BIOL368/F14:Class Journal Week 15

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Chloe Jones

  1. What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class? With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)? With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)? With your hands (technical skills)?
    • Head. This class taught me how to deeply analyze information and go beyond just what is on the surface. For instance, the journal club that we would do would be a thorough introduction, and then I would get an even deeper understanding because of an individual project that followed. The class especially taught me how to get through scientific paper with agood idea of what was going on. Before entering this class scientific paper were extremely hard to read, and I would somewhat understand the material, but not completely as I did in this class in having to present on it. I feel as though I significantly improced with my ability to navigate the wiki pages, and format information in a professional manner an provide a knowledge presentation about the subject manner. What I took away most is what I learned about HIV, DNA microarrays, and properly handling data so that instances like Duke don’t occur.
    • Heart. Upon entering this class I was very insecure about my ability to handle this kind of work, because I had never dealt with a class like this that relied so heavily on computers. However, from this class I learned to not be overwhelmed by things not making sense at first, because everything is a learning process and people are willing to help if you just ask. I also learned good team working skills because we had intense projects where we as a group had to be have a strong level of communication to produce a successful project.
    • Hands . I learned so much about computers and the ways in which you can get them to work for you, rather than the other way around. I feel as though I have a lot of useful tricks in using excel and I actually became a pro as some of the databases we used consecutively for weeks (i.e StarBiochem, Biology Workbench, etc).
  2. What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
    • This class gave me a lot of insight and valuable knowledge that I will carry with me to my next education stage. I can now be an asset to particular conversations that deal with HIV or antimicrobial resistance. Since I took the GRE this year graduate schools have been sending me information, regarding science programs that they think I may be interested in. I had been blowing them off because I want to attend PA school, but last week one caught my eye because it had something to do with what I learned in this class. The graduate program is a PhD degree on evolution of antibiotic resistance genes, I was intrigued by the program because of the knowledge that I had received in this class. I am now looking into the program and seeing what exactly it has to offer. So, that could be potentially something I may use in a year from now or even sooner.

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Chloe Jones 03:46, 15 October 2014 (EDT)Chloe Jones


Isabel Gonzaga

  • What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
    • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)
      • This semester I was really able to integrate the different biological approaches and methodologies in understanding biological problems. In particular, I found our first experiment (where each student took a different approach to solving the same problem - molecular, biochemistry, genetics or populations), as well as the different methods used in experimenting with the HIV data, to be incredibly helpful for this reason. Additionally, I was able to understand how bioinformatics can play a monumental role within any of these approaches, in helping to find patterns within the data.
    • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
      • This has been a very challenging class this semester for me, especially with understanding all the dense research articles and applying complex methodologies. This allowed me to appreciate research in a new light, and showed me that with perseverance, I am absolutely capable of understanding anything, regardless of how daunting it may initially appear. I also gained better confidence in asking for help and relying on others' knowledge for support, as well as a better appreciation for research and published articles and the heavy reliance on peer-review, and the need for open access to better the knowledge of the entire biological community at large.
      • Furthermore, I realized that I have an incredible amount of stage fright when talking in front of small groups, or presenting information that I am not fully confident in my knowledge of. I've worked on this skill tremendously this semester and have grown to be more comfortable in this uncomfortable setting.
    • With your hands (technical skills)?
      • I learned about different methods and free resources online that can help aid in understanding research data. Additionally, I learned that sometimes it is okay to put full sentences on powerpoint presentations, rather than keeping the presentation minimal and expanding on it during the lecture.
  • What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
    • I think the thing that (already) sticks with me the most is in how I view people's presentations. Before, I didn't think too much about having an outline or a full structure/format for the powerpoint, but now I really understand that it is a key factor in making the talk effective. After experiencing the presentations in this class, I don't think I'll ever be able to view another presentation the same way.

Isabel Gonzaga 16:01, 9 December 2014 (EST)

Weekly Assignments

Class Journals

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Nicole Anguiano

  1. What is the most important thing that you learned this semester in this class?
    • With your head (biological or bioinformatics principles)
      • With my head, the most important thing I learned was the importance of keeping accurate and clear data, then making that data easily available to the public. In all three of our microarray datasets, there was something incomplete or missing from the dataset. My data was so vague that we had to assume which Reference IDs corresponded to which genes. Keeping clear and accurate data that is easily available to the public in its complete form is essential.
    • With your heart (personal qualities and teamwork qualities that make things work or not work)?
      • With my heart, I learned to accept results from experiments that are inconclusive. In my HIV proteins experiment, I found no significant conclusion. It took me some time to get over the initial disappointment of not finding anything of value. However, in a sense, the result that I found was valuable in its own right. It showed that I had a found a way that the progression of HIV patients is not determined. While this may not be as valuable as finding the way in which progression is determined, it tells future researchers where not to look.
    • With your hands (technical skills)?
      • With my hands, I learned how to more adeptly use Excel. Prior to this course, I was not aware of filtering and sorting, the ability to use a formula over a large number of cells in a column with one double click, or the ability to paste only values and ignore formatting. These tips will prove extremely valuable in the future and were essential to my success in the course.
  2. What will you take away from this class that you will still use a year from now?
    • I will take away the knowledge of excel that I learned from the final research presentation. This knowledge will help me to be more successful at data analysis and statistics in the future. I will also take away the knowledge of how to properly present data and how to correctly format an easily understandable presentation.

Nicole Anguiano 01:44, 10 December 2014 (EST)

Nicole Anguiano
BIOL 368, Fall 2014

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