ENROLL

Marta P. Lyons

Environmental problems are caused by a complex mix of physical, biological, social, economic, political, and technological factors. This course explores how these environmental problems affect life on Earth by examining the biological processes underlying natural ecological systems and the effects of global environmental changes such as resources consumption and overharvesting, land-use change, climate warming, pollution, extinction and biodiversity loss, and invasive species.

Prerequisite: One introductory science lab course (Biology 125, 126, Chemistry 123, 128, Geology 110, 115 or 120)

Sophomore Priority

Waitlist for Juniors and Seniors: BIOL 210.WL0 (Synonym 47720)

Matt Rand

This course explores the physiological adaptations animals employ to survive in a wide variety of environments. Animals maintain physiological functions in the face of environmental extremes in heat, cold, aridity, deep ocean pressure, salinity, and the lack of oxygen in water or at high altitude, to name a few. An organism's ability to cope with environmental extremes has a large impact on the geographic distribution of many species.

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126

Raka Mitra

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126 and concurrent registration in Biology 281

BIOL 281 required.

Daniel Hernandez

Ecosystem ecology involves the study of energy and material flow through systems, including both the biotic (animals, plants, microbes) and abiotic (soil, water, atmosphere) components. Topics include the major elemental cycles (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous), patterns of energy flow, and the controls of these fluxes for different ecosystems. Current environmental issues are emphasized as case studies, including climate change, land use change, human alterations of nutrient cycles, and biodiversity effects on ecosystems. Concurrent registration in Biology 322 required.

Prerequisite: Biology 126 and one 200 level course in Biology or Geology 230, 258, 285 or Environmental Studies 244, 254, 260, 265, 272, 287, 288

Rika Anderson

The advent of next-generation sequencing technology has revolutionized biology, enabling transformative breakthroughs in fields ranging from agriculture to conservation to medicine. In this course, students will gain experience with the computational and bioinformatics tools needed to analyze “big data,” including sequence searching and alignment, assembly, gene calling and annotation. Students will learn to ask and answer their own scientific questions using sequence data, and to critically assess the conclusions other genomics and bioinformatics studies. No prior computer programming experience is required. Associated laboratory will focus on wet lab methods for DNA/RNA extraction and preparation as well as computational analysis.

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126 and one of these upper level courses: Biology 240, Biology 321 or Biology 350 and concurrent registration in Biology 339

Biology 339 required

Mark McKone

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126

Fernan Jaramillo

We will focus on recent advances in neuroscience. All areas of neuroscience (cellular/molecular, developmental, systems, cognitive, and disease) will be considered. Classical or foundational papers will be used to provide background.

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126

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Bridget Jacques-Fricke

Stem cells have the unique qualities of self-renewal and the potential to differentiate into multiple cell types. Given these characteristics, research using stem cells have given us insight into normal developmental processes and repair mechanisms, and generated hope for therapeutic applications for a variety of diseases. In this course, we will examine contemporary stem cell biology, with emphasis on mechanisms and applications. Topics will include embryonic stem cells, tissue-specific stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, organoids, and potential uses in human disease.

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126 and either Biology 240 or 280

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Rou-Jia Sung

Prerequisite: Biology 125 and 126 and Chemistry 233 and 234

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