Course Description: Examination of the structure and function of bacteria and viruses including physiological activities, genetics, and ecological roles in the environment. Laboratory experiments in media preparation, microscopic and physiological methods of identification of bacterial cultures. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisite: a strong background in high school biology or chemistry or CHEM 110. Fall, Spring (Group II)
Course Delivery- Hybrid: The lecture component of this course will be delivered remotely. We will meet synchronously at the scheduled times, and attendance at these synchronous remote sessions is required. There will be lecture videos to watch and take notes on outside of class, and those must be completed prior to the due dates so that students can actively participate in the synchronous class meetings.
The laboratory component will be done in person. The intent is to do this for the entire semester, but if going remote for the laboratory component becomes necessary, the laboratory will be able to be done remotely. Your flexibility will be appreciated as we navigate the semester.
Course Description: Do you like the taste of durian fruit? Interactions between humans and plants have shaped the biology and behavior of both. Our readings and discussion will cover the ways in which plant domestication has influenced human culture and evolution while altering the earth's landscape. In lab you will apply plant biology principles to master a variety of propagation techniques---from seeds to tissue culture.
Course Delivery:
Course Description: An introductory course in ecology and environmental science. Ecological principles and current environmental issues are discussed. Topics include global environmental changes, eutrophication, waste issues, human population growth, biodiversity, evolution, biogeochemical cycles, food webs and species interactions, invasive species, and food-environment issues. This course is intended for first and second year science majors and non-science majors of any class year. Lecture. Alternates between F or S each year.
Course Delivery: Fully Remote
Course Description: Diversity and evolution of the flowering plants, emphasizing woody plant diversity of eastern North America. Breeding systems, hybridization, and speciation processes are examined through reading of primary literature; weekly field trips build plant identification skills. Macroevolutionary trends in morphology, biochemistry, and molecular evolution of flowering plants are outlined, and students are introduced to current techniques of phylogenetic reconstruction. Prerequisite: One BIOL, BOMI, or ZOOL course, or permission of instructor. Fall (Group II) (R Course)
Course Delivery: Fully Remote
Course Description: Concepts and laboratory experiences in microbiology for health sciences, including recognition of major groups of microorganisms and their distribution in the environment; pure culture techniques; morphological, physiological and serological characteristics used in identification; important human bacterial and viral diseases and current approaches to epidemiology and control; principles of infection, immunity, and chemotherapy. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisites: one introductory course in BOMI or ZOOL (BOMI/ZOOL 120 or BOMI 125 suggested); CHEM 110, 111. S.
Course Delivery- Hybrid: Lectures will be remote while labs will be in person with students attending one lab session per week, the other half will be paired with a designated virtual lab partner.
Course Description: An exploration of the physical nature of electron microscopy with emphasis on the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Students investigate the influence of electron beam parameters on imaging and how to correct imaging problems to optimize analysis. Topics covered include sample selection, sputter coating, cryo-preparation, and elemental analysis by energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). Students gain extensive, hands-on experience using the SEM. Lecture and laboratory. Additional lab time required outside of scheduled lab. Prerequisites: any two science courses that count towards a science major or permission of instructor. F. (Group II)
Course Delivery- Hybrid: The lecture component of this course will be delivered remotely. We will meet synchronously at the scheduled times, and attendance at these synchronous remote sessions is required. There will be lecture videos to watch and take notes on outside of class, and those must be completed prior to the due dates so that students can actively participate in the synchronous class meetings. On occasion, we may move a lecture/discussion to the Friday afternoon lab meeting because our lecture day is Wednesday, and all but one of our "Bishop Days" are on Wednesdays. The possibilities exist to do quizzes in-person.
The laboratory component will be done in person. The intent is to do this for the entire semester, but if going remote for the laboratory component becomes necessary, the laboratory will be able to be done remotely. Your flexibility will be appreciated as we navigate the semester.
Course Description: Students will explore the structure and function of plant communities, with a focus on the vegetation types of Ohio. Topics include methods of vegetation sampling, major plant associations of the world, connections between plant communities and climate, soils, succession, competition, facilitation, invasive plants, primary productivity, and biogeochemical cycles. Readings from the primary literature will be discussed. Local plant communities will be visited during laboratory. Students will design and carry out an independent research project. Lecture and laboratory. This course is intended for sophomore to senior science majors. Prerequisite: BIOL 122 or BOMI 233 or consent of instructor. F.
Course Delivery- Hybrid: The lecture will be remote while labs will be taught in person, weather permitting, until we get to the data analysis phase later in the semester. The data analysis labs will be taught synchronously on Zoom during lab time so that students can consult with me as they work through the exercises. We will also have synchronous discussions of assigned scientific papers through Zoom once every two weeks.
Course Description: Molecular biology of viruses that infect bacteria, plants, and animals, including replication strategies, virus induced cytopathology and disease, viruses and cancer, anti-viral immunity and vaccines. Laboratory includes in vitro cell culture work with continuous lines of human epithelial and/or monkey kidney cells, and methods for quantifying viruses and viral infectivity. Lecture and laboratory. Prerequisites: BIOL 271; CHEM 110 and CHEM 111; or by permission of instructor.
Course Delivery- Hybrid: This has be re-designed to be a fused lecture & lab course, that will primarily be a research project to develop a CRISPR/Cas9 plasmid and insert it into a lentivirus vector. This re-design was made with remote learning in mind, as it amplifies the laboratory and research components in the course but with fewer actual in-person labs. All lectures and class discussions will be online. Only the lab will be in-person, but with only 4 in-person lab sessions planned for the semester, and each session will only be for 1 hour per student (in order to rotate students in and out of the lab to ensure physical distancing during the 3-hour lab period). The emphasis is on experimental design (of real experiments) and analysis of data (from real experiments). All students will be placed into small groups, and each group will work together in background readings & discussions of scientific papers, planning experiments and analysis of data. If all students in the course are remote, then I will carry out the few hands-on experiments based on each group's experimental design, and upload the data for each group to analyze to plan the next experiment. If there are some students who will be on campus, then I will place them in groups with remote students, and the on-campus students will perform the experiments. The techniques used may have already been encountered by students in other courses (plating bacteria, picking colonies, DNA plasmid mini-preps, running a DNA agarose gel). But the project will be uniquely "viral" in nature, as it will focus on understanding mammalian retroviruses, bacterial viruses, and immunity to viral infections in mammalian and bacterial cells. If results are obtained that are useful, then the plan is to present the results at a conference with all students as co-authors. Thus, the technical hands-on experiences is largely replaced with a deeper intellectual understanding and troubleshooting of running a real research project (and potentially have a conference publication on your resume), which, in many ways is equally desirable to employers or grad schools.
Course Description: This course will introduce students to principles of human and medical genetics, modern genomic sequencing technologies, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of complex traits, and elaborate on the molecular and cellular biology of genes and gene products associated with genetically complex behavioral, neurological and metabolic disorders. This course will also discuss the design and validity of genetically engineered animal models of these diseases. Course includes discussion and reports on primary literature. Lecture only. Prerequisites: BIOL 120; BIOL 271 or ZOOL 351 or BOMI/NEUR 300.12/362; or permission of instructor.
Course Delivery: Fully Remote
Course Description: Discussion-based consideration of selected topics; student presentations and/or papers. Each semester earns 0.50 graduation units. Completion of two seminars within a department results in an upper-level unit course credit. In some cases, a BOMI seminar and a ZOOL seminar also combine to equal a 1.0 unit course (check with BOMI or ZOOL faculty for details). Instructor permission required for underclass students. F, S.
Course Delivery: Fully Remote