2020
Molecular Neurobiology, 3rd year BSc Psychobiology, UvA
Here you can find the basic course information necessary for the open inquiry course Molecular Neuroscience at the UvA. Molecular Neurobiology is part of the Genetics and Molecular Cell Biology learning trajectory. It is a 3rd year elective in which students get a crash course of 4 weeks in research design, execution, analysis, and interpretation. Students are divided in research-groups of 10-12 students under supervision of a ‘Principal Investigator’, who is assigned to a specific table and helps the student throughout the course with their ideas, execution, and interpretation. These PI’s are usually PhD students that will assist the students in designing their own research plan and experiments. Each research group receives a research topic (either ALS of Parkinson’s disease) and a toolbox to design and perform experiments with (LabBuddy and ExperD). Students have 4 weeks to execute their ideas, write a research report, and present their results and conclusions to their peers. The overall learning goal of this course is that students become familiar with the difficulties of scientific research. They need to become aware of what kind of information a specific model system can give you and what the specific strengths and shortcomings of different approaches and experiments are.