Building Bridges: The Biochemistry Major at Albion College

Abstract

We present here our planning, implementation, outcomes, and future directions for the biochemistry major, with a focus on lessons learned and what works. The Albion College Biochemistry Major has been developed over the past eighteen years in the context of significant changes in the institution's vision and curriculum. The original initiative was founded on establishing vital student‐faculty collaborative research in biochemistry and molecular biology as part of a campus wide undergraduate research and scholarship program. Undergraduate biochemistry research at Albion was supported by a college commitment to new laboratory facilities and equipment that would house both the summer undergraduate research program as well as laboratory courses for all students that emphasized active learning, experimental design, and research methodology. The framework for the course curriculum was initially based upon guidelines developed by Boyer and Zimmerman in 1992, which they later updated and disseminated in 2003. Our biochemistry curriculum emphasizes core concept driven modules, which can evolve to reflect the ever‐changing landscape of biochemistry and molecular biology (Vision and Change, 2009.) The biochemistry major is designed and implemented by two faculty FTE's within the chemistry department with expertise in biological chemistry and chemical biology. Albion faculty have worked to adapt this model by utilizing the strengths and talents of chemistry and biology faculty, and serving the needs and interests of our students. Our formal laboratory experiences engage students with current methods, instrumentation and research problems in preparation for professional, graduate and clinical careers (Caldwell et al., 2004.) Critical to the success of the program is the collaboration with faculty in the biology department. This includes colleagues that provide molecular biology, bioinformatics, physiology, microbiology, immunology and cell biology coursework and research opportunities to biochemistry students. The biochemistry and molecular biology curriculum has adapted to and evolved with curricular reforms in the chemistry and biology departments along with institutional efforts for pre‐clinical students. The chemistry department is currently planning and revising the core curriculum, which we will begin to implement in the fall of 2019. This new curriculum is designed to improve student success for both biochemistry majors along with all Albion College STEM students.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.