BIOL 4140 / 8146 · Kristen Johnson + Matthew Northam · Lecture AH 302 Tue/Thu 10–11:15 · Lab AH 408 Mon or Thu 1–3:50

Cellular Biology — Fall 2026

A lab course with a literature seminar attached. You will keep human cell cultures alive for a semester, then design and run your own cytotoxicity experiment and present it as a poster. There are no exams — the grade is weekly quizzes, lab work, and the project.

Quick start

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Lodish Reader

MCB 9e embedded: section TOC, whole-book search, figure deep-links.
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Practice Exam

Concept-quiz style drill.
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Study Lab

Match, Mind map, Super map and Type it by quiz week.
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Sheets

Fill-in practice and diagram sheets per week, checked on the spot, graded by Claude.
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Books

Optional texts + finding papers.
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Mistakes

Everything you got wrong, grouped by exam and topic; review it or download it.
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Lecture Slides

Her lecture decks, Week 1 to Week 13, as PDFs you can read here.
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Lab Slides

Lab decks: pipetting and lab math, and the weekly experiment slides.

The weekly quiz rhythm

One quiz every week, alternating between two very different formats. Both post Thursday and are due 10:00 AM the following Tuesday, online through Canvas.

 Concept Quiz (CQ)Paper Quiz (PQ)
CoversLab-relevant math and concepts from lectureAssigned primary literature
Cumulative?Yes — may repeat questions from earlier quizzesNo
ProctoringRespondus LockDown Browser + MonitorNone
NotesClosedOpen note, but timed
How many7 × 10 pts = 706 × 10 pts = 60
PrepPapers posted in Canvas 2 weeks ahead — up to 5 per quiz—

Two things this rhythm implies

  • Concept Quizzes are cumulative and proctored, so the lab math never stops being examinable. Dilutions, hemocytometer counts and seeding densities are the recurring core — they are drilled in the Calculators and the Practice Exam.
  • Paper Quizzes are open note, and the papers appear two weeks early. Reading them as they post — and bringing notes to the ungraded in-class discussions — converts them into nearly free points.

Estimated schedule

Three units, fifteen weeks. CQ-n and PQ-n mark which quiz lands that week. (G) group submission · (I) individual.

WkDatesLab / materialDue
Unit 1 — Basics in cell culture and maintenance
1Aug 24–28Lab 1: intro, lab safety, pipette exercise, calculationsPipette assignment — calculations online by Friday (I)
2 · CQ-1Aug 31–Sep 4Lab 2: aseptic technique, cellular observationCell Observations (I) · first Concept Quiz due Tue
3 · PQ-1Sep 7–11Labor Day — Monday lab meets Thursday 10 AM. Lab 3: cell passage, estimationFirst Paper Quiz due Tue
4 · CQ-2Sep 14–18Lab 4: cell passage, hemocytometer countCompound Selection (G)
5 · PQ-2Sep 21–25Lab 5: cryopreservationLab 3 & 4 Results (I or G) — 10 pts
Unit 2 — Cellular assays
6 · CQ-3Sep 28–Oct 2Lab 6: fluorescent imaging · Lab 7 growth-curve split
7 · PQ-3Oct 5–9Lab 7: viability assays (Trypan by estimation)Labs 5 & 6 Results (G) 10 pts · Lab 7 growth-curve figures (G)
8 · CQ-4Oct 12–16Lab 8: proliferation assay (alamarBlue)Cytotoxicity Proposal (G) · grads: first 6 paper critiques by Fri
Unit 3 — Cellular response / cytotoxicity group projects
9 · PQ-4Oct 19–23Fall Break Mon–Tue. Lab Project: plan and prep stocks ThursdayLab 7 Trypan Results (G)
10 · CQ-5Oct 26–30LP: cytotoxicity assays (alamarBlue + Trypan) · online primer-design assignmentLab 8 alamarBlue Results (G)
11 · PQ-5Nov 2–6RNA isolation of untreated cells, or repeat cytotoxicity assaysPrimer Design Exercise (I or G)
12 · CQ-6Nov 9–13RNA isolation of treated cellsLP Cytotoxicity Results (G) 10 pts · Primer Selections with rationales (G) 10 pts
13 · PQ-6Nov 16–20qPCR lecture and analysis
14 · CQ-7Nov 23–27Thanksgiving Wed–Fri · no lab all week
15Nov 30–Dec 4Final Experiment Proposal (G) 10 pts · LP qPCR Results (G) 10 pts
PrepDec 7–11Cell Bio Symposium — poster presentation, by appointment Tue & ThuFinal poster due at your appointment
FinalsDec 14–18Symposium, by appointment ThursdayFinal manuscript / project proposal (G) due Monday · grads: last 6 critiques by Fri

Grading — 440 points

ComponentPointsDetail
Concept Quizzes707 × 10 pts · cumulative · Respondus
Paper Quizzes606 × 10 pts · open note
Lab Skills Assignments110Pipette exercise 14 · Cell Observations 5 · Experimental Results 55 (5/lab) · Daily Activities 26 · Primer Design 10
Cytotoxicity Project190Proposals/prep/discussion 40 (compound 10 · primer 10 · protocols 10 · final proposal 10) · Paper 65 · Poster 45
Group Participation10From peer evaluations
Total440Plus two optional 10-point extra-credit assignments (details day 1)

Two arithmetic snags in the syllabus — worth asking about

  • The Cytotoxicity Project is listed at 190 points, but its named components add to 150 (40 + 65 + 45). Forty points are unaccounted for.
  • The percentages printed beside each row (17% · 14% · 32% · 35% · 2%) do not match the point values against a 440-point total, which give 16% · 14% · 25% · 43% · 2%. The project is worth considerably more of your grade than 35%.

The point columns sum to 440 cleanly, so treat points as authoritative and the percentages as stale — but confirm with Dr. Johnson, since the project is the single biggest block.

Grading scale. A+ 97–100 A 93–96.9 A− 90–92.9 B+ 87–89.9 B 83–86.9 B− 80–82.9 C+ 77–79.9 C 73–76.9 C− 70–72.9 D+ 67–69.9 D 63–66.9 D− 60–62.9 F 0–59.9

Policies worth memorizing

  • Late work loses 10% per day, and scores 0 after 4 days. Steeper than most courses — a four-day slip is the whole assignment.
  • Attendance at lecture and lab is mandatory. Missing a lab costs that day's points, and the experiments are cumulative — cells you fail to passage are not there next week.
  • Contesting points requires a one-paragraph rationale plus two peer-reviewed sources, within 2 days of receiving the grade.
  • Hood work outside your lab section needs an appointment — but is allowed, and is how you buy time for the project.
  • Group work is pervasive: most results assignments are (G), and 10 points come straight from peer evaluations.

The cytotoxicity project

Worth 190 of 440 points — the largest single block in the course, and it runs from week 4 to finals week. You design, run and interpret your own experiment: treat mammalian cells with a compound of your choosing, measure cytotoxicity, then look at gene expression by RT-qPCR.

MilestoneWeekNotes
Compound Selection (G)4Pick early — everything downstream depends on it.
Cytotoxicity Proposal (G)8
Cytotoxicity Protocols · Primer Selection (G)10–12Primer selections need written rationales.
Final Experiment Proposal (G)15Your own adapted experiment.
Poster — Cell Bio SymposiumPrep week45 pts · by appointment Tue & Thu, location TBA.
Final manuscriptFinals Monday65 pts · class format requirements apply.

Graduate section (8146): two experiments of your own design rather than one, plus 12 one-page critiques of primary literature (24 pts) — first six due Friday of week 8, last six due Friday of finals week. Each is a summary plus proposed future experiments.

Instructors & logistics

LectureAH 302 · Tue & Thu 10:00–11:15 AM
LabAH 408 · Monday or Thursday 1:00–3:50 PM · appointments needed for hood work
Kristen Johnson, PhDkrisjohnson@unomaha.edu · 402-515-4513 · office hours Tuesdays 11:30–12:30
Matthew Northam, PhDmnortham@unomaha.edu · office hours via Zoom, by appointment
Teaching assistantPrincess Sunday-Jimmy
PrerequisitesBIOL 2140, BIOL 3020, and CHEM 2210 or 2250
Cross-listedBIOL 4140 / 8146 — graduate section carries extra work

Accessibility. Accommodations for students registered with the Accessibility Services Center who request them sufficiently in advance — MBSC 126 · 402-554-2872 · unodisabilty@unomaha.edu (address as printed in the syllabus). Title IX Coordinator Charlotte Russell 402-554-3490 · Counseling Services 402-554-2409 · Ombudsperson Dr. Shereen Bingham 402-554-4857.

Course objectives

  1. From lectures, primary literature and discussion, recognize, interpret and apply concepts including cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, cell signaling, and gene expression.
  2. Through caring for human cell cultures, show proficiency in aseptic technique, cell line maintenance, characterization, microscopy and cryopreservation.
  3. By investigating cellular response and gene expression under drug treatment, perform and interpret cytotoxicity experiments, RNA isolation, and nucleic-acid detection by qPCR.
  4. Through writing and formal presentation of your own lab work, communicate and interpret findings in the biological sciences.

Objective 1 is the one the Concept Quizzes test, and it names the five concept areas explicitly — that list is the best available guide to what lecture material is fair game.

References