1LS4: Introduction to GeneticsSpring 2009Instructor: Hung Pham, PhD [email protected] Hours (wk 1-5): Th 3:30-4:30pm & F 9:30-10:30am Boyer Hall 554Instructor: Amy L. McWhorter, PhD [email protected] Hours (wk 6-10): Tu 2:30-3:30pm & F 9:30-10:30am Boyer Hall 554Lecture (LS4.1): (LS4.2):TTh 11am-12:15pmTTh 12:30-1:45pmDodd 147Clinic: F 2:30-3:30pm La Kretz 110Course Objective:In this course, we cover a variety of topics relevant to the study of genetics, ranging from classical tonontraditional Mendelian genetics, from bacterial and viral genetics to human genetics, and includestudies on molecular techniques and their applications.General Information:Course Materials Required Text: Introduction to Genetic Analysis, Ninth Edition by Griffiths, Wessler,Lewontin, and Carroll (2008). The purchase of the book also allows you to accesssupplementary online material. Optional Materials: Study Guide/Solutions Manual and Interactive Genetics CD-ROM andHandbook, UCLA, L. Johnson & J. Merriam.LecturesLectures cover all of the primary course material. They should focus your reading and studying.Copies of lecture slides will be posted on BlackboardTM. Specific pages and assigned questions for eachchapter will be listed on the lecture slides.Course website (Blackboard)The main course website is http://www.lsic.ucla.edu. Login and click on the link to the course.Course information such as the syllabus, class announcements, office hours, additional problem setsand answer keys will be posted on the site. PowerPoint lectures will also be posted in PDF format.Discussion sections Discussion sections meet once a week. Teaching assistants (TAs) lead the discussion sections. They are responsible for clarifyingimportant points from the lectures/readings and for answering any questions you may haveabout the course material. In addition TAs will help solve assigned problems. You must attend your assigned discussion section unless you have made other arrangements inadvance with your TA and the TA of the session you would like to attend. This is a fast-pacedcourse that covers a lot of material in a very short time. It is the responsibility of the student tokeep up with the pace by doing all the readings and solving all assigned problems.2 Be active and participate in class discussions. Ask questions if a point is unclear. It helps towork together to help each other solve the problem sets. Each TA will have two hours of Office Hours per week. You are welcome to go to the officehours of any of the TAs, but note that TAs will give priority to students from their ownsections. Times and locations for TA’s office hours TBA.Instructor Contact Information and ClinicsE-mail: Dr. Pham: [email protected] Dr. McWhorter: [email protected] put “LS4 STUDENT” in the subject heading of all e-mails. E-mails without this subject headingwill be deleted. NOTE: E-mail is not an appropriate medium for long, technical questions—save thosetypes of questions for discussion section, clinic, or office hours.Instructor led problem solving clinics will be held Fridays in La Kretz 110 from 2:30-3:30pm.TA Contact Information and Discussion SectionsPlease put “LS4 STUDENT” in the subject heading of all e-mails.Chen, Yi: [email protected], Emily: [email protected], Satoru: [email protected], Eddie: [email protected], Blake: [email protected], Ryan: [email protected] Assignments & ExamsReading assignments are listed on the lecture slides.You must take exams on the scheduled dates. Please check your calendars NOW to make sure that youdon’t have conflicts.Administrative IssuesFor enrollment, scheduling, etc., please contact Lily Yanez ([email protected]) in the Life SciencesCore Curriculum Office (Life Science Building, Room 2305). Phone # for LS Core Office is 310-825-6614.Grading:Your grade in this course will be determined as follows:Quizzes will be given each Monday on Blackboard and are worth 10 points each beginning in Week 2.Your 2 lowest quiz scores will be dropped. Each quiz will consist of problems similar to the problem setassigned for the previous week.Quizzes (Weeks 2-10) – 2 lowest scores = 70 pointsMidterm 1 (April 20; 5-7pm) = 100 pointsMidterm 2 (May 18; 5-7pm) = 100 pointsFinal Exam (June 8; 8-11am) = 250 pointsTOTAL = 520 points3Letter grades are established from a normal curve of total points following standard UCLAguidelines. The distribution varies from year to year, but in general at least the top 15% have receivedA+, A, or A-, and next 30% received B+, B, or B-.Regrading Policy:Regrades will only be considered if the exam is written in permanent ink. Presumed grading errors maynot be discussed with teaching assistants. If you feel that there has been a simple addition error during the grading of your exam:1. Write a note on a separate piece of paper explaining the error. Attach that note to the frontof the exam.2. Turn in your exam with the note to the LS core office within one week of the date thegraded exams were returned.3. Keep a photocopy of the exam for your own records and for studying.4. These exams will be re-graded ASAP. During this process the entire exam will bereevaluated to look for errors. Thus, your score may increase oor decrease.5. The exam will be returned to you at the final exam.Please note that when exams are graded, they are photocopied. Every year we have one or two studentswho add to their answer before turning in their exam for regarding. Thus, every year we have one ortwo students who get to meet the Dean and then leave UCLA.Class Expectations:Be courteous and on time.Silence cell phones and other electronic devices. Do not answer the phone during class.Class participation.Other Helpful Information: Complete the assigned readings prior to each class meeting. Class meetings are designed toclarify and/or expand on your assigned readings. The reading and work for this class should be taken seriously. All readings and problemsassigned are your responsibility to complete. No homework will be collected and no additionalquizzes will be given. You are strongly urged to attend class. In the case that you miss class, obtain notes from aclassmate, as test material will be stressed during lectures. The lecture/exam schedule is somewhat flexible (depending on the pacing of the class) and maybe subject to change at my discretion.