This is a field and laboratory-based course that involves students in hands-on research methods in aquatic microbial ecology. Students will gain familiarity with experimental design, field measurements of environmental parameters (physical, chemical, and biological), sample collection techniques, and laboratory analyses required to assess the activity, health, and community composition of aquatic microbial ecosystems in an urban environment. We will compare and contrast various watersheds in and around the greater Philadelphia area, and students will design and conduct original independent research as a final course project.

This course is designed for advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students with a particular interest in infectious disease biology. Note that this course is not a comprehensive survey of the field and is not appropriate for students seeking a lecture course on disease. The primary objective of this course is to teach students considering a career in the biomedical sciences how to read, discuss, and question research papers effectively. Intensive classroom discussions focus on the experimental methods used, results obtained, interpretation of these results in the context of pathogen interactions with host cells and organisms, and implications for basic research and therapeutic development.

Advanced version of BIOL 376: Microbial Diversity and Pathogenesis Lab for graduate students only. Additional readings and course work as directed.

Advanced version of BIOL 375: Microbial Diversity and Pathogenesis for graduate students only. Additional readings and course work as directed.

Discussion of special research topics.

This course will survey the discipline of molecular genetics. Two broad areas will be considered: 1) Molecular biology: DNA replication, transcription, translation, and the regulation of gene expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems and genomics and 2) Genetics: basic Mendelian & molecular genetics.

This course will survey the discipline of molecular genetics. Two broad areas will be considered: 1) Molecular biology: DNA replication, transcription, translation, and the regulation of gene expression in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems and genomics and 2) Genetics: basic Mendelian & molecular genetics.

This course is designed for beginning graduate students and advanced undergraduates with a particular enthusiasm for cell biology. Biology 480 does not attempt to cover all aspects of cell biology, and is therefore not appropriate for students seeking a lecture course which provides a comprehensive survey of the field. Rather, the primary objective of this course is to teach those students considering a career in the biomedical sciences how to read, discuss, and question original research papers effectively. Intensive classroom discussions focus on the experimental methods used, results obtained, interpretation of these results in the context of cell structure and function, and implications for further studies.

This course is designed for beginning graduate students and advanced undergraduates with a particular enthusiasm for cell biology. Biology 480 does not attempt to cover all aspects of cell biology, and is therefore not appropriate for students seeking a lecture course which provides a comprehensive survey of the field. Rather, the primary objective of this course is to teach those students considering a career in the biomedical sciences how to read, discuss, and question original research papers effectively. Intensive classroom discussions focus on the experimental methods used, results obtained, interpretation of these results in the context of cell structure and function, and implications for further studies.

This course is a lab/lecture/seminar hybrid that will meet once per week for three hours. Each session will consist of mini-lecture/lab, paper discussions/lab, or solely lab efforts. All reading assignments will be available on Canvas (no textbook fees). We will exam various aspects of photosynthesis, water relations and nutrient acquisition in the context of the evolutionary progression of higher plants. With each subject, we will consider, measure, and in some cases model whole-plant physiology while examining sub-cellular-level controls and ecosystem-to-global-level consequences. This course is designed to give molecular biologists through earth-system scientists the tools to measure and understand whole-plant physiological responses to molecular manipulation and environmental variability. All students will learn to appreciate the context of their work on both micro and macro scales.