BIOL M435

Develop laboratory techniques in phage, viruses, and tissue culture in this upper-level microbiology course.

Learn fundamental eukaryotic cell culture techniques including sterile technique, cell maintenance, cell-splitting, and freezing cells. You’ll also learn standard assays used in a virology lab such as virus amplification, plaque assays, growth curves, PCR, and Western blots. In addition to learning the technical details, you will focus on how to interpret, analyze, and evaluate experimental results. Gain experience with specialized instrumentation and reagents that allow for more quantitative analysis. This includes learning about transmission electron microscopy, flow cytometry, ELISAs, and hemagglutinin assays.

While in the lab you’ll learn to passage and maintain cells, extract DNA from infected cells and use PCR to determine what virus infected the cells, propagate virus samples, discover virus sensitivity to pH and ether, determine viral growth kinetics, and more.