Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit convenor
Sasha Tetu
14ER 201
mon-thurs
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above including BMOL2401 or CBMS215 or CBMS202
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
Applied and Medical Microbiology examines the microbial world and how it interacts with our own. A key focus will be the role of microorganisms in human health and disease, covering topics ranging from the role of the human microbiome and the body's natural defences in protecting against microbial disease to epidemiology and the pathogenesis of infectious microorganisms. This unit covers medically important bacteria, fungi and viruses as well as antimicrobial agents, microbial resistance and susceptibility testing. Topics in applied microbiology include biotechnology, synthetic biology, food and water microbiology. In the hands-on laboratory sessions students gain skills in the current tools and techniques used in medical and applied microbiology laboratories. This unit is especially valuable for students majoring in biomolecular sciences, biology, and medical sciences. |
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Requirements to Pass this Unit
To pass this unit you must:
Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%
Attendance and participation in 80% practical classes is highly recommended since it will be difficult to pass the unit without obtaining marks from these activities.
Late Assessment Submission Penalty
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark of the task) will be applied for each day a written report or presentation assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern.
For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, please apply for Special Consideration.
Late submissions will only be accepted for the 'Practical and tutorial work' (lab book) assessment task for this unit.
For all other tasks late sumbission will NOT be accepted unless Special Consideration is granted.
Special Consideration
The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.
Weekly practice-based tasks: To pass the unit you need to demonstrate ongoing development of skills and application of knowledge in 8 out of 10 of the weekly practical laboratory classes. If you miss a weekly practical laboratory class due to a serious, unavoidable and significant disruption, contact your convenor ASAP as you may be able to attend another class that week.
If it is not possible to attend another class, you should still contact your convenor for access to class material to review in your own time.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Practical and SGTA | 20% | No | weeks 1-12 |
Practical preparation and lab skills | 0% | No | weeks 1-12 |
Lecture content-based questions | 5% | No | weeks 2-12 |
Mid Semester Test | 15% | No | week 7 |
Microbe presentation | 10% | No | week 9 |
Final Examination | 50% | No | Examination period |
Assessment Type 1: Lab book
Indicative Time on Task 2: 16 hours
Due: weeks 1-12
Weighting: 20%
Pre-practical exercises, performance in the practicals, SGTA and post-practical exercises and laboratory record keeping will be used to calculate the final practical mark. The tasks are designed to encourage you to engage with practical material and develop useful workplace skills including: planning and time management, safe working practices and good record keeping.
Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: weeks 1-12
Weighting: 0%
You are expected to participate in at least 80% of the practical laboratory classes to pass this unit.
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 5 hours
Due: weeks 2-12
Weighting: 5%
Small tasks across the semester to reward lecture engagement
Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: week 7
Weighting: 15%
Mid Semester Test
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 12 hours
Due: week 9
Weighting: 10%
Students will prepare and present a short report on a well studied microorganism.
Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Examination period
Weighting: 50%
The final exam will require students to apply terminology and concepts learnt in the lecture and practical components to answer a variety of questions of a critical thinking nature.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Week 1 Classes
Lectures begin in week 1, please see iLearn site for room information. In week 1 you are also required to attend the scheduled online workshop (which takes place at the same time you will attend practical classes in weeks 2-12) - there are NO lab based practicals in week 1. A zoom link for the online workshop will be made available on the iLearn site.
Please make sure you have your own lab coat and lab notebook prior to week 2 when practical laboratory classes commence.
Methods of Communication
We will communicate with you via your university email and through annoucements on iLearn. Queries to the convenor can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn.
COVID information
For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs.
Remember to check this page regularly in case the information and requirements change during semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID, these will be communicated via iLearn.
Lectures
The expectation is that you will engage with lecture material and carry out the additional readings and/or viewing of associated material which is provided with certain lectures.
Attending lectures during the scheduled time is highly recommended. Lectures will include questions and discussion sessions and participation is highly encouraged.
Looking over lecture slides or recordings are NOT a suitable substitute to attending the lectures. Students tend to perform poorly if they do not engage with lectures throughout the term and this will also impact your ability to prepare for and understand material in practical and tutorial sessions.
Practicals and workshops
Both lab-based practical classes and online workshops are designed to develop microbiology laboratory skills, safety practices and critical and analytical thought. Pre-practical exercises are designed to make sure you are ready for the practical work and have grasped the relevant theory and safety practices necessary.
Self-Study
The unit expectation is that you will spend time outside formal instruction reviewing notes taken in class, reading assigned materials (textbook sections and other referenced papers or articles) and exploring other sources of information on applied and medical microbiology. To self-assess your degree of understanding and to practice problem solving skills you are expected to attempt problems from the lectures, textbook and other resources.
Required and Recommended Texts and Materials
Practical Manual and Tutorial outlines – information outlining each tutorial and laboratory session will be available on iLearn for download one week prior to the session. Please download and complete any preparatory activities prior to your session.
You will be expected to bring a copy of practical manual notes, a lab coat, closed shoes and lab notebook to each practical.
Prescribed text: Brock Biology of Microorganisms Global Edition 15th or 16th edition. Madigan, Martenko, Stahl, Clark, Buckley. Publisher: Pearson education Inc, San Francisco. ISBN: 9781292235103
Interactive lectures, laboratory practical sessions and practical-focussed online workshops are all integral components of the unit. A comprehensive understanding of material covered in each of these course components will greatly assist you in the final exam, which covers ALL components of the unit.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
We value student feedback to be able to continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in the iLearn page.
Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement.
Date | Description |
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01/02/2024 | changed text under requirements to pass section as suggested by Emily |
Unit information based on version 2024.04 of the Handbook