Syllabus
Science Prerequisites for Health Professionals
CHEM 1005: Medical Biochemistry | Fall 2016
Credits - 4
Description
Overview
Medical Biochemistry is a four credit hour course designed to lay the foundation for other basic and clinical medical sciences. The goal of this course is to learn the core concepts of biochemistry that apply to human health and disease and to cite specific examples of their application. You will be able to analyze and evaluate the most common biochemistry cited in medical literature. Furthermore, these basics will facilitate further learning in biochemistry and the health sciences.
Instructor and Support Contact Information
Check the course welcome page in Blackboard for specific instructor and support specialist contact information.
Further Assistance
Your student support specialist, listed on the course welcome page, monitors course progression and provides assistance or guidance when needed. They can assist questions regarding ordering course materials, University policies, billing, navigating the course in Blackboard, and more.
Study Lounge
The Study Lounge Discussion Board is a designated support forum in which students may engage with each other and grapple with course content. Feel free to post questions, seek clarification, and support each other, but be mindful of UNE’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Your instructor will monitor this forum. However, if you are seeking specific and timely answers to questions about content-matter or your personal grades, please contact your instructor via course messages. For questions about course materials, program policy, and how to navigate and proceed through the course, please contact your Student Support Specialist through the course messaging system.
Materials
Learning Objectives and Outcomes
Course Objectives
Upon the completion of this course the student will be able to:
- Identify functional groups unique to proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and carbohydrates and describe their relevance in biological systems.
- Interpret the role and regulation of metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids in normal physiological conditions and the changes that occur in disease processes.
- Identify and evaluate methodologies for molecular and biochemical diagnostic testing in individuals and populations.
- Demonstrate an understanding of cellular structure, compartmentalization, trafficking, and cellular signaling
- Explain genomic, DNA and RNA structure and the central dogma of molecular biology, including the processes of DNA replication, transcription, and translation across eukaryotes.
- Explain how changes in genetic and environmental factors can result in the displayed genetic variation in human populations.
- Understand how enzymes facilitate chemical reactions and the necessity of metabolic cofactors or vitamins in these reactions; relate how these may have pharmacological applications.
SELF PACED DESIGN
On the course start date, students will have access to orientation. This must be completed to be able to gain access to the first module in the course. Students must complete the first module to gain access to the next one. We recommend that students spend about 15 hours per week to complete a course in 16 weeks. When trying to complete the course in less than 16 weeks, we typically see students do this successfully within 12-14 weeks. Instructors will be timely in grading and feedback, but it will not be instant.
Assignments
Lectures and Laboratories
Lectures
This course is designed to be completed in a 16-week period, just like an on-campus Biochemistry course. One week in this online course is equivalent to three fifty-minute lectures in a traditional classroom setting. The general rule of studying for science courses is to spend three hours studying for every one hour that you are in class. Therefore, the suggested study time for each week is nine hours above and beyond the time it takes to listen to the lecture. Please refer to the schedule below for the suggested schedule of lectures. Students may complete the course in less than 16 weeks. Each week consists of:
- Session level objectives
- Reading from Marks Medical Biochemistry
- Pre – Evaluation (see below section VII for description)
- Voice over powerpoints and associated slides
- Additional learning resources
- Week evaluation (see below section VII for description)
Laboratories
N/A
Pre-Evaluations
To evaluate your preparedness for the Week there are Pre-Evaluationss linked for each session. You can take these evaluations multiple times and are a good resource for the Unit exams and Week evaluations. These evaluations do not contribute to your final grade.
Week Evaluations
All Weeks have an end of Week evaluation. These many be in the form of a multiple choice quiz or a fill-in the blank exercise. These quizzes are timed, non-proctored and are closed book and closed notes. The quizzes will be taken online through the course Blackboard site. Doing well on the quizzes will help prepare you for the timed-proctored exams.
Unit Exams
There will be a total of 4 exams in the course, one after each of the 4 Units. Exams after Units 1 and 3 will be taken through Blackboard and are not cumulative. Exams after Units 2 and 4 are cumulative and will be taken using Proctor U (see below for instructions).
Units 1 and 3 exams
Each exam consists of 30 multiple choice questions that cover all of the material in the respective unit, these will be taken on Blackboard similar to a Week evaluation and are closed notes, closed book. You will have up to 1.5 hours to complete these exams.
Units review tests
After you have completed all of the course material and assessments before each of the exams you will have access to a review test to help you prepare. You may take these tests as many times as you want, and they do not contribute to your final grade. The tests consist of 20 questions drawn from a pool of questions so you will have new questions each time you take the test.
Units 2 and 4 exams
Each exam will consist of 50 multiple choice questions that cover all of the material from the respective unit, as well as up to 10% of material from previous units. These exams will be taken using one of the outlined proctoring procedures below. These are closed book and closed notes exams. You may have a single blank sheet of paper to use while taking the these exams. A calculator is not necessary for this, or any of the course assessments. You will not have access to any material saved on your or any other computer. No access to the internet or other communication devices are allowed during these exams.
Retaking a Unit 2 or Unit 4 exam
You have the option of retaking either the Unit 2 or Unit 4 exam if requested. You may retake only one of these exams. You must contact your instructor in order to exercise this option. You will be responsible for rescheduling the exam with Proctor U and the cost of the proctoring. Your final grade for the assessment will be the average of the two scores. We strongly encourage students who score below 50% on the Unit 2 exam to retake this assessment, as this background is fundamental to the other two Units.
Examination and Grading Information
Students will have the opportunity to assess their knowledge with both formative and summative evaluations. Each Week consists of both a Pre-evaluation self-assessment (formative), and a post Week evaluation (summative). Each unit has an associated summative exam; exams after Units 2 and Units 4 are cumulative and proctored.
All Week Evaluations and Unit Exams are closed book and closed notes. No access to any material saved on your or any other computer, nor access to the internet or other communication devices are allowed during these exams.
Final Grade
The course grade will be determined using the weighted averages of each of the assessments outlined above.
Grading Policy
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Grade Breakdown
| Category | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Week Evaluations (lowest 2 dropped) | 20% |
| Unit 1 and 3 Exams | 30% |
| Unit 2 and 4 Exams | 50% |
Grade Scale
| Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
| A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
| A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
| B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
| B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
| B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
| C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
| C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
| C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
| D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
| F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Schedule
Below is a general outline of the material. For more detailed readings please follow the Week information on Blackboard.
Unit 1 – Cellular fundamentals and applications of molecular biology
Week 1: Biochemistry basics and enzymology
Course Objectives – 1,7 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to illustrate the importance of key compounds in biological settings and the necessity of biological buffers.
- have an understanding of enzymes and their relevance in biological reactions.
Chapters:
Session 1:
Chpt. 4 – Water, Acids, Bases and Buffers
Chpt. 6 – Amino Acids in Proteins
Chpt. 7 – Structure-Function Relationships in Proteins
Session 2:
Chpt. 8 – Enzymes as Catalysts
Chpt. 9 – Regulation of Enzymes
Week 2: Cellular Communication
Course Objectives – 1,4 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to explain how cells communicate and integrate signals resulting in a cellular or physiological change.
Chapters:
Chpt. 10 – Relationship between cell biology and biochemistry
Chpt. 11 – Cell Signaling by Chemical Messengers
Week 3: Central Dogma – DNA structure and synthesis
Course Objectives – 1,2,3,4,5,6 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to describe the structure and synthesis of nucleotides.
- be able to relate the phases of the cell cycle to DNA replication and repair processes.
Chapters:
Session 1:
Chpt. 12 – Nucleotide structure
Chpt. 41 – Purine and Pyrimidine Synthesis and Salvage
Session 2:
Chpt. 13 – DNA Synthesis
Week 4: Central Dogma – Transcription and Translation
Course Objectives – 1,5 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to describe the flow of genetic information from DNA to the level of protein synthesis.
Chapters:
Chpt. 14 – Transcription
Chpt. 15 – Translation
Week 5: Gene regulation and diagnostic evaluation
Course Objectives – 1,3,6 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to integrate information from previous weeks and illustrate how cells sense and regulate gene expression.
- be able to understand how to evaluate these changes at a molecular level using cutting edge molecular technologies.
Chapters:
Session 1:
Chpt. 16 – Regulation of Gene expression
Session 2:
Chpt. 17 – Use of Recombinant DNA Techniques in Medicine
Week 6: Amino acids as specialized products
Course Objectives – 1,6,7 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- able to evaluate how defects in amino acid metabolism are inherited and how accumulation of intermediary metabolites can be used to clinically diagnose these disorders.
Chapters:
Chpt. 39 – Synthesis and degradation of amino acids
Chpt. 40 – Tetrahydrofolate, Vitamin B12, and S-Adenosylmethionine
Unit 2 – Generation of Energy and Carbohydrate Metabolism
Week 7: Generation of energy
Course Objectives – 2,7 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to relate the free energy of a reaction with its directionality.
- be able to describe the relevance and generation of ATP within the cell.
Chapters:
Chpt. 19 – Cellular Bioenergetics
Chpt. 21 – Oxidation phosphorylation
Week 8: Carbohydrate Metabolism
Course Objectives – 1,2 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to summarize carbohydrate, fat and amino acid metabolism and the interrelationship of various tissues.
- be able to assess the metabolic fate of carbohydrates following digestion.
Chapters:
Session 1:
Chpt. 26 – Basic concepts in the regulation of Fuel metabolism by insulin, glucagon and other hormones
Session 2:
Chpt. 27 – Digestion, absorption and transport of carbohydrates
Chpt. 22 – Generation of ATP from Glucose: Glycolysis
Chpt. 28 – Formation and Degradation of Glycogen
Week 9: TCA cycle
Course Objectives – 1,2 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to describe the role and regulation of the TCA cycle in generating reducing equivalents and substrates for intermediary metabolism.
Chapters:
Chpt. 20 – Tricarboxyilic Acid Cycle
Week 10: Alternative glucose metabolism and the RBC
Course Objectives – 1,2 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to discuss alternative pathways for glucose metabolism; specifically glucose metabolism within the red blood cell and the necessity of NADPH.
Chapters:
Chpt. 29 – Pathways of Sugar metabolism: Pentose Phosphate Pathway, Fructose
Unit 3 – Lipid metabolism and integrated metabolism
Week 11: Digestion, circulation and synthesis of lipids
Course Objectives – 1,2 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to illustrate how lipids are digested and transported to the periphery and synthesized.
- be able to assess how these processes are hormonally regulated.
Chapters:
Session 1:
Chpt. 32 – Digestion and transport of Dietary Lipids
Session 2:
Chpt. 33 – Synthesis of Fatty acids, Triacylglycerols and Major Membrane Lipids
Week 12: Cholesterol synthesis and lipoprotein metabolism
Course Objectives – 1,2 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to interpret the circulation of both dietary and endogenous cholesterol.
- be able to determine how this impacts de novo cholesterol synthesis.
- be able to determine the interrelationship VLDL and HDL metabolism.
Chapters:
Chpt. 34 – Cholesterol absorption, synthesis and metabolism
Week 13: Maintenance of blood glucose
Course Objectives – 1,2 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to describe the necessity and hormonal regulation of gluconeogenesis and the maintenance of blood glucose.
Chapters:
Session 1:
Chpt. 31 – Gluconeogenesis and Maintenance of Blood Glucose
Chpt. 33 – Synthesis of Fatty acids, Triacylglycerols and Major Membrane Lipids
Session 2:
Chpt. 25 – Metabolism of Ethanol
Unit 4 – Hormonal control of metabolism and metabolic acidosis
Week 14: Protein digestion and the urea cycle
Course Objectives – 1,2,3,6 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to asses the amino acid pool within the body.
- be able to determine the relative flux thru the urea cycle based on protein catabolism.
Chapters:
Chpt. 37 – Protein Digestion and Amino Acid Absorption
Chpt. 38 – Fate of Amino Acid Nitrogen: Urea cycle
Week 15: Fasted state and Metabolic Acidosis
Course Objectives – 1,2,3,6 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to determine metabolic adaptations that occur during the fasting state
- be able to confidently revisit the integration of intermediary metabolism within the liver, brain, kidney, skeletal muscle and adipose.
Chapters:
Chpt. 3 – Fasting
Chpt. 36 – Integration of carbohydrate and Lipid metabolism
Chpt. 42 – Interrelationships of Amino acids with other tissues
Week 16: Additional hormones that impact metabolism
Course Objectives – 2,3 – At the end of this week the learner will:
- be able to integrate the actions of alternative hormones on the discussed metabolic pathways to facilitate integration of metabolism across tissues.
Chapters:
Chpt. 43 – Actions of Hormones that Regulate Fuel Metabolism
Student Resources
Accommodations
Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.
Online Student Support
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Visit the Student Support Science Prerequisites page
Instructor and Support Contact Information
Check Brightspace for specific instructor and support specialist contact information.
Further Assistance
Your student service advisor monitors course progression and provides assistance or guidance when needed. They can assist questions regarding ordering course materials, University policies, billing, navigating the course in Brightspace, and more.
Student Lounge
The Student Lounge Discussion Board is a designated support forum in which students may engage with each other and grapple with course content. Feel free to post questions, seek clarification, and support each other, but be mindful of UNE's Academic Integrity Policy.
Your instructor will monitor this forum. However, if you are seeking specific and timely answers to questions about course content or your personal grades, please contact your instructor via course messages. For questions about course materials, program policy, and how to navigate and proceed through the course, please contact your Student Service Advisor through the Student Portal.
Policies
Proctored Examinations
The University of New England has contracted with ProctorU to provide students with the most convenient online exam proctoring system. This system provides a simple, no cost to the student, secure, online proctor for exams and allows the student to take all the exams at home and on their own schedule.
Upon enrollment into the course, each student will register with ProctorU and establish a login name and password. This will give the student access to all of ProctorU's services. When ready, students will schedule each of their proctored exams with ProctorU. Exams must be scheduled at least 72 hours in advance to avoid fees. Prior to taking their exams, students must be sure that they have downloaded the ProctorU Chrome or Firefox extension and are using the most current version of Chrome or Firefox. They must also be sure their testing site's connection meets the minimum requirements by using ProctorU's "Test It Out" utility.
Upon the exam day and hour, students will log in to ProctorU and click on "exams". After following the procedures outlined at ProctorU's web site, the student will log in to Brightspace and locate their correct exam. The proctor will then allow student access to that exam.
Students must use ProctorU and must follow all proctoring requirements for their exams to be credited.
Proctored exams are not available for review at any time. You will not be able to see the questions, nor the answers you've given, after completing the exams. Please contact your instructor for specific feedback.
Course Discussions
Discussion board assignments cover interesting current events or materials related to this course that contribute to a deeper understanding of key concepts and allow you to interact with your classmates and the instructor. Each assignment may require you to conduct internet research, read additional materials (a short journal or magazine article), visit a specific webpage, AND/OR view a short video prior to writing a response following the specific guidelines in the assignment.
To earn full credit: you will need to post a response to the discussion topic, respond to the original posts of at least two other students, and then contribute meaningfully to an ongoing discussion. You will need to post your initial response before you will see any posts from your classmates. Please keep in mind that only this initial response is included in your assignment grade, so make sure you have followed all of the guidelines and written a complete response prior to submitting the post. For special cases where one or two students are accelerating faster through the course, the instructor will participate in the discussion so that everyone has the opportunity to interact.
Please see Brightspace for a full description, along with specific guidelines, for each assignment. Discussion board assignments should be completed, along with all other assignments in the course, in the order that they appear. Due to the course design, you may be unable to take a proctored exam if you do not complete all assignments that appear prior to that exam.
Please also refer to the Grading Policy/Grade Breakdown section of the syllabus to learn the percentage of your grade that each discussion board assignment is worth.
Technology Requirements
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Programs: Technical Requirements
Course Length
A schedule of lectures and assignments is included in this syllabus. This is, however a self-paced course and you can complete the course in less time.
- Courses in the SPHP program are equivalent to one-semester courses designed to be completed in 16 weeks
- Enrollment in the course begins the day your section opens which is listed in the Academic Calendar found on the Student Success Portal.
- Course start and end dates are in respect to Eastern Time.
Withdrawal and Refund Policies
Please visit the enrollment page to review the withdrawal and refund policies.
Grade Policy
Students are expected to attempt and complete all graded assignments and proctored exams by the end date of the course. View the incomplete grade policy..
Transcripts
Due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, only the student may request official transcripts. This may be done online by going to the University of New England Registrar website and following the directions on the page.
To view your unofficial UNE student transcript:
- Log into uonline at http://uonline.une.edu
- Select Student Services
- Select Student Records
- Select Academic Transcript
To request your official UNE student transcript:
Please review your Unofficial Transcript prior to requesting an Official Transcript.
- Log into uonline at http://uonline.une.edu
- Select Student Services
- Select Student Records
- Select Request Printed/Official Transcript
- Follow the prompts
After you click Submit Request, your official transcript will be put into the queue to be printed in the Registrar's Office.
Academic Integrity
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
- Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
- Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
- Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
- Multiple submission of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
- Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.