Teaching

This course will integrate your understanding of fundamental biological principles with the amazing world of microbial life. Microorganisms play a huge factor in the lives of all organisms and in the Earth System. This course examines many dimensions of microbial life, including the organization, growth, metabolism, ecology, evolution, symbiosis, and pathogenicity, including viruses. We will also focus on problem solving and communication about microorganisms, to prepare you to solve society's big problems with an understanding of microbiology. 

This course will give you hands on instruction and practice in microbiology techniques useful in clinical, industry, and research settings. You will learn how to isolate, enumerate, and identify a variety of bacteria. You will learn how to integrate classic microbiology techniques with data science, focusing on the human microbiome. You will learn skills required to engage in scientific inquiry by studying and communicating experimental design and techniques in microbiology. The lab manual we use is Microbiology: The Lab Experience, by Steven Keating. 

* Not offered 2023-2024.

This course will get you thinking about the amazing microbial world we live in through the lens of ecology - because microorganisms exist in a complex mix of biotic and abiotic factors and interact intimately with all of them. We will study microbial ecosystems relevant to human health, medicine, industry, conservation, pharmacy, agriculture, and the environment. There is something here for anyone interested in biology and addressing society's biggest problems. The course will combine learning through individual and small group work, problem-solving, and include an introduction to data science for microbiology.