1. Mandatory adj., adv. Obligatory, required.
Biochemistry 530
participation and attendance (mandatory for all grad students, all years)
a 25 minutes presentation followed by 5 minutes of 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 530 session).
Term 1: 3rd year PhD students (compete for Zbarsky award) and 3rd year MSc students, then 4th year students
Term 2: 2nd year students, then 1st year students.
Seminar course – Requirement for Graduation (all students)
530 seminars
For PhD students, a mandatory talk on their thesis upon the point of graduation.
3) BMB seminar series
45-50 minutes
will be scheduled as part of the BMB seminar series (on Monday’s at 3:00 pm).
arranged once defense date chosen
select date with your supervisor then tell Doris (she will arrange the room and notice).
Attendance is mandatory for all students (all years).
Mandatory adj., adv. Obligatory, required.

2. Course evaluation 65% 35% 15% 10% 1. First and Second Year seminars
2. Evaluation of BIOC 530 and BMB seminar speakers
65%
35%
Primarily based on presentation quality (as opposed to the science).
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 BMB 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 ( ). 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 – 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. SH Zbarsky Scholarship
The 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.
Professor Sid Zbarsky - first member of Dept of Biochemistry (1950).
Honorarium courtesy of Zbarsky family and department reception
Recent winners:
Dustin King (Strynadka) Jennifer Cox (Overall)
Kristina McBurney (Howe) Mark Wilke (Strynadka)
Genevieve Desjardins (McIntosh) Eduardo Vottero (Mauk)
Justin Lee (Cullis) Mike Johnson/Winco Wu (Cullis/Molday)
Kush Dalal (Duong) Daniel Lim (Strynadka)
Christopher Jang (Jan) Michael Page (MacGillivray)
Michael Gretes (Strynadka) Natalie Rundle (Roberge)