Fundamentals & Frontiers (BIO 115)

I team taught (with David Gapp) lecture and laboratory portions of this class in the fall of 2011 and 2012.

Course description and goals: Introduction to the study of biology at the college level for students with a strong background in biology and chemistry (usually AP 4 or 5). Intensive study of selected topics that illustrate the fundamental principles of, and new developments in, the biological sciences. This one semester introduction to biology explores major topics in biology through the lens of a theme of special interest to both instructors.  In the fall of 2011 the theme will be "Disease". A one semester introduction allows students who do not require the full, two semester review of introductory biology (for the MCAT for example) to more quickly enter the upper level curriculum and become involved in biological research.

Invertebrate Biology (BIO 228) 

I taught the lecture and laboratory portions of this class each fall for six years.

Course description and goals: Greater than 95% of all known animals are invertebrates. In this course I aim to provide students with an appreciation and understanding of the tremendous diversity of animals without backbones. Due to time constraints and the huge diversity of invertebrates, this course will exclude the protozoans (unicellular eukaryotes) and concentrate instead on the metazoans – multicellular animals. Students will compare and contrast structure, physiology and ecology across the invertebrate phyla. Phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary adaptations will be stressed. Most branches of biology incorporate the study of invertebrates, either directly or indirectly through model systems or techniques. By the end of the course, students should be able to understand and critically examine current research in invertebrate biology and incorporate information and skills from other coursework.

Parasitology (BIO 380)

I teach the lecture and laboratory portions of this class each spring for six years.

Course description and goals: Parasites are ubiquitous. The parasitic way of life has been so successful on earth that parasitic organisms far outnumber free-living ones. The science of parasitology aims to understand parasites and their relationships with their hosts. This course will focus on the parasitic animals that traditionally fall under the discipline of parasitology: protozoans, arthropods, and helminths. Morphology, classification, pathology, and diagnosis of medically important parasites will be discussed, as will ecological and evolutionary aspects of parasites in human and non-human hosts. Parasitic organisms such as viruses, bacteria and fungi have historically not been included in parasitology, and we will exclude them. By the end of the course, students should be able to understand and critically examine current research in parasitology.

Senior Thesis (BIO 550/551; BICHM550/551)

Course description and goals:  At the core of the Senior Program in biology is the senior project, an intensive two-semester field or laboratory research project carried out in association with a faculty member. The project concludes with a written project and an oral presentation given in the second semester of the senior year. The senior project is an opportunity to synthesize and focus previous coursework. It culminates in an original work of scholarship that provides an in-depth examination of a particular empirical or theoretical issue. Examples of senior thesis projects conducted in my lab can be found in Student Research.