Biology, Psychology, & Neuroscience

Introductory Biology Lab - MSC 140
This is an instructional laboratory for teaching introductory level biology, general education courses, and research methods in the natural sciences, this lab will introduce students to methodologies in microscopy, gel electrophoresis, recombinant DNA technology, chromatography, anatomical dissection, body systems physiology, genetics, and data analysis and presentation. This lab will also be used to support outreach and continuing education programs of the Center for Women in Science and Technology.

Behavioral Science Lab - MSC 114
In this teaching laboratory, students in the psychology and neuroscience programs will participate in both class and lab exercises in learning and memory and physiological psychology. The lab will be designed to allow the use of models, computer simulations, and both human and animal subjects to learn about the structure and function of the nervous system, alternative approaches to understanding the biological bases of behavior, mechanisms of cognition and learning, and the origins of behavioral disorders.

Cell and Molecular Biology Lab - MSC 155
This is an instructional laboratory for teaching advanced techniques in molecular cell biology, genetics, recombinant DNA technology and microbiology. These courses are designed to give students hands-on experience in modern methodologies such as: nucleic acid and protein extraction and quantitation; gel electrophoresis and digital gel quantitation; immunohistochemistry; molecular genetics; and the physical and biochemical characterization of microorganisms.

Developmental and Reproductive Biology Lab - MSC 151
This instructional laboratory is designed for teaching advanced techniques in developmental biology, reproductive biology, histology, and recombinant DNA technology. These courses give students the opportunity to refine their skills in state-of-the-art methodologies such as: non-mammalian embryo manipulation; developmental genetics; reproductive physiology and anatomy; preparation, staining and analysis of histological specimens; gel electrophoresis of proteins and nucleic acids; and digital imaging microscopy.

Ecology and Botany Lab - MSC 160
This is an instructional laboratory for teaching advanced concepts and techniques in ecology, botany, evolution, and conservation biology. These courses offer students hands-on experience in a variety of methodologies including: laboratory microcosm experiments; processing of soil, water, and other field samples; herbarium specimen preparation; computer simulations and modeling; physiological and ecological experiments with plants; data analysis and statistics.

Physiology and Zoology Lab - MSC 167
This is an instructional laboratory for teaching advanced courses in animal physiology, animal behavior, neurobiology, vertebrate zoology, anatomy, and related special topics. Courses using this space will provide students in both the biology and the neuroscience programs with first-hand experience and a sound theoretical background in cellular-to systems-level neurophysiology, cellular-to systems-level general physiology, comparative vertebrate anatomy and evolution, and the biological study of animal behavior. This room will have active ventilation snorkels for maintaining air quality during dissections, and will feature four state-of-the-art electrophysiology workstations for computer-controlled, multi-channel data collection and analysis.

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Student/Faculty Research Laboratories

Behavioral Science Research Suite - MSC 112, 113
This two-room suite, located within the animal suite, will support student/faculty biobehavioral research. One laboratory will be devoted to comparative cognition studies focusing on drug effects on learning as related to the pharmacological treatment of learning and behavioral disorders in children. The other laboratory will be devoted to the study of seasonal and environmental dependencies of activity and feeding as related to eating disorders in humans.

Cell and Molecular Biology/Developmental Biology Research Lab - MSC 153
This multifunctional laboratory will promote collaborative research among faculty and students in the fields of cellular and molecular biology. Cutting-edge techniques used in this laboratory will include gene cloning, cell and organ culture, digital imaging microscopy, Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and nucleic acid analysis.

Ecology Research Lab - MSC 161
This laboratory is designed for faculty/student collaborative research in ecological, evolutionary, and botanical disciplines. Specific research activities and methodologies include: processing and storage of field samples; data analysis and statistics; geographical information systems analysis; and chemical analyses of field samples and plant tissues. This lab also houses the college herbarium as well as other biological collections and field equipment.

Immunology Research Lab - MSC 166
This laboratory provides the Biology Department with student/faculty research space for a future faculty hire, as the Biology program and curriculum continue to expand. One likely direction for this would be a new faculty member, specializing in several related areas such as vertebrate immunology, endocrinology, parasitology, and/or epidemiology. In the interim it will serve to support student research projects requiring dedicated space and equipment.

Physiology Research Lab - MSC 168
This laboratory provides for faculty/student collaborative research in physiology, neurobiology, and animal behavior. Current ongoing research includes functional neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the olfactory system, neuronal network analysis in vertebrates and invertebrates, computer modeling of neuronal network activity as relates to epilepsy and seizure states, and development of graphical and statistical techniques for computationally-intensive analysis and display of network activity.

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Instructional and Research Support Spaces

Animal Suite - MSC 101-107, 109-111
This suite of rooms houses animals for instruction and research in both biology and psychology. These shared colony spaces will include two general animal holding areas, two environmentally controlled areas for photoperiod and daily cycle research, an isolation room, a cage storage and preparation area, an animal food and bedding storage area, and a room for automated cleaning and sterilization of animal cages. All of these controlled-air-flow spaces will meet the most recent criteria for humane housing, maintenance, breeding, and handling of animals as specified by the National Institutes of Health, and as monitored by Wesleyan's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Autoclave/Glassware Room - MSC 152
This facility supports the washing and sterilization of glassware used in biological studies. A large capacity dishwasher and autoclave will be employed to treat glassware used by all students and faculty in the course of both laboratory experiments and basic research in the Biology Department.

Biology Storage Room - MSC 163
This is a general-purpose storage room for equipment, materials, and supplies used in biology instruction and research.

Biology Preparation Rooms - MSC 150, 156
The laboratory coordinator, faculty members, and student workers will use these two rooms as to prepare materials for all of the biology laboratory sessions.

Cell and Tissue Culture Room - MSC 157
This support room permits students and faculty to maintain and propagate cultured cells and tissues in a sterile environment. Typical studies undertaken in this facility will include culture and propagation of human and non-human tissues and cell lines.

Centrifuge Room - MSC 164
This facility supports high-speed and ultra high speed centrifuges which are used in upper-division biology classes and in faculty/student research. This equipment permits separation and purification of cell organelles, mRNA, and DNA using speeds in excess of 100,000 rpm. An ultra-low freezer will be used for the storage of tissues and chemicals for classroom experiments and basic research.

Chemical Storage and Preparation Room - MSC 165
This space provides for storage of chemicals, including acids and bases, organics and inorganics, bioactive chemicals, histological stains, and chemical waste, as well as preparation of chemical solutions used in biology teaching and research.

Environmental Room - MSC 162
This multi-purpose room permits control of environmental conditions for temperature and light-dependent studies such as bacterial growth, metamorphosis in insects, invertebrate behavior, and maintenance of animals that require special conditions.

Greenhouse - MSC Roof
The two-room greenhouse suite provides habitat for the plant specimens used in teaching and research. A variety of plants representing the diversity of the plant kingdom will be sustained in the greenhouse (e.g., bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, gymnosperms, and flowering plants). There will be separate high and low humidity zones for such disparate plants as orchids and cacti. The greenhouse will also include a potting bench and utility sink, bench space for faculty and student research and plant propagation, and a small pond for aquatic plants.

Microscopy Room - MSC 154 - to be named for Dr. Howard J. Williams and Mary Tidwell Williams, '53
This room permits students and faculty to observe both living and non-living cells and tissues using light, differential interference, fluorescence, and digital imaging microscopy. Future acquisitions for this facility will include a scanning confocal microscope which permits digital three dimensional reconstruction of microscopic images.

Neurobiology Room - MSC 108
This room, located with the animal suite, provides a controlled, sterile environment for electrophysiological recording from nervous system structures. Instrumentation used in this room will feature a computer-controlled experimental control and data acquisition system capable of multi-channel recording and analysis of regional EEG field potentials, multi-unit impulse trains, and intracellular electrical potentials.

4760 FORSYTH ROAD | MACON, GEORGIA 31210 | 800 447 6610