Journal Club Syllabus
Course: 7875
Spring 2014
Laura Stube:
email: strube@math.utah.edu
office: LCB 326
Cheryl Zapata-Allegro:
email: zapata@math.utah.edu
Office: LCB 326
Websites: www.math.utah.edu/∼zapata/journalclub/journalclub.html
www.math.utah.edu/research/mathbio/journalclub.html (in progress)
Course Description: Journal Club is a 1-hour weekly course designed to aid students in their transition from undergrad to graduate school. This course will provide students with the opportunity to
develop their skills in the reading and presentation of mathematics papers in the area of mathematical
biology. It will also serve as a place where students can discuss their concerns regarding graduate
school or teaching with their peers.
Format: Each week one student will give a 45 minute presentation of a mathematical biology paper.
This presentation should be structured as follows: 10 minutes background/introduction, 15 minutes
of methods, 15 minutes of results, and 5 minutes of conclusion. At the end of each section the floor
will be opened up for questions and discussion. First year presentations will be in a “chalk talk”
format, while second year presentations should be a beamer/powerpoint format.
Schedule:
• January 8: Brief organizational meeting.
• January 15: Journal article decisions due. Choices should be emailed to Cheryl.
– Everyone is expected to choose an appropriate article related to their research interests.
• One week prior to your presentation date: (Presentation dates will be posted on the course
webpage)
– First year students will meet with either Cheryl or Laura to discuss their paper, go through
any questions they may have, and presentation outline.
– Second year students are invited but will not be required to schedule a pre-presentation
discussion with Cheryl or Laura
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• Following your presentation: All students will meet briefly with Cheryl and Laura for a presentation debrief.
• A rotating snack schedule will be posted on the course website. On your week to bring snacks,
keep your receipt and bring it to Gail in JWB 233 for a reimbursement of up to $10.
Expectations:
• On the days which you are not presenting you will be expected to come prepared for discussion.
You should read the article and prepare a list of 3 questions about the paper and a combination
of 3 critiques or things you have learned from the paper. You will turn this list in as part of
your grade.
• Each student will be expected to be an active participant in Journal Club discussions.
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