CH 555: Quantitative Chemistry and Lab

Taken Summer 2010
Instructor: Sergey Vyazovkin

TA: Jia Bei

This class took concepts from general chemistry and then elaborated on them. You will review significant figures, standard deviation, titrations, and even more titrations. Dr. Vyazovkin is the type of instructor where his lectures are hard to stay interested in since he just reads off his PowerPoint slides. The material for this class is mostly mathematical and not so much concepts so the PowerPoint are especially difficult to try and learn the material from.

The only way to succeed in this class is to do all the problems assigned for homework for each chapter. There are a lot, but Dr. Vyazovkin likes to pull questions directly from them and the examples in the chapters or slides. DO NOT fall behind because the amount of material is massive for each test and there is no way you can cram for this class. Plan on studying the very first day or else your life will be miserable.

Attendance is key only because he offers a 3-point bonus towards your final grade for perfect attendance. The final is an ACS standardized test so don't expect to do well in it. The only way to ace this test is to memorize the entire textbook and nobody expects you to do this. In the end, I thought I did miserably on the final but it did not bring down my grade. I've heard it really only boosts your final grade if you did exceptionally well, but that could just be hearsay.

The lab is a crucial part of the class because the total lab grade counts as one test grade towards your lecture grade. The tests are very hard, so it is very important to spend time achieving a perfect lab grade. The TA is very helpful throughout the labs and really wants you to do well. Most of the labs involve titrating an unknown solution to find a fairly accurate concentration. These titrations require a steady hand and patience because if you don't record every little increment you are off in your final answer, your grade for your unknown decreases by a a letter grade. The lab grade is comprised of 3 unknowns, lab reports, a midterm, and a final. This TA is a hard tester and when she says know it all, she means it. The labs were fairly straight-forward. You have to do calculations on your own to find the concentration of the analyte, but make sure you are using the correct significant figures and error percentages because she will take off for lack of detail.

JS 672: Adv Conventional Criminalistics

Taken Spring 2010
Instructor: Mitch Rector

Advanced Conventional Criminalistics focuses on firearm examination, bullet analysis, and toolmark examination using a variety of methods. You will learn about the difference in calibers of bullets (as well as the guns that fired them), how to examine a bullet microscopically, how to determine the distance a bullet was fired before hitting its target, and how to compare toolmarks. There are many others, but these are the labs/lectures that I remember most. The labs take a fair amount of time, but definitely help learning the lecture material.

As you may know from JS 671, Mitch Rector is very detailed and extremely knowledgeable of his field, yet a "laid-back" instructor. I enjoy his classes. However, my one complaint about the class is that it is very hard to learn about guns when you are unable to have hands-on education. As someone who has never fired a gun, I had a hard time describing how they worked on tests (as you would see with the big, red "NO" written across my answers). Obviously, Mitch could not bring in guns to show us in class or take us to the firing range, but he did show videos and pictures of firearms.

Overall, I would recommend this class to other students, especially if you are thinking about toolmarks and firearms as a career path.

Tox 711: Principles of Toxicology

Taken: Summer 2010
Instructor: Coral Lamartiniere

This class covered different aspects of toxicology. Many of the lectures in this class were a bit disjointed, and the first few lectures were very difficult to follow as they were geared towards those in the pharmacology/toxicology program. However, the second half of this class was more interesting and easier to follow even it wasn’t related to our program much at all. Quite a few people taught this class, including someone from Poison Control and the Southern Research Institute and some professors in the Pharmacology/Toxicology department. Overall, a great amount of effort was required to get through the class, and I don’t feel like I got much out of this class. Any information from this class that was even related to our program could’ve been easily obtained from other JS classes. If you’re looking for an elective to take over the summer, I would suggest taking something else.

CLS 505: Laboratory Management

Taken Fall 2010
Instructor: Pat Greenup

I registered for this course thinking that I could obtain an overview of general management topics from a laboratory perspective...hence the title Laboratory Management. The course description that I originally read in the UAB catalog said all of the right things to pique my interest (leadership styles and management theory; recruitment, interview, and selection of personnel; team building), but it only took one class to figure out that it would not be very applicable to forensic science students. This course would more appropriately be named Clinical Laboratory Management as it seemed to be heavy on the Clinical Laboratory and light on the Management. Although I'm sure this class would be thoroughly stimulating for the Hematology enthusiast, don't waste an afternoon on it like I did.

TOX 711: Principles of Toxicology

Taken: Summer 2010
Instructor: Coral A. Lamartiniere

This was a very fast paced course giving different views on toxicology. It was taught by several different lecturers, including pharmacology/toxicology professors, poison control center personnel, and animal researchers. The first few lectures were very difficult to follow because they were focused more for pharmacology students. Very little, if any, information was relevant to the field of forensic science. The other lectures were interesting, easier to follow, and could (slightly) be related to forensic science, but most of this information can be found in other classes, such as JS670: Elements of Forensic Science and JS673:Forensic Drug Analysis and Toxicology. It is possible to get a good grade, but A LOT of effort is required. If you are debating between taking this class or another class for the summer, I would suggest taking the other.

JS 672: Advanced Conventional Criminalistics

Taken Spring 2010
Instructor: Mitch Rector

This course is primarily focused on firearm and toolmark examination and identification. There are several labs to be completed throughout the semester including, serial number restoration, classification and examination of fired cartridge cases and bullets, as well as the classification of marks left from tools like hammers, screwdrivers, and pliers. The notes given in class are sometimes powerpoint handouts and other times will need to be handwritten, but they are what the two tests, the midterm and final, are based upon. The book, Handbook of Firearms and Ballistics, follows along with the notes provided in class and can give some extra details and photo examples, but it didn't seem necessary to have to do well in the course. Also, a research paper may possibly be part of your final grade; This will be decided on a semester to semester basis. Overall, this course provides you with an in-depth knowledge and the skills necessary to identify different types of toolmarks, created by both firearms and tools, that could lead to an interest in the career of a firearm and toolmark examiner.

Intermediate Statistical Analysis (BST 611)

Taken: Fall 2009
Instructor: Dr. Al Bartolucci

From someone who has no statistical background, this class was a good introduction to statistical analysis in a laboratory setting. We covered topics I have seen before (probability) and delved into other topics only relevant to those doing intense medical research (hypothesis testing). The class size was large and consisted of mostly Dept. of Public Health students and UAB researchers. It was also the largest class I've had at UAB so far. I recommend this class as a fine introduction to statistics without complicated math and easy-to-understand examples.

Advantages: Great teacher (hilarious!), Open-book tests, online notes, 2 TAs

Disadvantages: Lengthy homework assignments (but easy to figure out), large class size

JS 572: Molecular Biology for Forensic Scientists

Taken Fall 2009
Instructor: Jason Linville

First, I would like to say that I really enjoyed this course. It was a good introduction to learning how graduate courses are formatted. In this class, you will learn how to take detailed notes, incorporate critical thinking skills, and study for understanding, and not memorization.

The PowerPoint notes that Dr. Linville provides are very useful and should be reviewed on a consistent basis. It is very important to pay attention during lecture because he will asks questions from the previous lecture, and sometimes what is currently being discussed.

As far as the book is concerned, it was useful for more detailed explanation of certain biological processes, such as the formation of the lagging strand. I used the book if I did not immediately understand a process explained in class.

The exams are very detailed and mostly include short-answer responses. On the exams, be able to explain in detail everything discussed in class. Also, feel free to ask Dr. Linville questions about the exam or anything he places emphasis on in class.

From my perspective, this course is a good overview of the type of analysis and biological processes essential to fulfilling a position as a Forensic Biologist.

JS676: Advanced Biological Methods

Taken Spring 2010
Instructor: Jason Linville

This course is heavily focused on the laboratory techniques used for DNA analysis. It takes Biological Methods one-step further by exploring techniques used on biological evidence not typically seen in a crime lab. During the Spring 2010 term, DNA analysis was attempted on a variety of substances such as plants, bone, touch DNA, feces, fingernails, and hair. I would highly recommend this course to anyone seriously considering DNA analysis as a career.