Getting up to speed in Cell, Molec, and Biochem

[MSTPbound]

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I'm a non-traditional pre-MD/PhD student. I've given my back ground in a previous thread, so I'll give a briefer version here: age-26, B.A. in social science area, M.A. in Exercise Physiology, one year clinical rehab research experience (strength training in Parkinson's Disease patients), one year of pre-medical sciences (completed last year). Will take MCAT in April and apply MSTP this summer.

So I'm in the midst of my second week working in a molecular physiology lab full-time; it's demaning a pretty steep learning curve for me considering that I have no other molecular level preparation in biology or chemistry beyond a year of undergraduate orgo, a year of bio, and very general cellular physiology work I did in my graduate program.

I've been struggling to figure out a system for teaching myself enough molecular cell biology to keep up with the research I'm doing (mechanisms of p53 induction, stabilization, modification, etc.). I can't complain really, but I feel terribly inefficient going back and forth between textbooks, research articles, Wikipedia, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions for :

1) How I might Systematize my background prep (I can count on having 2-4 hours out of each day to do this)?

2) Web resources I might want to spend more time with?

3) Books you would recommend (not necessarily textbooks - auxiliary study guides that you have found helpful).

I'm thinking primarily along lines of structural/protein biology.

Thanks for your input in advance... this forum seemed like the most appropriate one for my questions.

 

[solitude]

My two cents:

Probably the most thorough way to get up to speed on cell, molecular biology and biochem would be to read MBOC by Alberts et al. i.e. "the Bible of molecular biology". It might not be exactly what you are looking for in terms of condensed study guides (or excitement!), but if you read that slowly and paid attention to detail, you would be have a great background in those three areas. If you found any subject insufficient, you could start with the references at the end of each chapter. This strategy of just focusing on this one book may help you stay focused and feel like you are "making progress" in that you will slowly but surely work your way through that beast, and you won't be jumping around between many different sources. If you already know the background and are more interested in the techniques, I find Griffiths et al. to be great.

Hope this helps 🙂.

I'm a non-traditional pre-MD/PhD student. I've given my back ground in a previous thread, so I'll give a briefer version here: age-26, B.A. in social science area, M.A. in Exercise Physiology, one year clinical rehab research experience (strength training in Parkinson's Disease patients), one year of pre-medical sciences (completed last year). Will take MCAT in April and apply MSTP this summer.

So I'm in the midst of my second week working in a molecular physiology lab full-time; it's demaning a pretty steep learning curve for me considering that I have no other molecular level preparation in biology or chemistry beyond a year of undergraduate orgo, a year of bio, and very general cellular physiology work I did in my graduate program.

I've been struggling to figure out a system for teaching myself enough molecular cell biology to keep up with the research I'm doing (mechanisms of p53 induction, stabilization, modification, etc.). I can't complain really, but I feel terribly inefficient going back and forth between textbooks, research articles, Wikipedia, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions for :

1) How I might Systematize my background prep (I can count on having 2-4 hours out of each day to do this)?

2) Web resources I might want to spend more time with?

3) Books you would recommend (not necessarily textbooks - auxiliary study guides that you have found helpful).

I'm thinking primarily along lines of structural/protein biology.

Thanks for your input in advance... this forum seemed like the most appropriate one for my questions.

 

[j-weezy]

My two cents:

Probably the most thorough way to get up to speed on cell, molecular biology and biochem would be to read MBOC by Alberts et al. i.e. "the Bible of molecular biology". It might not be exactly what you are looking for in terms of condensed study guides (or excitement!), but if you read that slowly and paid attention to detail, you would be have a great background in those three areas. If you found any subject insufficient, you could start with the references at the end of each chapter. This strategy of just focusing on this one book may help you stay focused and feel like you are "making progress" in that you will slowly but surely work your way through that beast, and you won't be jumping around between many different sources. If you already know the background and are more interested in the techniques, I find Griffiths et al. to be great.

Hope this helps 🙂.

hahaha MBOC is certainly not exciting! I do agree with solitude about feeling like you're making progress. There's another book by the same publishing company (Garland Science) called "Essential Cell Biology" by Alberts et. al. At just shy of 900 pages it's not exactly condensed either but it's much shorter than MBOC (a frightening 1600 pages!) and seems to focus a little less on every single nitty gritty detail. However, considering how prevalent MBOC is in pre-med cell bio classes, if you have MBOC already just use that one - no need to purchase yet another pricey book!

 

[MSTPbound]

hahaha MBOC is certainly not exciting! I do agree with solitude about feeling like you're making progress. There's another book by the same publishing company (Garland Science) called "Essential Cell Biology" by Alberts et. al. At just shy of 900 pages it's not exactly condensed either but it's much shorter than MBOC (a frightening 1600 pages!) and seems to focus a little less on every single nitty gritty detail. However, considering how prevalent MBOC is in pre-med cell bio classes, if you have MBOC already just use that one - no need to purchase yet another pricey book!

I have neither book already; I have MBOG, and Molecular Cell Biology, published by Scientific American Books. The authors are Lodish, Baltimore, Berk, Zipursky, Matsudaira and Darnell. The latter text is used as a reference at the medical school where my lab is located, so I'm pretty sure it should suffice as a master text - I may consider MBOC anyway if I can manage the expense. I was thinking more along the lines of "smaller", faster reads, but I guess I would be better off just sticking to one text cover to cover.

Thanks for the input!

-MSTPbound

 

[Circumflex]

All of the general, books mentioned are good. I would start by reading chapters relevant to your research (e.g. cell cycle, apoptosis, cancer) and writing down concepts that are not familiar. Then, go read in depth on these topics, either in texts or in review papers. This is a way to get yourself up to speed a little more quickly on your work than trying to conquer a textbook cover-to-cover. You can start reading about other topics in molecular biology later after you have a better handle on your own research.

 

[PseudomonasPAO1]

I'm thinking primarily along lines of structural/protein biology.

Thanks for your input in advance... this forum seemed like the most appropriate one for my questions.

I'd be careful with limiting yourself to a specific subset of molecular biology..You need to work your way to proteins. A typical year of graduate level molecular coursework will go through prokaryotic/eukaryotic transcription and translation, then regulation, cell signaling and finally proteins (the order is somewhat flexible).

I would personally try to find a good graduate MolBio class page, and simply peruse the lectures. Find a decent text to accompany the lectures, I recall 'Genes' by Lewin being OK.

Good luck! 🙂

 

[bottles999]

I'm a non-traditional pre-MD/PhD student. I've given my back ground in a previous thread, so I'll give a briefer version here: age-26, B.A. in social science area, M.A. in Exercise Physiology, one year clinical rehab research experience (strength training in Parkinson's Disease patients), one year of pre-medical sciences (completed last year). Will take MCAT in April and apply MSTP this summer.

So I'm in the midst of my second week working in a molecular physiology lab full-time; it's demaning a pretty steep learning curve for me considering that I have no other molecular level preparation in biology or chemistry beyond a year of undergraduate orgo, a year of bio, and very general cellular physiology work I did in my graduate program.

I've been struggling to figure out a system for teaching myself enough molecular cell biology to keep up with the research I'm doing (mechanisms of p53 induction, stabilization, modification, etc.). I can't complain really, but I feel terribly inefficient going back and forth between textbooks, research articles, Wikipedia, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions for :

1) How I might Systematize my background prep (I can count on having 2-4 hours out of each day to do this)?

2) Web resources I might want to spend more time with?

3) Books you would recommend (not necessarily textbooks - auxiliary study guides that you have found helpful).

I'm thinking primarily along lines of structural/protein biology.

Thanks for your input in advance... this forum seemed like the most appropriate one for my questions.

I'll agree with other post's from above - Albert's or Lodish books are excellent resources. Both books have detailed sections on current molecular methodologies. They would be starting points to understanding whats going on. Then I would also look at the detailed procedures your performing in the lab such as purification techniques, PCR, or ELISA or whatever and look at the product manuals from the various vendors. They are also a good and 'detailed' source of info and understanding. Particularly relavent to the tasks at hand your performing in the lab. If ya cant find the ref books in your lab, look for them online from the vendor.

Google will be your best friend!

It sounds like your in a cancer research lab, working on P53, you might want to invest in a cancer biology text. Its not alot different than what you'd get from the cancer chapters in Alberts or Lodish, just in tons more detail. Also there are books out there on P53 only, just look at amazon for those.

One word of caution.... The MCAT is a very unforgiving test. You really need to focus alot of energy toward it to do well on it. Its even harder if your shooting for the MD-PhD since you generally will need a pretty high, higher than the normal 30 and up for reg MD programs. Given your description it really sounds like your spread pretty thin right now. Hope thats not the case, but something you might want to consider in your prep for the April MCAT.

Good Luck with you prep!

 

[MSTPbound]

I'll agree with other post's from above - Albert's or Lodish books are excellent resources. Both books have detailed sections on current molecular methodologies. They would be starting points to understanding whats going on. Then I would also look at the detailed procedures your performing in the lab such as purification techniques, PCR, or ELISA or whatever and look at the product manuals from the various vendors. They are also a good and 'detailed' source of info and understanding. Particularly relavent to the tasks at hand your performing in the lab. If ya cant find the ref books in your lab, look for them online from the vendor.

Google will be your best friend!

It sounds like your in a cancer research lab, working on P53, you might want to invest in a cancer biology text. Its not alot different than what you'd get from the cancer chapters in Alberts or Lodish, just in tons more detail. Also there are books out there on P53 only, just look at amazon for those.

One word of caution.... The MCAT is a very unforgiving test. You really need to focus alot of energy toward it to do well on it. Its even harder if your shooting for the MD-PhD since you generally will need a pretty high, higher than the normal 30 and up for reg MD programs. Given your description it really sounds like your spread pretty thin right now. Hope thats not the case, but something you might want to consider in your prep for the April MCAT.

Good Luck with you prep!

That sounds like a great idea (Cancer Biology text)! Yes, Google and I have grown quite fond of each other lately.

I appreciate the concern for my schedule. I actually have quite a bit of experience with the danger of "spreading myself too thin"... that's why I've virtually phased out my personal training business to focus on this. Logistically, my schedule is trying but manageable. I am in the lab Monday through Friday, 9-5; my time there is split between bench work, and all the "catching up" I'm doing. My Kaplan course meets Monday nights from 6:30 to 9:30 and Saturday mornings from 10-1.

I have only one pre-req left - Physics II. When it starts at the end of the month, the class will meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5:30 to 7:30 (8:30 on Physics Lab night).

My MCAT prep basically occurs between 7 PM and 11 PM on Tuesdays-Fridays, on the train to and from work (New York City) but more so on Weekends (the rest of the day on Saturday, and all of Sunday).

Luckily, my lab understands what I'm working towards, so when Physics II coursework has to come into the equation, they are already prepared to be a little more flexible in my time commitment if I need the extra study time; otherwise, I would say, amazingly, that this schedule is not as trying as much of last year - had to complete 40 post-bac math and science credits (including orgo I and II over the summer - INSANE!), while finishing my master's, running my personal training business (mornings and evenings), and teaching an undergrad chem lab in the fall while doing some synthetic orgo research - and somehow I still managed a post-bac 4.0!. More importantly, my health is intact, and my fiancee is still by my side supporting morally all the way. So I know its crazy, but I think I'm prepared for what I'm getting into.

Are there any cancer biology texts you recommend specifically?

Thanks again!

-MSTPbound

 

[MSTPbound]

All of the general, books mentioned are good. I would start by reading chapters relevant to your research (e.g. cell cycle, apoptosis, cancer) and writing down concepts that are not familiar. Then, go read in depth on these topics, either in texts or in review papers. This is a way to get yourself up to speed a little more quickly on your work than trying to conquer a textbook cover-to-cover. You can start reading about other topics in molecular biology later after you have a better handle on your own research.

This is actually precisely what I've been doing, and I have to say it's working quite well. Perhaps I just need a little more patience in my learning process - it often feels like no matter how much I study, its not enough - but maybe that's just a good feeling to get used to. 😉

 

[MSTPbound]

I'd be careful with limiting yourself to a specific subset of molecular biology..You need to work your way to proteins. A typical year of graduate level molecular coursework will go through prokaryotic/eukaryotic transcription and translation, then regulation, cell signaling and finally proteins (the order is somewhat flexible).

I would personally try to find a good graduate MolBio class page, and simply peruse the lectures. Find a decent text to accompany the lectures, I recall 'Genes' by Lewin being OK.

Good luck! 🙂

To be honest, my experience so far is that even the first year of undergraduate biology set up enough of a framework to focus specifically on the cell cycle; of course I have read a lot of pop literature on genetics, so I don't know how much that influences my ability to contextualize some of these pathways and processes. Nonetheless, I never thought of looking for a grad MolBio class page - that's an excellent idea.


Thanks for the feedback!

 

[bottles999]

That sounds like a great idea (Cancer Biology text)! Are there any cancer biology texts you recommend specifically?

Thanks again!

-MSTPbound

Well here they use Robert A. Weinberg's, "The Biology of Cancer" for the SOM's graduatate level Cancer Class. Its definitly a good introduction to the entire topic with an entire chapter devoted on P53. As for experimental procedures, there will be little of that in this book though.

 

[j-weezy]

Well here they use Robert A. Weinberg's, "The Biology of Cancer" for the SOM's graduatate level Cancer Class. Its definitly a good introduction to the entire topic with an entire chapter devoted on P53. As for experimental procedures, there will be little of that in this book though.

I just got the Weinberg book for my cancer bio class! Weinberg is highly regarded in the cancer biology field and I heard he spent forever working on this book. If it isn't already, it's sure to become a benchmark text for most cancer bio classes.

 

[gbwillner]

I'm a non-traditional pre-MD/PhD student. I've given my back ground in a previous thread, so I'll give a briefer version here: age-26, B.A. in social science area, M.A. in Exercise Physiology, one year clinical rehab research experience (strength training in Parkinson's Disease patients), one year of pre-medical sciences (completed last year). Will take MCAT in April and apply MSTP this summer.

So I'm in the midst of my second week working in a molecular physiology lab full-time; it's demaning a pretty steep learning curve for me considering that I have no other molecular level preparation in biology or chemistry beyond a year of undergraduate orgo, a year of bio, and very general cellular physiology work I did in my graduate program.

I've been struggling to figure out a system for teaching myself enough molecular cell biology to keep up with the research I'm doing (mechanisms of p53 induction, stabilization, modification, etc.). I can't complain really, but I feel terribly inefficient going back and forth between textbooks, research articles, Wikipedia, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions for :

1) How I might Systematize my background prep (I can count on having 2-4 hours out of each day to do this)?

2) Web resources I might want to spend more time with?

3) Books you would recommend (not necessarily textbooks - auxiliary study guides that you have found helpful).

I'm thinking primarily along lines of structural/protein biology.

Thanks for your input in advance... this forum seemed like the most appropriate one for my questions.

What is a "pre-MD/PhD student"? Are you applying soon?

Is your research being conducted at a university? I would suggest more structured learning- maybe sit in a biochem/cell bio class or audit it or something. Dense books can be useless without guidance as to what is important.

 

[MSTPbound]

What is a "pre-MD/PhD student"? Are you applying soon?

Is your research being conducted at a university? I would suggest more structured learning- maybe sit in a biochem/cell bio class or audit it or something. Dense books can be useless without guidance as to what is important.

All I mean by "pre-MD/PhD" is that I'll be applying to MSTP programs beginning in June.

My research is in the department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

I have plenty of guidance here - it just tends to be focused on my research work - logistically, its impossible for me to find a structured learning situation (before summer) - so right now it's all about self-study + guided research.

 

[solitude]

wow, that's a rough schedule, kudos to you. How do you find time to post on this board? 🙂

That sounds like a great idea (Cancer Biology text)! Yes, Google and I have grown quite fond of each other lately.

I appreciate the concern for my schedule. I actually have quite a bit of experience with the danger of "spreading myself too thin"... that's why I've virtually phased out my personal training business to focus on this. Logistically, my schedule is trying but manageable. I am in the lab Monday through Friday, 9-5; my time there is split between bench work, and all the "catching up" I'm doing. My Kaplan course meets Monday nights from 6:30 to 9:30 and Saturday mornings from 10-1.

I have only one pre-req left - Physics II. When it starts at the end of the month, the class will meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5:30 to 7:30 (8:30 on Physics Lab night).

My MCAT prep basically occurs between 7 PM and 11 PM on Tuesdays-Fridays, on the train to and from work (New York City) but more so on Weekends (the rest of the day on Saturday, and all of Sunday).

Luckily, my lab understands what I'm working towards, so when Physics II coursework has to come into the equation, they are already prepared to be a little more flexible in my time commitment if I need the extra study time; otherwise, I would say, amazingly, that this schedule is not as trying as much of last year - had to complete 40 post-bac math and science credits (including orgo I and II over the summer - INSANE!), while finishing my master's, running my personal training business (mornings and evenings), and teaching an undergrad chem lab in the fall while doing some synthetic orgo research - and somehow I still managed a post-bac 4.0!. More importantly, my health is intact, and my fiancee is still by my side supporting morally all the way. So I know its crazy, but I think I'm prepared for what I'm getting into.

Are there any cancer biology texts you recommend specifically?

Thanks again!

-MSTPbound

 

[MSTPbound]

wow, that's a rough schedule, kudos to you. How do you find time to post on this board? 🙂

I guess you could say the same for most people who post to this network. 😉

Ben Carson, MD once said to me, "If you're looking for someone to get a job done, look for someone who's busy, because someone who's not busy won't have the time."

 

[MSTPbound]

It seems as though NIH Bookshelf has the entire book online (as well as a wealth of other great resources); I guess this would be the most cost effective approach:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=mboc4.TOC&depth=2

Thanks again for your help everyone.

-MSTPbound

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

The standard textbook for cell biology is Alberts MBOC and it is truly an excellent tome.

Gilbert's Developmental Biology, if you're interested in embryology.

Voet and Voet for a chemical approach to biochemistry (an excellent book).

There are a number of popular volumes for a biomedical approach to biochemistry: Lehninger, Lodish, Stryer, etc.

Genes VIII by Lewin for genetics.