Courses

co-instructed with Dr. Siobain Duffy

Rutgers University 11:216:110

This non-majors course is designed to introduce students to the theory of evolution and its real-world applications to the practice of medicine. Concepts of evolutionary fitness, co-evolution, competition, natural selection, bottleneck effects, adaptation, exaptation and historical constraint will be introduced and discussed in the context of disease and disease treatment. The course will cover infectious and non-infectious diseases.

Fall 2019

TF 10:55am-12:15pm
RAB 001

co-instructed with Dr. Siobain Duffy

Rutgers University 11:216:353

This summer lecture-laboratory course will introduce undergraduate biology majors to the breadth of research using experimental evolution and will give them hands-on experience with viral evolution. The lecture portion of the course will follow a recent textbook, and lab assignments during the course will include readings from the recent primary literature and emphasize the interpretation of graphs. Most class days will consist of 90 minutes of lecture and discussion and 2-3 hours of lab work, though some sessions will be entirely devoted to lab work and analysis of project results.

Summer 2019

MTWTh  9am-1pm
Foran Hall 193 (wet lab), 124 (computer lab)

co-instructed with Dr. John Wertz

Yale University EEB 175L 01

This non-majors course-based undergraduate research experience introduces fundamentals of virus discovery and microbiology research, especially on bacteriophages: viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Activities include virus isolation from nature, basics of nucleic acid (DNA, RNA) extraction and preparation for genetic sequencing, characterization and classification of isolates into virus families, and tests of virus host-range (growth ability) across different cell types. Students will conduct short-term independent research projects, especially experimental evolution of their phage isolate under an environmental challenge, such as survival at elevated temperature or adaptation to novel host bacteria.

Fall 2016

Th 12pm-3pm
ESC lab