Spring 2003 Catalyst - A Call for Support

A Call for Community Support photos of students in labs

Biochemistry is an advanced interdisciplinary science requiring expertise in chemistry, physics and mathematics, as well as a deep understanding of biology. Biochemistry has been a remarkably successful discipline, largely responsible for spawning the current Age of Biology. It has driven the creation of the new fields of genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, and related molecular life science disciplines.

Central to the undergraduate curriculum for biochemistry is training in a formal biochemical laboratory techniques course. Such a course, more than any other, should focus the student’s attention on the experimental basis for our current understanding of how living systems function.

The Current Crisis

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the University of Arizona faces a problem: severe University budget cuts in the early 1990’s forced the elimination of the biochemistry laboratory course. But it became apparent that our students were not receiving the educational experience they deserved, so in the fall of 2001 we initiated a new required laboratory course for biochemistry majors: Biochemistry 463.

The course was reconfigured to fit the needs of modern biochemistry with a focus on preparing our students to enter graduate programs or the private sector workforce. Beginning in the fall of 2003, the enrollment in the laboratory course will reach approximately 50 students per section. Unfortunately, the department only has enough laboratory equipment to meet the needs for 16 students per semester. This lack of laboratory resources forces our students to wait in line for the course, delaying graduation, keeping them out of the workforce and adding to the burden for both the student and the University.

The purchase of this equipment will allow us to meet the increasing educational and training demands of a technology-based workforce. We will also be able to focus our attention on technologies central to modern biochemistry, biotechnology, and molecular biology that will benefit not only the students, but future employers as well.

We are therefore expanding our efforts to secure funding for this essential equipment from other sources.

The Case for Support

The value of the course is undeniable. Students who have completed the course since reintroduction are benefiting immensely from the experience. Faculty members report that those students are doing substantially better work in their senior thesis research projects and in other course work as well. We feel confident that our graduates will be able to perform much better at an earlier stage in their professional careers as a result of the laboratory experience.

The Shopping List

The specific needs that we have for the continuation and expansion of our highly stimulating and rewarding course are:

Ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometers (3 at $8,500 each)
Protein purification equipment
Electrophoresis equipment for proteomics experiments
Bench top centrifuges (3 at $2,000 each)
Pipetters and other small equipment items
Computers for bioinformatics and biocomputing laboratory
Total cost:

$25,500
$15,000
$10,000
$6,000
$6,000
$18,000
$80,000

Gifts to this project can be facilitated in many ways. Cash and/or appreciated securities are gratefully accepted. You may choose to provide funding for a specific piece of equipment or allocate your gift across all of the above-listed priorities. Gifts may also be pledged over a 2-3 year period (a minimum gift commitment-level may be required). All checks should be made payable to the UA Foundation – Department of Biochemistry (Bioc 463). Please mail to Bob Logan, College of Science Development Office, P.O. Box 210077, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0077

Naming and Recognition Opportunities

Your support of this project offers a number of ways for the College of Science and the University of Arizona to recognize you. Gifts and pledges in excess of $25,000 (as of June 30, 2003) will qualify you for membership in the University of Arizona’s highest donor recognition club – The UA President’s Club. Also, various naming opportunities are available for support at certain levels. Finally, a qualifying gift would allow the entire lab facility (or the related computer lab) to be named in your, your company’s, or your family’s honor. Should you be interested in any of the naming and recognition opportunities associated with this laboratory project, please contact Bob Logan, College of Science Director of Development at 621-4015.

Biological Sciences West
P.O. Box 210088 ·Tucson, AZ 85721-0088
Tel: (520) 621-9185 FAX (520) 621-9288
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
The University of Arizona
Updated June 1, 2004