Overview
I took this course in my second year as one of the mandatory courses for 2nd year BMSc degree.
Overall, I found the course material pretty interesting and I feel like I learned quite a bit. It seems like most people either like Genetics or Cell Bio, but not both. Cell bio is one of those courses where you have to memorize a lot of random things, make connections, and read up things on your own. 2 midterms (30-35 questions each) and one 50% final exam with 55-60 questions. All multiple choice.
I've attached the syllabus below if you'd like to see what the course is about.
I took this course in my second year as one of the mandatory courses for 2nd year BMSc degree.
Overall, I found the course material pretty interesting and I feel like I learned quite a bit. It seems like most people either like Genetics or Cell Bio, but not both. Cell bio is one of those courses where you have to memorize a lot of random things, make connections, and read up things on your own. 2 midterms (30-35 questions each) and one 50% final exam with 55-60 questions. All multiple choice.
I've attached the syllabus below if you'd like to see what the course is about.
syllabus_2010_bio2382.doc | |
File Size: | 34 kb |
File Type: | doc |
What topics are covered?
Part I: (Kelly)
Introduction to Cell Biology
Technical Aspects and Approaches (i.e, Tools of the Trade)
Mitosis & Molecular Regulation of the Cell Cycle
Protein Synthesis & Transport into Organelles
Vesicular Traffic - Exocytosis & Endocytosis
Part II: (Damjanovski)
The Cytoskeleton and the Cell Surface
Microtubules and Mitosis
Intermediate filaments
Actin and Myosin
Muscle Contraction & Cell Motility
Cell Junctions, Cell Adhesion and Extracellular Matrix
Part III: (Damjanovski and Kelly)
Membrane Function and Signal Transduction
Structure, Composition and Properties of Biological Membranes
Membrane Proteins and Transport
Cell Signalling & Signal Transduction – Cytoplasmic & Nuclear Responses
Cell Biology & Human Health
People
Profs: Sashko Damjanovski, George Kelly
TAs: Mark Fox, Michelle Nieuwesteeg
Dr. Damjanovski explains things pretty clearly and is usually straight to the point. He tells you what you need to memorize and what you don’t. He tells you what you should expect for an exam and sometimes even offers tips on how to remember certain things i.e. giving an analogy or acronym. Pay attention to what he has to say in class because believe it or not, he does give a lot of hints about what you need to know. Sometimes he may talk really fast, but don’t worry, he’ll repeat it, especially if it’s something that will come up for an exam. Just a word of advice: if you’re going to ask him stuff in office hours (which he usually holds for about an hour every week) or after class, just remember he may get annoyed if it’s a really basic question i.e. basic biology stuff (and he might not know it either). Good prof overall.
Dr. Kelly talks very casually and informally, which some science students dislike. He likes to use a lot of analogies in explaining things. Generally, he spends a lot of time introducing a topic and when getting to the “core” of the lecture, he kinda skims over things. After looking back at the notes I made, I was often confused at what things meant. I read more of the textbook for his topics to clarify things. Know the figures and diagrams he posts up inside out. If he tells you to look something up in a casual sort of way, make sure to look it up because it actually comes up on exams. You’ll often find certain highlighted or coloured words on his powerpoints. They’re actually important and if it’s there, it means he wants you to know what it is. Last word of advice, go to his office hours if you don’t understand since he’s very willing to explain things and he’ll even point out some things that you didn’t think of before. If you find him difficult to understand, do yourself a favour and ask him to explain things to you in office hours, ask the TAs, friends, or read the textbook. From what he told our class though, he probably isn’t teaching cell bio next year.
TAs are great. They are very willing to help and they go out of their way to help students. Before exams, they did review sessions to elaborate the profs’ notes, made their own review notes for specific concepts that students had difficulty with, and showed us some old exam questions. My friends and I would agree that the sessions were extremely helpful and we wouldn’t have done as well without their help. With that being said though, review sessions are most beneficial to people who haven’t studied much, since they do a brief overview of all lectures.
Part I: (Kelly)
Introduction to Cell Biology
Technical Aspects and Approaches (i.e, Tools of the Trade)
Mitosis & Molecular Regulation of the Cell Cycle
Protein Synthesis & Transport into Organelles
Vesicular Traffic - Exocytosis & Endocytosis
Part II: (Damjanovski)
The Cytoskeleton and the Cell Surface
Microtubules and Mitosis
Intermediate filaments
Actin and Myosin
Muscle Contraction & Cell Motility
Cell Junctions, Cell Adhesion and Extracellular Matrix
Part III: (Damjanovski and Kelly)
Membrane Function and Signal Transduction
Structure, Composition and Properties of Biological Membranes
Membrane Proteins and Transport
Cell Signalling & Signal Transduction – Cytoplasmic & Nuclear Responses
Cell Biology & Human Health
People
Profs: Sashko Damjanovski, George Kelly
TAs: Mark Fox, Michelle Nieuwesteeg
Dr. Damjanovski explains things pretty clearly and is usually straight to the point. He tells you what you need to memorize and what you don’t. He tells you what you should expect for an exam and sometimes even offers tips on how to remember certain things i.e. giving an analogy or acronym. Pay attention to what he has to say in class because believe it or not, he does give a lot of hints about what you need to know. Sometimes he may talk really fast, but don’t worry, he’ll repeat it, especially if it’s something that will come up for an exam. Just a word of advice: if you’re going to ask him stuff in office hours (which he usually holds for about an hour every week) or after class, just remember he may get annoyed if it’s a really basic question i.e. basic biology stuff (and he might not know it either). Good prof overall.
Dr. Kelly talks very casually and informally, which some science students dislike. He likes to use a lot of analogies in explaining things. Generally, he spends a lot of time introducing a topic and when getting to the “core” of the lecture, he kinda skims over things. After looking back at the notes I made, I was often confused at what things meant. I read more of the textbook for his topics to clarify things. Know the figures and diagrams he posts up inside out. If he tells you to look something up in a casual sort of way, make sure to look it up because it actually comes up on exams. You’ll often find certain highlighted or coloured words on his powerpoints. They’re actually important and if it’s there, it means he wants you to know what it is. Last word of advice, go to his office hours if you don’t understand since he’s very willing to explain things and he’ll even point out some things that you didn’t think of before. If you find him difficult to understand, do yourself a favour and ask him to explain things to you in office hours, ask the TAs, friends, or read the textbook. From what he told our class though, he probably isn’t teaching cell bio next year.
TAs are great. They are very willing to help and they go out of their way to help students. Before exams, they did review sessions to elaborate the profs’ notes, made their own review notes for specific concepts that students had difficulty with, and showed us some old exam questions. My friends and I would agree that the sessions were extremely helpful and we wouldn’t have done as well without their help. With that being said though, review sessions are most beneficial to people who haven’t studied much, since they do a brief overview of all lectures.