Petition to Substitute MCB Lab Course

Students may petition to substitute the lab course with equivalent knowledge and units obtained through independent research experience (such as 199 or H196 research), as determined by the Head Faculty Advisor of their major emphasis. Careful consideration and discussion with your faculty advisor is important when making the decision whether to use independent research to substitute the lab, as MCB labs expose students to many biological approaches not always encountered during these research projects.

In order to obtain a substitution, you need to demonstrate that you understand the majority of the material taught in the MCB lab course, preferably by hands-on experience.  This will be determined by your PI, the instructor of the lab course and the head faculty advisor in your emphasis. You must fulfill the requirements for the lab required in your emphasis (e.g. If you are a Neurobiology student, but only fulfill the immunology lab requirements, you cannot use this to substitute MCB 160L.)

Students have a limit of 2 substitutions for required major courses. This includes lab substitutions, electives, core requirements, study abroad, and upper division transfer classes. To request a course substitution, meet with a staff advisor who will provide you with a substitution form. All substitutions must be approved by a faculty advisor.

General Requirements

1. A minimum of 2 academic terms (Fall, Spring, and/or Summer terms) of enrolled upper division research units (such as MCB 199, H196A, UGIS 192C etc) in the same laboratory. The second academic term of enrolled research units must be completed prior to or actively in-progress during the academic term in which the student submits their justification statement (see Procedure, Step 3, below).
2. The total number of upper division research units must add up to a minimum of 4, completed prior to or actively in-progress during the academic term in which the student submits their justification statement (see Procedure, Step 3, below).
3. Students must show documentation of the lab technique training received to the faculty advisor who will evaluate your petition (Procedures, Step 4, below). This is most commonly a written or digital lab notebook documenting the lab technique training via laboratory research/activities that the student has performed.
4. Must be able to provide a coherent description of your research.
   • Recommended: Participation and presentation in lab group meetings and journal clubs, which should develop your ability to understand and explain your research.

Procedure

1. Review the general (above) and emphasis-specific requirements (linked here: BBS, CDP, GGED, IMM, NEU).
   • MTX students, use the BBS emphasis requirements for MCB C110L until we publish guidelines for the new MCB 120L lab course.
2. Write a Justification Statement (see details below).
3. Email your justification statement to the MCB Undergraduate Affairs Office (UAO; mcbuao@berkeley.edu) before the deadline (see deadlines below) and they will verify your eligibility and email you the lab substitution petition form and your major progress report. 
4. Have your petition form signed by your PI and the head faculty advisor in your emphasis. You should bring your lab notebook (or other appropriate documentation as explained in Step 3 of the General Requirements above) and be prepared to discuss how your lab experience fulfills the listed requirements.
   • Your PI must sign the form before the head faculty advisor signs it.
5. Return the signed lab sub petition form to the UAO via email (mcbuao@berkeley.edu).  See the deadlines below.
6. Write and submit a final research report (see details below) and submit a signed approval form. The online submission form for these documents will be provided to students via email when they receive their unsigned lab sub petition form (Step 3 above). Research Reports are due: Friday of RRR week of graduating semester (for Fall and Spring graduates) and the final day of Session C (for Summer graduates). In the event of technical difficulties with the online submission form or if a student is unable to locate the link to the submission form, a student can as a last resort submit these documents via email (to mcbuao@berkeley.edu) with an explanation for why they didn't use the standard online submission form (this helps us troubleshoot any technical problems, if applicable).

Deadlines

Signed lab substitution request form:

For seniors graduating in spring or summer:

• October 1 - Justification Statement due to MCB UAO
• October 31 - Lab substitution request form signed by your PI and head faculty advisor of your emphasis due to UAO 

For seniors graduating in the fall:

• April 1 - Justification Statement due to MCB UAO
• April 30 - Lab substitution request form signed by your PI and head faculty advisor of your emphasis due to UAO

Research Report: Friday of RRR week of your graduating semester (submit to google form that we will email to you)

Experience with the following:

• DNA and/or RNA isolation and manipulation, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and reverse-transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), agarose gel electrophoresis, DNA cloning (restriction, ligation, transformation of yeast and/or bacteria)
• Protein expression and purification, subcellular fractionation, protein gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), immunoblotting, protein assays, enzyme assays and kinetic analyses, protein crystallization and X-ray crystallography (very basic), protein structure-function analyses
• Fluorescence microscopy with living and fixed cells, subcellular protein localization analyses, and/or an alternative microscopy methodology; genetic manipulation and phenotypic testing.

CDP: MCB 133L Substitution Requirements

Experience with the following:

• Cell culture or cell manipulation, such as transfection, drug treatment, and immuno-fluorescence
• Microscopy – ideally fluorescence microscopy and a contrast enhancement technique, such as phase contrast or DIC optics
• Molecular biology, such as DNA cloning/manipulation, PCR
• Biochemistry – such as SDS-PAGE, subcellular fractionation, or Western blot

GGED: MCB 140L Substitution Requirements

Experience with the following:

• Reverse or forward genetic manipulation, such as RNAi, antisense-oligomer mediated gene knockdown, chemical genetics, chemical or transposon-mediated genetic screens, transgenesis, breeding experiments, genetic mapping. Experience with a genetic model system (yeast, mouse, corn, zebrafish, Arabidopsis, Drosophila, C. elegans, Xenopus tropicalis, etc.) is desired but not required. Experience with genome resources and databases preferred.
• Phenotypic analysis, such as in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, microscopic imaging, cell growth analyses, behavioral testing, etc.
• Molecular biology/biochemistry, such as DNA cloning/manipulation, PCR, protein isolation, SDS-PAGE, subcellular fractionation, or Western blot.

IMM: MCB 150L Substitution Requirements

Experience with the following:

• Cell culture or mouse experiments. Growing and maintaining animal or plant cells along with cell culture assays. Doing experiments in mice with immunizations or infections followed by tissue harvesting.
• Immunoassays. ELISAs, Western blot, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, microscopic imaging, immunoaffinity columns.
• Molecular biology/biochemistry, such as DNA cloning/manipulation, PCR, protein isolation, Southern blotting, restriction mapping, HPLC, DNA sequencing.

NEU: NEU 171L/173L (formerly MCB 160L/163L) Substitution Requirements

Experience with at least 4 of the following:

• Physiological or optical measurement of neural activity or signaling, including intracellular or extracellular recording, and activity- or calcium-based indicators
• Morphological analysis of neurons, circuits, or subcellular compartments, including immunohistochemistry, tract tracing, optical analysis of structure or dynamics using genetic or synthetic indicators
• Genetic manipulation or profiling of cells (e.g., viral vectors, RNAi), or reverse or forward genetics related to neurobiology
• Application of molecular biology and biochemistry techniques to understand neural functions (e.g., PCR, western blotting, immunoprecipitation, gene cloning)
• Quantitative analysis of animal behavior
• Computational approaches to neurobiology (neurons, genes, neural networks)