Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology
Publications | Research | Faculty
Background:
Jim Blankenship is a senior lecturer in the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. He received a B.S. in Biology from Cornell in 1976, and an M.S. in Biochemistry from Cornell University in 1991. He has taught a number of laboratory courses at Cornell including microbiology, and several biochemistry lab courses in addition to the courses that he is currently teaching.
Courses Taught:
Biobm330 Principles of Biochemistry, Individualized Instruction
I currently co-teach the Principles of Biochemistry, Individualized Instruction Course (BIOBM 330) with Peter Hinkle. The course is divided into fourteen units of core material that covers the areas of protein structure and function, membranes, molecular biology, and metabolism. The course has no regularly scheduled classes which allows the students to work on biochemistry when it is convenient. The study center is open 65 hours each week and is always staffed with at least two teaching assistants. The course is offered in both the fall and the spring semesters;approximately 250 students register in the course per semester. BIOBM 330 is 4 credits. Students can enroll in BioBM 334 for an additional credit. The additional activities included in BioBM 334 include biomolecule visualization in three-dimensions on Silicon Graphics computers and participation in a seminar series on "Current Topics in Molecular Biology". Topics that are currently included in the seminar series include Cystic Fibrosis, The Origin of Life, RNA as and Enzyme, Prion Diseases, HIV receptors, and Oncogenes (to name but a few).
James E. Blankenship and Karen L. Kindle. 1992. Expression of Chimeric Genes by the Light-Regulated cabII-1 Promoter in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: A cabII-1/nit1 Gene Functions as a Dominant Selectable Marker in a nit1-nit2-Strain. Molecular and Cellular Biology 12(11), 5268-5279).