Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Biomolecules and Cellular Regulation

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

BIOL2300

Bundoora Campus

Undergraduate

160H Medical Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2006,
Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2008,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 2 2015

BIOL2300

Bundoora Campus

Undergraduate

173H School of Health and Biomed

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2017

BIOL2317

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

160H Medical Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2006,
Sem 2 2007,
Sem 2 2008,
Sem 2 2009,
Sem 2 2010,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 2 2015

BIOL2317

Bundoora Campus

Postgraduate

173H School of Health and Biomed

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2017

Course Coordinator: Assoc Prof Theo Macrides

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 7070

Course Coordinator Email: theo.macrides@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 201.09.011


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Required Prior Study

You should have satisfactorily completed the following courses before you commence this course.

Alternatively, you may be able to demonstrate the required skills and knowledge before you start this course.

Contact your course coordinator if you think you may be eligible for recognition of prior learning. 


Course Description

The syllabus is of one semester duration and is designed to include the knowledge, practical skills and attitudes that are required of graduates to work confidently and competently in a biochemistry laboratory engaged in routine analysis and research.
Through the incorporation of lectures, tutorials, and project based practical work the students’ are encouraged to develop their critical thinking and communication skills.
The combination of learning activities offered in this course is designed to equip graduates with a range of attributes that will give the student strong potential and ability to work equally well in the industrial or research biochemical fields.
The course is primarily concerned with the complex series of chemical reactions involved in all metabolism and cellular regulation at an undergraduate level.
The material presented will focus on particular aspects of enzymology and cellular regulation and will present details of the complexities and resources of the biochemical principles involved. An introduction to enzyme engineering and the increasing role of semi-synthetic enzymes and artificial enzymes will be emphasized.
The chemical reactions of the cell stand as a primary theme. Additionally, in stressing biological concerns, understanding of all physiological phenomenon based on the underlying chemistry is emphasized.
 


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the following program learning outcomes for Biomedical Science (BP231) :

2: Exhibit a breadth and depth of scientific knowledge;

3: Critically analyse and solve scientific problems;

5: Demonstrate accountability for your own learning and scientific work.


On successful completion of this course you should be able to:

  1. Relate the philosophical and theoretical aspects of how the interactions of an enzyme with its substrate to predict enzyme catalysis and specificity and upon the relationship between structure and function.
  2. Analyse reaction sequences found in cellular regulation and explore the “logic” of some selected metabolic cycles and pathways.
  3. Apply an understanding of  the regulation of major metabolic pathways including sites of control to advanced aspects of metabolism
  4. Infer the role of proteins and receptors in the interactions between signalling pathways to the structure of membrane receptors
  5. Explain the DNA-protein interactions of metabolic regulation and understand the nature of the transcription factors that regulate gene expression.
  6. Write scientific reports accurately and concisely. Solve scientific problems in biochemistry based on experimental evidence.


Overview of Learning Activities

Through lectures, practical exercises, and associated assignments and tutorials the students are encouraged to develop their critical thinking. The lectures and practical experiments will give the student an appreciation of how new advances in technology of reasoning devices will assist in biochemical understanding and research methods.

 

The course consist of 6 contact hours per week and 6 non-contact hours per week

2 hours of lectures per week for 12 weeks (face to face)

 4 hours of practical work per week for 9 weeks (including the laboratory session, a pre laboratory and post laboratory  tutorial)

This is a total of sixty (60) hours for one semester comprising lectures /tutorials and laboratory sessions.    

 

The course consist of 6 contact hours per week and 6 non-contact hours per week

2 hours of lectures per week for 12 weeks (face to face)

 4 hours of practical work per week for 9 weeks (including the laboratory session, a pre laboratory and post laboratory  tutorial)

This is a total of sixty (60) hours for one semester comprising lectures /tutorials and laboratory sessions.    


Overview of Learning Resources

Learning resources in this course include a prescribed textbook, practical manual and safety data sheet information, and full lecture notes prepared by lecturing staff in booklet form available from the RMIT Bundoora bookshop with self study questions.

Biochemical Literature
The lecture material in this course will be supplemented by a list of references, mainly to reviews, classified under different topics within the lecture material to be presented. Monographs and reviews relevant to a subject of interest are easily found through the use of a library catalogue and the subject indexes of the major review publications. Most academic libraries subscribe to World Wide Web-based reference search services such as those of Chemical Abstracts Services, Current Contents, Medline, and Science Citation Index. If used properly, these bibliographic search services are highly efficient tools for locating specific information.
 


Overview of Assessment

One two-hour paper, at the end-of-semester  covering the theoretical biochemistry taught in the lecture program.
Students will be assessed in the following manner:

End-of-Semester Theory Examination
Theory-of-Practical Test
Practical reports
Assignment
The Theory-of-Practical Test will include both calculations and short answer questions. The laboratory practical reports will test the student’s ability to analyse biochemical findings, and to convey their understanding of these findings via written practical submissions . The assignment will provide an opportunity for course revision and an understanding of the topic material presented.
Students must achieve a passing mark in practical work for the course in order to be eligible for an examination grading.