8,060 Comments

BUSS Presents: Programming Seminar

  By Events, Upcoming

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Drinks and lunch will be provided!
No previous programing skills required. BRING YOUR LAPTOP AND CHARGER!!
Fee is $5.00, pay by the door, or $4.15 online!
Schedule:

Session 1 ( 10:00 – 11:15) : Introduction to programming – Why programming; basic concepts in programming Introduction to R and RStudio – navigation in Rstudio, interaction with R, getting help etc.

Coffee break (11:15 – 11:30)


Session 2 ( 11:30 – 12:45) : Data structure in R – basic data types and structures in R; read data; Manipulation of data frames Control flow and repetition – conditional statement and loops
Lunch break (12:45 – 1:15)
Session 3 ( 1:15 – 2:30) : Functions and vectorization in R – How to write new functions and apply to all elements Explore data with summary, aggregation, correlations Making plots in R – R base plotting; ggplot (if time permits)
Coffee break (2:30 – 2:45)


Session 4 (2:45 – 4:00) : Basic data analysis – using base R: t tests, basic regression models Use R packages for data analysis: – intro to packages for biological and statistical analysis Output data – save data frames, plots, objects and workspaces – making data analysis report with knitr

(Time permitting) Introduction to command line

(Time permitting) – How to use command line programs – Write an R script – Good practices in programming

 

We hope to see you there!

1,762 Comments

From CRISPR to Gairdner: Dr. Rudolphe Barrangou

  By Events, Science

CRIPSR to Gairdner

Come and join us (Friday, October 28th from 4-5 PM in MSB4279) in meeting Dr. Barrangou who is a 2016 Gairdner award winner. The Gairdner awards are a series of awards that are given to biomedical scientists who have made original contributions to medicine, resulting in an increase in our understanding of human biology and disease. The Gairdner awards are known to be a strong predicator of future winners of the Nobel Prize in medicine and Physiology.

Dr. Barrangou is an associate Professor, Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences and a Todd R. Klaenhammer Distinguished Scholar in Probiotics Research North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.

He is receiving the 2016 Gairdner Award for establishing and characterizing the CRISPR-Cas bacterial immune system.

So join us in learning about Dr. Barrangou’s work and the path that he took that led him to success.

1,920 Comments

Undergraduate Professional Development: Empowering YOU to be market-ready – October 2016

  By Events

BUSS Presents-

By popular demand, BUSS brings you a NEW series of 4 workshops highlighting professional and career development to help land your summer internship or career after graduation.

Topics include marketing yourself, the resume, the informational interview, how to find your own mentors outside of academia, career options. Workshops are highly interactive and require you to bring an electronic device with internet access.

 

Guest Speaker: Dr. Nana Lee, a national leader in graduate professional development

Speaker: Dr. Nana Lee

Speaker: Dr. Nana Lee

Dates: TBD

Place: TBD

To register, please submit in a one page resume and a 200-300 paragraph on what you hope to achieve through UPD all in one pdf file entitled “Your last name_UPD2016” to nana.lee@utoronto.ca by 5 pm October 17, 2016. All participants are expected to attend all 4 workshops to receive optimal assessments and potential future intern/career opportunities.

2,203 Comments

Professional Development Workshop – January 2016

  By Events, Past

Professional Development Workshop

Dear Undergrads,

What are the career options after a life science undergraduate degree?
What are the secrets of marketing yourself to the internship or career that you are aiming for? How does a resume float to the top?

You are cordially invited to attend a workshop led by Dr. Nana Lee, Director of Graduate Professional Development, Dept of Biochemistry and Immunology to discuss these critical matters for your future professional development.

Date: Wed Jan 27, 2016
Time: 10-12 am
Place: CCBR, BLACK ROOM

1,595 Comments

Scientists decipher cellular “roadmap” of disease-related proteins

  By News, Science

The following article on the University of Toronto website describes the recent work of one professor of biochemistry, Igor Stagljar:

Igor Stagljar, Professor in the Faculty of Medicine’s Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, and his team developed the first roadmap for ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter proteins. These proteins are crucial components of every cell, and are also involved in tumor resistance.

Scientists have struggled with understanding how ABC transporter proteins work and communicate with other proteins. Stagljar and his team, including first author Dr. Jamie Snider, have solved the mystery by using Membrane Yeast Two-Hybrid (‘MYTH’) technology to see how these transporter proteins interact with other vital components in the cell.

(Read more)

Here’s a little more info for those who are interested in biochemistry: ATP-binding cassette transporters are a large class of transmembrane proteins. Typically, they use energy derived from ATP hydrolysis in order to carry out various tasks, such as the transport of substrates across membranes. Issues with ABC transporter proteins often lead to disease, as the article describes: for instance, CFTR falls under this class of proteins, and a variety of mutations in it will lead to cystic fibrosis. Dr. Stagljar has various ongoing projects in his laboratory, but his recent publication in Nature Chemical Biology concerned his work in defining the interactome of ABC transporters. (You can read more about this and the method used in his research, the Membrane Yeast Two-Hybrid system, here.) This sort of work gives us a much better understanding of diseases that are associated with ABC transporters, including macular degeneration, Tangier disease, and cancer (i.e. how cancerous cells are resistant to chemotherapy).

Dr. Stagljar is cross-appointed to the departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Biochemistry. Last year, he was one of the lecturers in BCH242Y1 (the introductory biochemistry course for specialists), and the material he went over was actually relevant to this news. Hence, as a biochemistry student, it is possible to have the opportunity to be taught by him!

Clubs Fair 2015 is Over!!

Gallery

  By Events, News, Past

Thanks to all who showed up at the BUSS booth during Clubs Fair! For everyone who signed up, we will be sending further information on upcoming academic and social events shortly. Meanwhile enjoy the photo gallery below and see if you were “captured” by our camera!

2,156 Comments

Buss Elections and Pub Night

  By Events

Do you want to make a difference in the life sciences community at U of T? Do you want the chance to work with the Biochemistry faculty to create a better environment for student socializing and learning? If so, then come out to the annual Biochemistry Undergraduate Student Society elections to run for an executive position!
DATE: Thursday, April 2nd
TIME: 4-6PM
LOCATION: MSB5231
Refreshments will be served at the elections.

Our elections will be followed by our annual PUB NIGHT! FREE FOOD AND DRINKS WILL BE SERVED! Our pub night this year is co-hosted by the Biochemistry Graduate Student Union (BGSU), so it’s an excellent opportunity to meet new people, make new connections, and celebrate the end of the year!

DATE: Thursday, April 2nd
TIME: 7-11PM
LOCATION: Fox & the Fiddle on Bloor

We hope to see you all there!

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Election Details:

If you are a biochemistry student (i.e. in a BCH POSt or taking a BCH class), you may run for a maximum of two (2) of the following positions:

2 Co-Presidents (Run independently)
1 Vice President
1 Treasurer
1 Academic Coordinator
1 Social Coordinator
1 Fundraising Coordinator
1 Secretary
1 Webmaster
1 Graphic Designer
1 ASSU Representative
2 Fourth Year Reps (1 Specialist, 1 Major)
2 Third Year Reps (1 Specialist, 1 Major)

Detailed description of positions: https://docs-google-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/document/d/1IrQ9FQEep82f2gS5ght4mgWShKNQYsl-hDNqocJUUj8/edit?usp=sharing

Please email buss@utoronto.ca with the subject heading “BUSS Elections Candidate” and declare the position(s) for which you are interested in running. Specify your name, year, and program of study. THE DEADLINE TO DECLARE YOUR CANDIDACY IS MARCH 31st, 5PM.

If you are running for your position in person, please come prepared with a 2 minute speech. Each round of speeches will also be followed by a question period and then voting. If you cannot attend the elections, please include in your email your speech(es). We will read your speech out in person during the elections.

Good luck to everyone who is running!