Molecular Microbiology Laboratory: A Writing-Intensive Course

Molecular Microbiology Laboratory is designed to teach molecular biology techniques to upper level undergraduates majoring in the life sciences. An extremely detailed lab preparation manual for teaching assistants accompanies the lab book and contains a general discussion of scientific writing and critical reading, as well as detailed instructions for preparation and peer review of lab reports. Each experimental unit is accompanied by a number of additional writing exercises based upon primary journal articles. The studies in these articles employ the techniques that the students are learning in the lab exercises, which reinforces their understanding of the material. These are techniques that students in any biological science will need to know, making this manual applicable to any life science curriculum.

Key Features* Not a typical cookbook lab exercise, offers students the excitement and intellectual challenge of characterizing true unknowns. They could discover a new species! * Success rate greater than 85% for the entire experiment, even with very inexperienced students. * The ONLY manual that incorporates writing exercises into the curriculum. * Co-authored by Dr. Janine Trempy, one of four senior editors of the Journal of Microbiology Education, published by the American Society for Microbiology.

Walt Ream, Professor of Microbiology, Oregon State University, received the Richard M. Bressler Senior Faculty Teaching Award for developing the course this book supports. In addition to this work, he has written numerous peer reviewed scholarly papers, review articles, book articles and chapters and has co-authored another book entitled, Molecular Biology Techniques: An Intensive Laboratory Course. His research led to a discovery for which a patent was issued in 2004. He regularly reviews grant proposals for NSF, USDA, DOE, NIH, American Cancer Society, NSERC-Canada, Lindbergh Foundation, Corporation for Plant Biotechnology Research and he reviews papers for Journal of Bacteriology, Plant Molecular Biology, PNAS, Science, Molecular & General Genetics, Microbiological Reviews, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Biochemistry, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Plasmid, Gene, Plant Physiology, Journal of American Horticulture Society, and Molecular Microbiology. He is a member of Genetics Society of America, American Society for Microbiology, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.