Paper 2 Discussion & Midterm Review
8 21-Oct Mon MIDTERM 1 Paper 2
7 23-Oct Wed Recombinant DNA: Selection and Screening

25-Oct Fri Section: Paper 3 Discussion & Lecture Review

28-Oct Mon Recombinant DNA Library, Mutagenesis, and Evolution Paper 3
9 30-Oct Wed Library Screening and DNA Sequencing
10 1-Nov Fri LECTURE: Current Topics on rDNA Technologies
10 4-Nov Mon
DISCUSSION SECTION: Paper 4 Discussion & Lecture
Review
11 6-Nov Wed RNA Engineering Paper 4
8-Nov Fri LECTURE: Protein Pharmaceuticals Production

11-Nov Mon Veterans Day

13 13-Nov Wed
Metabolic Engineering and Industrial Materials
Production
15-Nov Fri Section: Paper 5 Discussion & Lecture Review

18-Nov Mon DISCUSION SECTION: Midterm Review Paper 5

20-Nov Wed MIDTERM 2
22-Nov Fri LECTURE: Transgenic Plants and Bioremediation
15 25-Nov Mon Mammalian Cell Engineering and Transgenic Animals
16 27-Nov Wed Thanksgiving

29-Nov Fri Thanksgiving
17 2-Dec Mon Gene and Cell-Based Therapies

18 4-Dec Wed Synthetic Biology
6-Dec Fri Section: Paper 6 and Final Review Paper 6
FINAL 9-Dec Mon 8 AM 11 AM



Class Addendum to HSSEAS Academic Integrity Policy
The HSSEAS Academic Integrity Policy is available for download from CourseWeb. Go to Syllabus/Info under
Class Resources and scroll to the bottom of the page. Students are required to read and understand University
policies regarding academic honesty and integrity, and the consequences of academic misconduct/dishonesty:
http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/dos/students/integrity/. Please note the following additional policy items for
this class:

1. Sharing of information of any kind among students during an exam is prohibited.
2. All homework assignments must be reflective of individual student effort. A student must attempt all
assignments independently before discussing them with classmates. Students are encouraged to learn
together, but you must not dictate or provide written copies of solutions for others to copy or paraphrase.
In the context of this course, students are allowed to work in pairs on the homework assignments.
3. Usage of homework or exam solutions from any source is prohibited, unless the instructor or the TAs
distributed the solutions to the class.


Students with Disabilities
If you wish to request an accommodation due to a suspected or documented disability, please inform your
instructor and contact the Office for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible at A255 Murphy Hall, (310)
825-1501 or (310) 206-6083 (telephone device for the deaf). Website: www.osd.ucla.edu


Cell phone policy (http://www.registrar.ucla.edu/soc/notices.htm)
Any disruption of class due to the audible beeping or use of cell phones or pagers will be treated as a violation
of Section 102.13 of the UCLA Student Conduct Code and will subject a student to sanctions up to and
including suspension or dismissal. Cell phones and pagers must be turned off while in classes, libraries, or
other quiet areas.