Biochemistry 530: Mandatory Seminar and Attendance

1. Biochemistry 530 participation and attendance (mandatory for all grad students, all years) 25 minute talk, 5 minute questions Both speakers should arrive at 11:50 to ensure their presentations are working properly. evaluation of each talk (form-based; turned in at the end of each BIOC 530 session). Term 1: 3rd year PhD students (compete for Zbarsky award) and 3rd year MSc students, then4th year students Term 2: 2nd year students, then 1st year students. • Seminar course – Requirement for Graduation (all students) • 530 seminars • PhD Exit Seminar – PhD grads have a mandatory talk on their thesis. To be scheduled around their PhD Oral exam. • 3)BMBDG seminar series 45-50 minutes part of the BMBDG seminar series (usually on Monday’s at 3:00 pm) arrange once defense date chosen select date with your supervisor then tell Doris, Grad Sec to organize seminar notice Attendance is mandatory for all students (all years).

2. Course evaluation 1. First and Second Year seminars 2. Evaluation of BIOC 530 and BMBDG seminar speakers 65% • Primarily based on presentation quality (as opposed to the science). 35% • For BIOC 530, fill out evaluation form and hand it in at the end of each session. • Put your name on it (ensures you are credited for your attendance). • Provide constructive critique only. • Comments collated by grad secretary and passed onto speaker in anonymous fashion. • Questions, including one of each seminar speaker the week following your 530 seminar. 15% 10% • For BMBDG seminars, provide your name, year of study, date and seminar title (presenter) at the top of the page. • For each speaker, write a single paragraph of up to 250 words (230-270). 10% • Focus on the scientific content of the seminar, not the style of the speaker. • In 2-3 sentences identify the problem the speaker is addressing and summarize the key message (s) or conclusion (s) that the speaker delivered. • In 1 – 2 sentences, summarize the new information that you learned from the seminar.

3. Tips for an effective Seminar Overall organization Introduction – 5-10 minutes. Sell your topic. What is the system? Why is this worth studying? What do we know so far? What questions are you going to address? Results – 10-15 minutes. Explain the experiments/results in detail! Don’t overestimate your audience. They are unlikely familiar with your area. Better to explain one or 2 experiments well than several superficially. What have you learned (both from positive and negative results)? Future Goals – 5 minutes. Where will the work go from here? Why is it important? Individual slides Keep slides simple and focused on one or 2 points. Use visuals when possible (i.e., not too many words!) Reference others work appropriately (Authors et al., Journal, Volume, Page, Year). Check font size/color on big screen. Speaking style Avoid reading. Rote memorization also sometimes doesn’t work as you can get lost. Look at audience as much as possible (above their eyes). PRACTICE WITH YOUR LAB BEFORE HAND TO IMPROVE FLUENCY AND TIMING.

4. Zbarsky Award Best 3rd year BIOC 530 seminar as judged by grad student body Only students who have attended all seminars (from evaluation sheets) will have a valid vote. Prof. Sid Zbarsky - first member of Dept of Biochemistry (1950). Honorarium courtesy of Zbarsky family and department. Recent winners: 1999-2000 Natalie Rundle (Roberge) 2007-2008 Christopher Jang (Jan) 2015-2016 Jayesh Kulkarni (Cullis) 2000-2001 Michael Page (MacGillivray) 2008-2009 Kush Dalal (Duong) 2016-2017 Chloe Gerak (McIntosh & Roberge) 2001-2002 Daniel Lim (Strynadka) 2009-2010 Justin Lee (Cullis) 2017-2018 Dorothy Majeski ((Stynadka Lab) 2002-2003 Mike Johnson/Winco Wu (Cullis/Molday) 2010-2011 Genevieve Desjardins (McIntosh) 2003-2004 Eduardo Vottero (Mauk) 2011-2012 Kristina McBurney (Howe) 2004-2005 Mark Wilke (Strynadka) 2012-2013 Dustin King (Strynadka) 2005-2006 Jennifer Cox (Overall) 2013-2014 Dheva Setiaputra (Yip) 2006-2007 Michael Gretes (Strynadka) 2014-2015 Craig Kerr (Jan & Foster)