NSF CCLI Award for Molecular Biology Teaching Laboratory

Principal Investigator:  Subir Ghosh, Ph.D.

The NSF CCLI Award No. DUE-0089128 for the proposal entitled "Molecular Biology Course based on study of transcriptional control" was made for a molecular biology course at the University of Guam (UOG). The main objective is to modernize the biology curriculum at UOG and provide students with hands on training in understanding molecular approaches, methodologies and instrumentation that have revolutionized biology and are essential for undertaking biomedical research. The laboratory component of the course will be conducted in a research environment format and will involve learning individual techniques in context to a research problem that are presented to the students at the beginning of the course. The proposal for the award is also designed to improve the laboratory component of other biology courses at UOG, namely Cellular Physiology, Biochemistry and Genetics as well as a Human Biology course as a general education requirement for non-majors. It is expected that establishing molecular level biology courses conducted in a research environment format will enhance the ability of Pacific Island students to pursue bio-medical careers.

The project period for the NSF award is July 15, 2001 to June 30, 2006. The new molecular biology course is conducted as a regular UOG catalog course for both undergraduate and graduate students every other Spring semester (odd years), beginning Spring 2003. The Principal Investigator, Dr. Subir Ghosh has taken a "step by step" approach to prepare UOG sophomore/junior undergraduate biology majors for the advanced upper division level molecular biology courses.