Student Office Hours (URSCA and Biology): Click here to make an appointment for my office hours.
Current Courses:
Bio 221: Genetics, Development, & Evolution
Genetics is a central and crucial concern in all areas of modern biology. In Biology 221, we will examine genetics from an integrative perspective that embraces molecular, cell, organismal, and evolutionary biology. We will focus on three fundamental questions: (1) How is genetic information expressed, regulated, and passed on to subsequent generations? (2) How does genetic information direct organismal development? (3) How is genetic information modified over time by evolutionary processes?
Bio 600/610: Senior Seminar
My main research interests are in the ecology of infectious diseases and my lab is best suited to accommodate students whose interests overlap with mine; however, I have experience to mentor students that are broadly interested in ecology, physiological ecology, or behavioral ecology. My lab is equipped to study aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates, but most of my supplies are designed for amphibian research.
Previous Courses:
Bio 301: Physiological Ecology
Ecology is the study of the relations of organisms to one another (i.e., populations and communities of organisms) and to their surrounding physical environment. An organism's physiology dictates that how a particular individual functions (e.g., their metabolic rate, immunocompetence, reproductive output, etc.). The physiological capacity of individuals and species depends on the environment in which they exist. Thus, the primary aim of physiological ecology is to understand how individual, population, and species variation in physiological traits relate to ecological patterns and processes.
Bio 330: Population & Community Ecology
Ecology is the study of the relations of organisms to one another (i.e., populations and communities of organisms) and to their surrounding physical environment. This course will focus on organismal biology, populations of organisms, intra- and inter-specific interactions, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology.
Bio 340: Evolution
An examination of modern evolutionary biology, focusing on the process & pattern of evolutionary change. Topics include sources of genetic variation, natural selection and adaptation, molecular evolution, speciation, macroevolution, and the reconstruction evolutionary history.
Bio 580: Disease Ecology
An exploration of host-parasite interactions, highlighting the diverse ecological and evolutionary outcomes of these interactions, as well as the physiological responses hosts utilize when exposed to parasites. Students will examine classic and contemporary topics in the primary literature on disease ecology, including costs of host defenses, the evolution of parasite virulence, parasite co-infections, how the environment mediates the outcome of host-parasite, and the effects of host-parasite interactions on ecosystems. In the laboratory, students will learn modern ecological, molecular, and physiological techniques and approaches to studying parasitism in an ecological context. One laboratory per week.
FSBio 201: Investigative Approaches in Biology
I teach one of the modules in FS Bio (my particular module is on physiological ecology). This is an investigative laboratory course that emphasizes experimental design, modern experimental techniques and instrumentation, analysis and interpretation of data, and written and oral presentation. The course consists of two six-week project modules designed to illustrate investigative approaches at different levels of biological organization - molecular/cellular, organismal/physiology, and population/ecosystem. There is an emphasis on independent and cooperative laboratory/field work, and on writing and speaking in the sciences. One two-hour recitation/discussion and three-hour lab period per week. Four credits.