Courses

Course: CHEM 496: Techniques in Applied Lab Chem | Analysis of Small Peptides
Term: Winter 2025
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Kaitlyn Towle

In this laboratory course, students will gain hands-on experience in the synthesis, purification, and characterization of small antimicrobial peptides. Small antimicrobial peptides will be synthesized using solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), students will learn to handle and use the chemicals and equipment necessary for peptide synthesis.

Prerequisites: Minimum grade of B- in CHEM 391. CHEM 263 is strongly recommended. Please contact the Chair (RezaniaV@macewan.ca) to request a permission number.

Permission Required: Yes

Course: CHEM 496: Techniques in Applied Laboratory Chemistry | Applied Analytical Chromatography
Term: Fall 2025
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Matthew Ross

This course is a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in which students engage in original research on chromatography method development. Students will learn about the fundamental aspects of chromatographic separations and mass spectrometry. Individual topics of research which require the application of chromatography to real-world problems (e.g., environmental, forensic, industrial) will be chosen. Students will develop gas and liquid chromatography methods for the separation and identification of analytes in complex chemical mixtures, validate these methods and apply the developed methods to address the identified research problem.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in CHEM 311 or CHEM 353 and consent of the department.

Permission Required: Yes. Please email the Chair (rezaniav@macewan.ca) to obtain a permission number.

Course: CHEM 496: Techniques in Applied Laboratory Chemistry | Structure-Activity Relationships in Antimicrobial Peptides
Term: Winter 2026
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Kaitlyn Towle

This course is a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) in which students engage in original research on antimicrobial peptide design. Students will explore the structural features that contribute to antimicrobial activity by analyzing literature and applying rational design principles to modify the peptide sequence of cancrin analogues. They will synthesize their designed peptides, purify them and characterize their structural properties using techniques such as circular dichroism (CD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Finally, students will evaluate the antimicrobial activity of their peptides through biological testing.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of B- in a 391 and consent of the department. Please email the Chair (rezaniav@macewan.ca) to obtain a permission number.

Permission Required: Yes

Course: EASC 495: Special Topics | Cold Regions Geoscience: High-Latitude and High-Altitude Paleoenvironments
Term: Winter 2026
Section: AS01
Instructor: Dr. Robin Woywitka, Dr. Serhiy Buryak

This course focuses on the use of palaeoclimatological, geological, geochemical and paleobiological archives to reconstruct high-latitude and high-altitude paleoenvironments with a particular emphasis on the study of the Canadian Arctic. The topics covered in lectures will include, but are not limited to Cenozoic climates and global cooling, paleoclimate reconstruction methods, geochronology and geologic time, interpretation of sedimentary and paleoenvironmental proxies and the use of the paleontological record to infer the dynamics of environmental change. These and other topics will be supplemented with selected readings from the literature and class presentations.

Prerequisites: A minimum grade of C- in EASC 324 or EASC 375. Please email the Chair (rezaniav@macewan.ca) to obtain a permission number.

Permission Required: Yes