Teaching
BIOL 409/509: Virology.
This 3-credit course is offered each Fall semester. Prerequisites are BIOL 203 and 203L, 204 and 204L, and 310. The course provides an overview of fundamental concepts in virology. Topics include the discovery of viruses, principles of viral structure, viral morphogenesis, viral detection methods, viral vaccines, and ecological significance of viruses. A strong emphasis is placed on molecular mechanisms of viral replication.
Text: Fundamentals of Molecular Virology, 2nd ed. (2011). Acheson, N. John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
Many additional resources are provided via Blackboard.
BIOL 408: Virology Laboratory.
This 1-credit lab course is offered each Fall semester. Co- or prerequisite is BIOL 409. This lab is designed to give students opportunities to gain hands-on experience in and a deeper conceptual and practical understanding of common laboratory techniques in modern virology. Students will learn how to perform infectious assays, microscopy techniques, and molecular methods to detect, enumerate, and characterize viruses, generally from environmental samples. Seating is limited and priority is given to seniors who still need a 400-level lab course to meet graduation requirements.
All resources are provided via Blackboard.
BIOL 404-06: Revolutions in Molecular Biology.
This 3-credit biology seminar course is offered every Spring semester. Prerequisites are BIOL 203 and 203L, 204 and 204L. BIOL 310 is suggested but not required. Contemporary definitions of molecular biology generally refer to a set of research techniques dealing with biological macromolecules. These techniques include the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction mapping, molecular cloning, and DNA sequencing, to name a few. Today, due to its tremendous resolving power in revealing evolutionary relationships, molecular biology pervades most fields in biology. At its origins, however, molecular biology was not simply an assortment of lab techniques within the field of biology. It was, rather, a field of study in its own right, the goal of which was to determine the nature of the heritable genetic material - genes. All of the techniques at our disposal today grew directly out of a revolution that began some 60 years ago. This course will reconstruct revolutionary developments in molecular biology, from the struggle to identify the physical basis of heredity to the advent of modern sequencing techniques.
The goals of this course are to critically evaluate the primary literature in the field of molecular biology and become familiar with research approaches in the field. By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the history of molecular biology; be able to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and biases associated with specific methods; and gain a clearer understanding of scientific research as both a human endeavor and a non-linear process.
All readings and resources are provided via Blackboard.
