The Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences is developing the Undergraduate Molecular Biology Laboratory to improve undergraduate comprehension of molecular biology. The equipment needed to develop the lab includes eight student workstations composed of three micropipettors and rack, 250-volt power supply, horizontal submarine gel box, water bath, and vortex mixer and a floor model refrigerated low-speed centrifuge and rotors, an integrated vacuum centrifuge/gel drying system, four microcentrifuges, a shaking water bath, a shaking platform incubator, a 37 C incubator, an ultraviolet spectrophotometer, an ultraviolet transilluminator and photodocumentation system, and a microplate reader and data capture/analysis software. The lab will be an innovative learning environment in which students will gain hands-on experience in exercises that utilize modern technologies. These experiences can improve student comprehension of molecular biology and the process of science and enable students to develop problem-solving and interpersonal skills. The lab will improve the department's curriculum by including state-of-the-art equipment and instrumentation to teach modern biological methodologies and demonstrate to students the concepts of molecular biology. This laboratory can be used primarily to teach two courses: Biotechnology and Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry. The laboratory can also share equipment with other laboratories to add molecular biology laboratory activities to their respective courses, including Principles of Biology, Genetics, and Cell Biology. The laboratory can help the department prepare undergraduate students for careers in the health sciences, research, teaching, and other professions.
