Bionews

New students - Welcome to the University of Minnesota! In an effort to introduce you to the amazing cultural opportunities on campus, University Theater and Dance and University Opera Theater are offering every new student (freshmen and transfer students) two free tickets to use on any production in the U's 2009-10 series. Take advantage of this great opportunity to see comedies, opera, dance and drama in your own backyard. It's their gift to you as you join the University community this fall.

Ticket vouchers are available the Biology Program Office, on the main level of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Building, Washington Ave, Mpls, and in the CBS Student Services Office, 229 Snyder Hall on the St. Paul campus. Vouchers may be redeemed for free tickets at the Northrop Auditorium ticket office or the Rarig Center's Box Office.

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George Maldonado, PhD: Spring 2010, Th 12:20-2:15

This course is for (1) anyone who wants to make good, well-informed decisions about their health and well-being, and (2) anyone who wants to write health news reports that will enable people to make good, well-informed health decisions.

Every day we get reports about the latest health research on television news, in newspapers, in magazines, in books. We are bombarded by television commercials that keep us up to date on the latest drugs, their uses and their side effects. Infomercials extoll the virtues of medical devices and medical treatments. We are always told to, "ask your doctor". And, of course, there is the Internet--"Dr. Google" is where patients now routinely get their second (or even first) opinions.

So what does this course add to the deluge of health information we have at our disposal? This course will help you to make sense of the health news that surrounds us daily. How so?

Nonscientists often do not realize that there is no such thing as a perfect health study. A health study can be poorly designed. And even in a perfectly designed health study things will go wrong in the process of conducting the study. Therefore, to make sense of health study results, one must understand how imperfections can creep into a study, and one must understand how to interpret the results of a study in light of those imperfections. The purpose of this course is to do both of these: explain how imperfections can occur in a study, and explain how to interpret study results in light of those imperfections (especially when the study investigators, themselves, ignore the imperfections in their study -- which occurs with surprising frequency). All of this will be done in the context of recent news reports that are of interest to college students. This is a self-contained, one semester course. It is taught by scientists who contribute to the health-research literature and who are experts in the design, analysis and interpretation of health research. This course is targeted to students who do not expect to obtain graduate degrees in the health sciences.

For more information, contact Dr. Maldonado (GMPhD@umn.edu, 612-626-2104).

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Neuroscience 1001- Fundamental Neuroscience: Understanding Ourselves

The course will cover a broad array of neuroscience topics that are not covered in other classes. The course is unique in its approach as themes are approached through case studies, providing tangible examples of how our nervous systems affect who we are. The course is for 3 credits and will be from 1:30-2:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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SASS Workshops Fall 2009: Mid-Semester Support for Students

As with recent semesters the Student Academic Success Services (SASS) office is offering three End-of-Semester workshops for students (see attached flyer). These workshops are excellent options for students who need some last minute fine tuning of time plans or test taking skills, or who may have fallen behind (and need to get back on track for a final push0. Please encourage students to consider these informative and practical 1 hour workshops.

Ace Your Finals

Location: 251 Appleby Hall
Date: Tuesday, November 17th
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm

Time Management Refresher

Location: 251 Appleby Hall
Date: Thursday, November 19th
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm

Staying on Track (... if your falling behind)

Location: 251 Appleby Hall
Date: Tuesday, November 17th
Time: 3:00 - 4:00 pm


REGISTRATION*: call 612-624-3323

* Seating is limited and students will be enrolled on a first-come-first-served basis.

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Dear CBS students,

From Monday, October 26th until Friday, November 20th, CBS Student Services will have NEW HOURS for Drop-in Advising Services:

Monday through Thursday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM (check-in by 3:50 PM)
in 229 Snyder Hall. There will be no drop-in advising on Friday afternoons.

Drop-in advising is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and limited to 10-15 minute sessions. Example drop-in topics include questions about your class schedule, APAS, campus referrals, and quick questions about academic requirements.

You are welcome to make an appointment with your advisor by calling 612-624-9717.

Graduation Planner is an interactive planning tool for University of Minnesota students on all campuses. You can use Graduation Planner to explore the requirements for majors and minors and make a plan that will help you stay on track for graduation. Your adviser will be able to review and comment on the plans you create. You can create your plan at: http://plan.umn.edu

As always, the CBS website is also a great resource for information as well:

http://www.cbs.umn.edu/studentservices/

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Phcl 3100: Pharmacology for Pre-Med & Biological Science Students
Spring Semester 2010
Course Director: Li-Na Wei, Email: weixx009@umn.edu
Associate Course Director: Hiroshi Hiasa, Email: hiasa001@umn.edu
Lecture: 01:25 PM - 02:15 PM & 02:30 PM - 03:20 PM, Wednesdays
Location: 2-137 Jackson Hall
2 Credits; Pre-req: college level biology; A-F only

This introductory course in modern pharmacology is suitable for students interested in clinical medicine, biological science research, pharmaceutical industry and the development of modern therapeutic agents - or for those just wanting to know how drugs work. The emphasis will be on the big picture of "therapeutic drugs" in general, and the aim is to prepare students for future success in modern medicine, research, industry or matriculation in health science programs. The course will also briefly introduce concepts in modern drug design, such as gene and cell therapy and the application of pharmacogenomics. (Text: Pharmacology Condensed, Dale & Haylett, Churchill Livingstones, 2004)

Department of Pharmacology
University of Minnesota Medical School
6-120 Jackson Hall
321 Church Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0217
Tel: 612-635-9997

• • • • • • • • • •
Hear what past students have to say about this course ...
• "I felt that it was a beneficial course to take as a pre-professional biology major."
•"It was a great introduction for future pharmacology courses."
• "Pleasure to take this class, it was very enjoyable."
• "This was a fun class, and I learned a lot."
For more information, visit: http://www.pharmacology.med.umn.edu/phcl3100.html

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Minnesota Mississippi Metagenomics project course, Biol 4950. This 3 credit course will provide you with the opportunity to contribute to research on the microbial populations in the Mississippi River. The basic format of this course will be to meet with the faculty member as a group once per week, but then work in the lab for the rest of the course's time commitment. There will be two concurrently running halves of the course, one in which students will work on microbial diversity questions by studying 16S rDNA sequences and the other in which students will work on questions of functions present in the aquatic microbes in the sample. Each student will decide which project to work on.

94625 -003 LEC , 09:35 A.M. - 10:25 A.M. , Tu (01/19/2010 - 05/07/2010) , STPAUL , Mississippi Metagenomics Projects Laboratory , A-F only , prereq: Biol 2004 or equivalent. 3 credits , Students will be doing research projects that will require an additional 6-8 hours of lab work per week; times to be arranged.

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The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) will offer a Summer Study Abroad Program for undergraduate biology students at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. The historic University of Wroclaw is over three hundred years old. Graduates and professors of the University have received nine Nobel Prizes. Charles Darwin and Johannes Brahms are among a long list of outstanding individuals who have received honorary doctorates from the University. Polish faculty will provide all instruction in English. Students may select either of the following courses:

Biol 4503, General Microbiology, a 4-credit lecture/laboratory course of­fered at the University of Wroclaw Institute of Genetics and Microbiology in Wroclaw.

Biol 4807, Plant Physiological Ecology, a 4-credit lecture/laboratory/field course offered for three weeks at the University of Wroclaw Institute of Plant Biol­ogy in Wroclaw and for one week at the Karpacz Ecological Field Station in the Karkonosze Mountains along the Polish-Czech Republic border.

The Study Abroad in Poland Program (July 20-August 22, tentative $2900) includes land transfers, dormitory housing, tuition, administrative fees, course field trips, pre-course cultural lectures and tours, international health insurance, a group excursion to Krakow (including lodging, transportation, admissions) and free weekends for independent travel (Prague, Berlin, Gdansk, Baltic Sea, Warsaw, Vienna).

Admission to the program is competitive and limited to 16 (microbiology) and 12 (ecol­ogy) students. Schol­arships and stipends are available for University of Minnesota students. The application deadline is February 20, 2010. For application forms and information contact Ms. Leigh Neys, UMD International Education Office, email lneys@d.umn.edu, telephone 218-726-7053 or toll free 877-755-4200.
Check the following websites for full details:
www.d.umn.edu/ieo/programs/poland/microbiology.htm
www.d.umn.edu/ieo/programs/poland/plant.htm

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The University Libraries in partnership with instructors in the Biology department have developed the Lab Report (Biology) and Lab Report in the Assignment Calculator. Built to help students in BIOL 2002 and 2004 and other science classes as you work on writing and researching your lab report, the tool takes the traditional print "writing your lab report" guide and makes it digital. This tool helps you organize your time and connect with resources for researching and writing. Enter your assignment due date and get a break down of ten steps with examples and guidance for each step. You can also sign up to get email reminders.

Learn more and give it a try at https://tools.lib.umn.edu/ac. Click on "Create A New Assignment."

The Lab Report (Biology) assignment was developed through close collaboration between Brent Couch (Teaching Assistant Professors-Biology Program), Deena Wassenberg (Teaching Assistant Professors-Biology Program), Amy Hribar (Liaison Librarian to Biology) and Kate Peterson (Information Literacy Librarian).

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Microbiology 3301 will be offered this summer!

Times: Lecture: 9 - 10:15 AM Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Lab: 10:30 - 1:00 PM Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Priority seats will be available for Microbiology majors, but others are encouraged to register as well. Access will be granted off the wait list with priority for CBS majors.

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Breakthrough Saint Paul is looking for a diverse group of talented undergraduate and high school students (juniors/seniors) to teach and lead at an innovative academic summer program for high-potential, under-resourced middle school students in Saint Paul. Breakthrough provides paid summer internships, complete with training and classroom teaching experience.

Open to all majors!

This internship was ranked as one of the TOP TEN SUMMER INTERNSHIPS FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS by the Princeton Review.

Please check out the attached documents and visit our website for more details!
http://www.breakthroughsaintpaul.org/teachers_become.html

Application Deadline: March 1st, 2010

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Minnesota Medical Leaders (MML) is a pre-med student group focused on providing hands on experience to members and service to those in need. This past August ten MML members along with nine other University of Minnesota students traveled to Costa Rica and Nicaragua for a two week medical mission trip through the non-profit organization VIDA. The students assisted in setting up and running free clinics in communities that saw and treated over 450 patients. They took patient histories and vitals, performed physical exams, conversed with doctors, helped diagnose illnesses and gave medication. Students also had the opportunity to give injections, vaccinations and pap smears. The experience allowed students to be exposed to life as a doctor working with patients. On the trip, students also worked in their clinic's pharmacy. This opportunity gave students the insight into another medical field and gain appreciation for the work pharmacists do. For the trip, MML raised over $3000 in donations including nebulizers, vitamins, and more. They raised money to buy supplies by selling coupon books, helping host a benefit concert, and applying for grants. Members also went to clinics asking for supplies and medications that the people they were treating needed. It was a rewarding, hands on experience for the students, who now have a better appreciation for the work as a physician. MML is committed to offering similar experiences in the future and are planning another trip for next summer.

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Is applying to a health professional school in your future?

Need to write your personal statement?

* Take the Personal Statements for a Health Program short course!

Nervous about an on campus interview?

* Check-out the Interview Skills for a Health Program short course!

Thinking about Medical School or already plan to apply?

* Sign-up for the Planning for Medical School short course!

These no-cost, online short courses can be completed in as little as 45 minutes and will walk you through the steps of writing a personal statement, interviewing, or - if you are thinking about medical school - planning for medical school as a whole. These easily accessible short courses can be used on your own time, at your convenience. And, after you complete your short course, meet with a Health Careers Center staff member for personalized feedback on your personal statement, "mock" interview, or action plan for medical school.

Comprehensive Content
The Personal Statements and Interviewing Skills online short courses prepare you for any health professional programs requiring interviews or personal statements, such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and others health professions.

The Planning for Medical School online short course will help you get started in your preparation for medical school, by providing many answers to questions you likely have and giving you tips on how to organize yourself in your preparation.

Direct Coaching Follow-up
Upon completion of a short course, you can meet with a Health Careers Center staff member for a:

* Personal statement draft review
* Interview feedback (using online InterviewStream software)
* Medical school action plan review

Get more information about your application essentials here: http://www.healthcareers.umn.edu/shortcourses/

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Volunteer in Costa Rica Over Spring Break
http://www.umabroad.umn.edu/programs/americas/costaricancoffee/index.shtml

Costa Rican Coffee from Community to Cup: March 14th - 21st

Discover firsthand the impacts of your consumer choices while helping coffee farmers and scientists improve production methods for the environment and for local communities. Volunteers on this program work with researchers to collect data on soil conditions, shade tree coverage, erosion, plant yield, and many other aspects of coffee plant production. You'll use GIS technology to map the biodiversity in the region and help determine the factors that affect farms' sustainability. The data will be shared with the farmers of the cooperative, about 20% of whom are women, who are committed to maintaining and improving their record of environmentally-friendly and economically-just growing practices. While on the expedition, you'll have the opportunity to visit and conduct research on many different coffee farms, interact extensively with local farmers, visit a local coffee processing plant owned by the cooperative, participate in an official coffee tasting, learn about issues affecting fair trade and organic coffees, and sometimes revel in the very best of homemade Costa Rican cuisine.

For more information visit the Learning Abroad Center in 230 Heller Hall, online at http://www.umabroad.umn.edu, or contact Sarah Tschida at tschi066@umn.edu.

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The CBS group on LinkedIn allows students and alumni to network and make contacts with othersi working in a variety of fields within (and beyond) the biological sciences. The group is open exclusively to CBS alumni, students, faculty and staff.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=1810089&trk=anet_ug_hm

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