Teaching, outreach and service

Teaching

Fall 2024

BIOL417 Microevolutionary Processes

BIOL493 Honors research in Biology

BIOL899 Methods in Landscape genetics

BIOL899 Avian metagenomics analysis 

Summer

BIOS899 Directed Research in Biosciences (x2)

Spring 2024

BIOL214 Biostatistics for Biology Maj

BIOL575 / BINF739 Landscape Genetics

BINF703 Bioinformatics Lab Rotation

BINF996 Doctoral Reading and Research

Fall 2023

BIOL574 Population Genetics

Spring 2023

BIOL214 Biostatistics for Biology Maj

BIOS703 Biosciences Lab Rotation

Fall 2022

BIOL574 Population Genetics

Spring 2022 

BIOL214 Biostatistics for Biology Maj

BIOL575//BINF 739  Landscape genetics (Jan 12 – May 4, 2022. Wed 11:30 – 13:30 ET; Science and Technology Campus: Colgan Hall Room CH 327 or CH 428). The course caters to students in basic and applied ecology, conservation and population genetics, landscape ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology. A key objective of landscape genetics is to study how landscape modification and habitat fragmentation affect organism dispersal and gene flow across the landscape. Landscape genetics requires highly interdisciplinary specialized skills making intensive use of technical population genetic skills and spatial analysis tools (spatial statistics, GIS tools and remote sensing). 

Tentative Class Schedule

12-Jan Week 1        Introduction

19-Jan Week 2        Basics of Landscape Ecology

26-Jan Week 3        Basics of Population Genetics

02-Feb Week 4       Basics of Metapopulation Genetics

09-Feb Week 5       Basics of Study Design

16-Feb Week 6       Basics of Adaptation and Quantitative Genetics

23-Feb Week 7       Basics of Spatial Data Analysis

02-Mar Week 8       Simulation and Modeling

09-Mar Week 9       Assignment and Clustering Methods

16-Mar Week 10     Resistance Surface Modeling

23-Mar Week 11     Adaptive Landscape Genetics

30-Mar Week 12     Model Selection

06-Apr Week 13     Graph Theory and Network Models

13-Apr Week 14     Plant Studies in Landscape

20-Apr Week 15     Aquatic Systems

27-Apr Week 16     Presentation of Group Projects

04-May Week 17    Bringing it all together and look to future

Fall 2021

Biology 574 Population Genetics (Textbook: Population Genetics; Mathew B. Hamilton; Wiley-Blackwell Press)

Syllabus (subject to changes)

Spring 2021 

BIOL214 Biostatistics (EMDP2 Cohort7)

Fall 2020

Biology 574 Population Genetics (Textbook: Population Genetics; Mathew B. Hamilton; Wiley-Blackwell Press)

Spring 2020

BIOL575 Landscape Genetics. This is a distributed seminar class and the course website is here

BIOL214 Biostatistics (EMDP2 Cohort6)

I teach biomedical statistics / biostatistics classes for two specialized post-Baccalaureate pre-Medical programs: Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program and Advanced Biomedical Sciences Program (GeorgeSquared).

Fall 2019

BIOL691 Medical Biostatistics

BMED602 Biomedical Statistics

Office hour: Wed 3-4 pm Colgan 409

Talks given:

• Phylogeography and speciation of birds: Going wider and deeper. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, MD.

• Understanding avian diversification and speciation with phylogenetic and genomic methods . School of System Biology Seminar Series, GMU.

Workshop:

• CONS697 Bioinformatics Analysis for Conservation Genomics (Population Genomics Module) at Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation. Oct 2019.

Spring 2019

BINF402 Bioinformatics and Computational Biology  (Credits: 3). A combination of lectures, computer labs (eg data retrieval, genome browser, de novo assembly, variant calling, RNAseq analysis, QIIME, galaxy) and paper discussion to provide a comprehensive look at the field of bioinformatics. 

Biology 574 Population Genetics (Textbook: Population Genetics; Mathew B. Hamilton; Wiley-Blackwell Press)

Fall 2018

BIOL691 Medical Biostatistics

BMED602 Biomedical Statistics

Office hour: Wed 3-4 pm Colgan 409

Spring 2018

BIOL214 Biostatistics for Biology Majors

BINF402 Bioinformatics and Computational Biology

Fall 2017

BIOL691 Medical Biostatistics

BMED602 Biomedical Statistics

Outreach and Services (not an exhaustive list...)

Spring 2024

Judge for Biology Research Semester poster session, Presenter for COS ScienceConnect

2023 - now 

Steering Committee Chair, GMU Microbiome Analysis Center

2022-2024 

Associate Editor, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution

Fall 2023 –  Spring 2024

Advisor for Culminating Project by Aditya Ranjit Biswas, senior at Colonial Forge High School 

April 2023

Panel Speaker,  Biodiversity Science Career at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

March 2023.

Judging at the Fairfax School District Science and Engineering Fair.

2021

(Ongoing) Review Editor in Evolutionary and Population Genetics (specialty section of Frontiers in Genetics, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution and Frontiers in Plant Science). 

2020

Provide assistance and advice on several pieces of genomics core equipment currently in my lab.

Genetics position (2) search committee

University grievance committee

2019

Mentor Biology Research Semester undergraduate student Navolle Amiri.

Mentor OSCAR undergraduate student Amanda Taglieri.

Genetics position (1) search committee

University grievance committee

Team teach: Bioinformatics Analysis for Conservation Genomics" in October 2019 at the Smithsonian Front Royal. This 10-day residential course for graduate students and professionals provides a survey of the concepts, methods, and software used in conservation genomics research.  https://smconservation.gmu.edu/programs/graduate-and-professional/bioinformatics-analysis-for-conservation-genomics/

Mentor (with Dr R Forkner) OSCAR undergraduate student Mitra Kashani. Project: Infection of bumble bees by Nosema and other parasites.

Category Judge (Animal Sciences) for Fairfax County High School Science Fair (17 Mar 2018).