Bit of a shot in the dark here but just wondering whether anyone here has done MIIM30016 Techniques in Microbiology and could comment on the subject overall? I've never done a prac based subject before, so not really sure what to expect from this subject. Thank you so much in advance!
So, there were 5 experiments that each ran over 2 weeks, A to E.
A) was about EPEC and how it interfered with the NFkB pathway.
B) was about the regulation of virulence gene expression, looking at a murine equivalent of EPEC (can't remember the organism).
C) was about Mouse Norovirus infection of macrophages, looking at which cytokines were involved and how the virus was negating their pro-inflammatory effects (IL-6, TNF, IFNb).
D) was about HIV and the regulatory proteins involved in replication (Tat and Rev).
E) was a bioinformatics (computer-based) prac looking at the epidemiology of TB infections (how to create a phylogenetic tree to assess an outbreak, how to sequence the genome and identify SNPs).
There were 2 written reports and 2 oral presentations. So one of the pracs wasn't assessed during the semester, but everything was in the final exam. The exam was really fair (and pretty simple TBH). Each prac had a dedicated question. All were short answer and worth 10 marks and divided into sub-questions, ranging from 1 markers to probably around 6 mark questions. The questions tested your understanding of the techniques, and how to interpret the data and what the data actually mean (so the prac outcomes).
You'll come across about techniques such as fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, enzymatic assays, ELISAs, reverse-transcriptase PCR and a bunch of other really cool stuff. You don't need to know the intricacies of how they work, just the basics and how to interpret the data you generate.
The demonstrators were friendly and knew their roles really well. Questions were always clarified. Feedback from prac reports was solid. And the instructions about how to approach the assessment were very clear.
Overall, a great subject! If you have any particular questions don't hesitate to PM me.