Instructor: Teng Zhang
Office Location: Link Hall 214
Email: tzhang48@syr.edu
Class Time: MoWe 12:45PM - 2:05PM
Location: Marshall Square Mall 205B
Office Hours: TBD and by appointment
Credits: 3
This graduate-level course trains students from diverse academic backgrounds in interdisciplinary research skills, with examples drawn from biological and bioinspired systems. The course emphasizes teamwork, scientific communication, and ethical research practices, preparing students to excel in collaborative, cutting-edge research environments.
Through a combination of team-based learning, flipped classroom techniques, and hands-on activities, students engage with current literature, participate in the full research workflow, and explore the ethical dimensions of scientific inquiry. The course is structured into four modules: (1) team foundations and collaboration, (2) grant proposal development and review, (3) scientific writing and peer review, and (4) research ethics and responsible communication. Using the CATME platform, students work in diverse teams to solve problems, present findings, and develop skills in peer evaluation and collaboration.
By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the tools and knowledge to contribute effectively to interdisciplinary research, with a strong foundation in communication, teamwork, and ethics exemplified through biological and bioinspired systems. Prof. Sarah Reckess, JD, from Upstate Medical University serves as guest lecturer in the Ethics module.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
The course is organized into four modules taught sequentially. Each module page contains detailed lecture plans, readings, activities, and deliverables.
Focus: Team formation, CATME peer evaluation, cross-disciplinary collaboration, tooling and verification, contribution planning, and trust under pressure—grounded in the Field Guide, documented cases (Apollo 13, the Frontiers retraction, AlphaFold, transistor + BCS theory, Challenger, and BioNTech/Pfizer), and short decision scenarios.
Focus: Evidence-consistent research framing, current NSF/NIH review frameworks, hands-on proposal development, formal peer review, and role-specific AI/confidentiality rules. Students draft and revise challenge statements and research objectives, conduct a mock review panel, and develop a team concept note modeled on Growing Convergence Research (GCR).
Focus: Reader-based writing principles (Gopen & Swan, Swales, Whitesides), revision as argument restructuring, published peer review records, professional response letters, verification and disclosure of AI use, and venue requirements. Students read assigned extracts from a real 96-page public referee file and author rebuttal rather than relying only on a summary. A team Writing Portfolio evolves across six lectures — from topic and audience selection to a polished abstract with a documented revision history and submission-readiness check. The AI audit uses one public source and offers equivalent direct-use and no-direct-use paths.
Focus: Research integrity, authorship and credit, AI ethics, misconduct, conflicts of interest, science communication as ethical obligation, and intellectual property. Co-taught with Prof. Sarah Reckess, JD (Upstate Medical University); Eric Mathis guest-lectures the AI session, and Prof. Zhang teaches the authorship session. Concludes with formative team presentations on December 7; the Technology & Responsibility Report is due December 15 so presentation feedback can inform revision.
A detailed week-by-week schedule with all session dates and assignment deadlines is available on the Course Schedule page.
The official Fall 2026 syllabus uses four grading categories. In-class exercises are not separate extra grades; each graded item maps to one of these categories.
| Component | Percentage | CLOs | What maps here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation | 20% | 1–6 | Attendance and preparation; in-class discussion and group work; criterion-calibration activities such as the Lecture 4 reviewer-calibration memo |
| Team assignments | 25% | 3, 4 | Graded team products designated on Blackboard, including the team charter/standards work, GCR-inspired concept note, and team products from the mock proposal-review process |
| Writing portfolio | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 6 | Individual proposal writing and revision; proposal review and response; team scientific paper / Writing Portfolio in Module 3, including drafts, peer review and response, final version, and required verification/disclosure records |
| Ethics case study and final report | 25% | 5, 6 | Individual ethics case analyses and the final Technology & Responsibility Report; the final presentation is formative and informs revision of the report |
| Module 2 item | Grade category |
|---|---|
| Challenge/Objectives Draft and Revised Challenge/Objectives | Writing portfolio |
| Lecture 4 reviewer-calibration memo | Participation |
| AI-use / verification note attached to proposal work | Writing portfolio |
| Mock-panel written review / response completed as individual writing | Writing portfolio |
| Team panel summary and GCR-inspired concept work | Team assignments |
| GCR-Inspired Team Concept Note | Team assignments |
The Lecture 4 redesign therefore does not create a new graded assignment. The in-class assessment and reviewer-calibration work counts through participation, while the later GCR concept work remains in the Team Assignments category.
Rubrics and any assignment-level point values within these four categories are posted on Blackboard before the work is due. The category percentages above control the final course grade.
Participation is graded each class on a check+ / check / check- scale based on attendance, preparation, contributions to discussion, and participation in group work. Missing a class normally results in a 0 for that session. At least the three lowest in-class participation scores are dropped. Any additional drops will be announced on Blackboard.
After permanent teams are formed, students complete three CATME peer evaluations. The first two are formative and do not change grades. Only the final evaluation produces a multiplier for team-assignment grades.
The multiplier may increase a team-assignment score by as much as 5% or reduce it by as much as 100% when peer evaluations document substantially different levels of contribution. Any multiplier below 0.85 is reviewed by the instructor before it is applied. Failure to complete a required peer evaluation by the deadline results in a 5-point deduction from the associated project grade unless an extension has been arranged.
You are guaranteed a letter grade no lower than the range below. The sign next to the letter grade is assigned at the instructor’s discretion within these stated thresholds.
| Letter Grade | Grade Point | Numerical Score |
|---|---|---|
| A | 4.000 | ≥ 95 |
| A- | 3.667 | ≥ 90 and < 95 |
| B+ | 3.333 | ≥ 87 and < 90 |
| B | 3.000 | ≥ 83 and < 87 |
| B- | 2.667 | ≥ 80 and < 83 |
| C+ | 2.333 | ≥ 77 and < 80 |
| C | 2.000 | ≥ 73 and < 77 |
| C- | 1.667 | ≥ 70 and < 73 |
| F | 0 | < 70 |
| Assignment | Module | Type | Grade category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team standards / charter work designated for grading on Blackboard | 1 | Team | Team assignments |
| Challenge Statement & Research Objectives, revision, and proposal review/response | 2 | Individual | Writing portfolio |
| GCR-Inspired Team Concept Note and associated team review product | 2 | Team | Team assignments |
| Scientific Writing Portfolio and manuscript review/response | 3 | Team | Writing portfolio |
| Ethics case analyses | 4 | Individual | Ethics case study and final report |
| Technology & Responsibility Report | 4 | Team | Ethics case study and final report |
Attendance is required. This course relies heavily on in-class activities, team exercises, and discussions that cannot be replicated independently. Students are expected to attend all sessions, arrive on time, and come prepared (readings completed, materials reviewed). If you know you will miss a class for a legitimate reason, notify the instructor as soon as possible. Participation is scored each class as described in the grading section above, with at least the three lowest in-class participation scores dropped.
Each team member is responsible for ensuring on-time submission of team assignments. Team project deadlines are accepted up to 24 hours late with a 20% penalty and receive no credit after 24 hours, although feedback may still be provided. CATME evaluations have a strict deadline: unless an extension is arranged, failure to complete a required evaluation by the deadline results in a 5-point deduction on the associated project grade. Other assignment-specific deadlines and any approved extensions are stated on Blackboard.
Students are expected to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in accordance with Syracuse University’s Academic Integrity Policy. This course directly teaches research ethics — we practice what we teach. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and unauthorized collaboration are not tolerated.
AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) may be used as writing aids for brainstorming, structural feedback, and grammar checking. However:
No assignment requires direct use of AI; an equivalent no-direct-use path is always available. Module 3 evaluates AI feedback on one public text: students may either run the authorized tool or audit provenance-complete outputs supplied by the instructor. Both paths use the same human baseline, verification record, and grading criteria. The goal is critical AI literacy, not avoidance.
Syracuse University values diversity and inclusion and is committed to providing equal access to all students. If you believe you need accommodations for a disability, please contact the Center for Disability Resources (CDR) at disabilityresources.syr.edu, located in Room 309 of 804 University Avenue, or call (315) 443-4498. CDR will work with you and the instructor to establish appropriate accommodations.
SU’s religious observances notification and policy requires students to notify instructors by the end of the second week of classes of any religious observances that will affect their participation. The notification deadline for Fall 2026 is Monday, September 14.
This course is part of the NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) EMIRGE-Bio program at Syracuse University. The EMIRGE-Bio program trains students to:
Learn more at: bioinspired.syr.edu/emirge-bio