Teaching

Dr. Kato teaches a variety of courses at Louisiana State University. The courses offered each semester vary based on demand from the Office of Undergraduate Studies. For the most up-to-date course offerings, please refer to the LSU website  Course Offerings.

BIOL3090: Cell Biology

Members of the American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB) created a Learning Framework for Undergraduate Cell Biology based on a proposal by National Research Council, “BIO2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists.” One of the BIOL2010 recommendations is evaluating the impact of medical college admissions testing on undergraduate biology education. The objective of this course is to understand the eleven topics listed in the Learning Framework. The four Scientific Inquiry and Reasoning Skills (SIRS) defined by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) will be taught and assessed.  By the end of the course, the students should be able to apply the knowledge and skills gained in this course to take upper levels of molecular cell biology courses and medical-related school tests such as MCAT. 

BIOL4800/7800:  Advanced Fluoresence Microscopy

The course objective is to comprehensively understand advanced fluorescence microscopy principles, techniques, and applications. The course aims to develop proficiency in analyzing fluorescence-based experiments for biological samples. Students will gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge microscopy tools available at LSU Shared Instrumentation Facility, including live-cell imaging and quantitative data analysis. By the end of the course, students will be prepared to critically assess experimental data and apply advanced fluorescence microscopy to address real-world research questions in biology.

BIOL4800/7800/HNRS3035: Introduction to Systems Biology of the Cell

Cells function with large networks of interacting molecules. A quantitative approach to molecular cell biology allows traditional interaction diagrams to be extended to mechanistic mathematical models. These models can serve as working hypotheses to understand and predict the behavior of complex cellular functions. Students interested in understanding cell biology most quantitatively or in applying their mathematical skills to cell biology would want to take this course.  This course aims to understand molecular cell biology quantitatively by translating molecular reactions to ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and analyzing them computationally.  

Publications

Dale, R.; Kato, N.; Wischusen, B. Modeling and Analysis of the Firefly Luciferase Reaction and a G-Protein Coupled Receptor Signaling Pathway with Ordinary Differential Equations Increases Self Confidence in Mathematical Cell Biology for Novice Graduate Students. Letters in Biomathematics 2020, 7 (1), 3–13.