Incorporating Biophysical Research Methods into a Traditional Biochemistry Course

ISLAND CURE is a new collaborative project that uses multi-disciplinary approaches in scientific experimental design and science pedagogy. The collaborative interdisciplinary CURE project includes faculty and students from the physics, chemistry, and biology departments at Northwestern College (NWC) and the Laser Teaching Center (LTC) at Stony Brook University. Students in the Biochemistry course worked in parallel with students in the Biophysics course to overexpress, purify, and crystallize mutants of Rev1, a Y Family DNA polymerase. This project will be continued in the Modern Physics Course, demonstrating cohesion between the two disciplines. In addition to the valuable research experience, students learned the biophysical foundation for traditional biochemical research methods and advanced crystallographic techniques. This presentation will discuss the course design and the scientific and pedagogical outcomes.