Summer, the sweetest season…here in Wisconsin we look forward to warm evenings on the Memorial Union Terrace at UW-Madison, grilling brats and veggie burgers, fresh harvests from the farmer’s market and of course, the BTC Institute’s intensive summer courses.

Here is a brief list of what we are offering this summer –

Neuroscience 675 : Molecular Approaches to Neuroscience (June 15-19; 9am–5:30pm): An introduction to basic molecular biology techniques including cloning, nucleic acid isolation, amplification and analysis; cell-based assays for studying cell death mechanisms and microscopy techniques are presented as well as approaches to studying kinase activity for drug discovery. Guest lectures augment the laboratory-focused, techniques-based curriculum.

Oncology 675 – 001: Core Techniques in Protein and Genetic Engineering (July 13-17;  9am-6pm): An advanced primer on molecular biology techniques; nucleic acid isolation, cloning tools and techniques, PCR technologies (PCR, RT-PCR, qPCR and qRT-PCR), plasmid purification, protein purification techniques, and Western blot form the backbone of this course. Additional topics are included as lectures to provide examples of applications.

 Oncology 675 – 002: Emerging Techniques in Protein and Genetic Engineering (July 20-24; 9am-6pm): Focusing on transcription, translation and especially epigenetics, this course allows students to explore cutting edge techniques used to study molecular biology. Laboratory exercises testing HDAC inhibitor potencies and analyzing cellular consequences of HDAC inhibition, cell health assessment and kinase inhibitor assays for drug profiling, studying protein-protein interactions in live cells, and investigating biologics in live cells. Lectures will tentatively include discussion of deep sequencing and next-gen sequencing, pharmaceutical development, mass spectrometry for discovery, systems biology approaches to experimental design and others.

Please direct inquiries about the courses to Dr. Amy Prevost (amy.prevost@btci.org) – we hope to see some of you this summer!

Also, visit our web site to see what else we’re doing at the BTC Institute- we have some great summer programs for upper elementary and middle school students, camp biotech for 9^th and 10^th graders, and  teacher training courses– more information on all of our course offerings at www.btci.org .