Somatic and Molecular Cell Genetics

Interview with students in the course: Sarah Deroko '03, M.A. '04, Max Somberg '04, Tim Markantes '04, graduate student Sebastian Mana-Capelli, Miguel Stein '05, Shannon Joyce '04, Abigail Rollings '04

What do students gain from a course that's structured like this?

Sarah Deroko: It's easier to learn when you're actually seeing and doing your own research in the lab, than just reading about it. I think the hands-on experience is definitely much more to your advantage than disadvantage. In my case, I'm actually in the lab doing a chromosome analysis of the cell line that we're trying to make hygromycin resistant. I'm doing this in order to compare it to a different amphibian cell line that we'll eventually cross with the hygromycin-resistant cell line, in order to determine which chromosomes remain and which chromosomes are lost.

Sebastian Mana-Capelli: I think this course is different because in a lecture-based course you go to class, listen to the lecture and go home. That's it. But in this particular course, we have the freedom to choose a specific project. For example, in my project I have my cells, alive and running in the lab. If I have to feed them, I do it. If there is something else the cells need, I attend to it. The class offers me a freedom. But there is also a responsibility to continue to keep the project running.

Miguel Stein: It really also depends on the material of the course. In this case, this course focuses on experimental methods and not so much on biological concepts. So, it's definitely better to be conducting research than sitting in a lecture. It's a better way of learning.

Tim Markantes: Actually, we're building on all the things that we've already learned—the different theories and more abstract ideas—and we're finally able to use what we've learned in a more concrete way, seeing what it will be like after college. Once we're finished with college, how can we use this experience in a practical sense? And we're doing the research and seeing that it doesn't always work out the way you want it to, but you can change things slightly to try to get different results and just keep building on that. It's an ongoing process.

Max Somberg: Another advantage of this course that a lot of people forget about is that there are lots of biotechnology companies that are currently using a lot of the same procedures that we're using here. So, it's amazingly useful in that you could leave here and have gained many of the skills that you need to go into the biotechnology industry, just from this class alone. It's definitely an advantage over a lot of other people in the same job market.

Aside from the career value, what are some other things people have gained from this course and the hands-on approach?

Abigail Rollings: I'm interested in bioethics and intellectual property. Since I am going to law school, this is one of my first opportunities to get a taste of legal research. I'm digging through the same precedent cases that I would be digging through if I worked in a law firm. When I'm an attorney, as cases come down the line, I think being familiar with the techniques will probably be helpful in explaining them to a jury.

You mentioned that you had labs. How are courses that have labs different from this kind of course, because labs are also hands-on?

Max: Almost every other class I've had with a lab, which are numerous, involves doing work that someone else has done and many, many, many other people have done. You are doing cookie-cutter experiments that come out of lab manuals. They are useful, but can be a little bit boring. This course is altogether different because we're really doing research that no one has ever done before. We're using techniques that other people use, but we're using them to achieve something that no one else has ever done. So, it's pretty unique and a lot different than any other laboratory course.