Courses
BIOL 325 Evolutionary Genomics
What is evolutionary genomics?
Evolutionary genomics is a relatively new field, facilitated by new DNA sequencing technologies that can generate HUGE sequencing datasets. Evolutionary genomics studies examine how different parts of the genome have changed over time and integrate many different fields in biology, math, and computation (e.g. molecular biology, genetics, cellular biology, ecology, statistics, computer science). These studies may examine the evolution of genes within a single genome, or zoom out to look at the evolution of whole genomes of many different species. This course is an introduction to the types of questions addressed by and techniques used in evolutionary genomics research.
Why this course?
The practical (“lab”) portion of the course focuses on analysis of BIG datasets. Because whole-genome sequencing is becoming the norm in biological, including medical, research, it is important to understand the fundamentals behind the analysis of large DNA sequence datasets. In addition, large datasets are found everywhere, from Google analytics to image analysis, and thus, strategies in data manipulation and visualization are in high demand in many careers. In this course, you will acquire enough knowledge and skill that you can choose to pursue any number of interesting evolutionary questions using sequencing datasets and these skills can be translated to ANY large dataset.
What is class like?
In a combined lecture and lab twice a week and open lab once a week, students participate in activities/lessons on DNA sequencing and evolution, practice presenting to their peers, dissect scientific papers during biweekly journal club, and explore the basics of computational analysis of genomic datasets through Practical case studies. Students practice coding and sequence analysis outside of class through online tutorials, and are assessed through take-home Problem Sets. The course culminates in a CAPSTONE research project where students conduct a novel analysis using existing sequencing datasets and present their findings in oral and written form.
BIOL 201 Biological Inquiry and Observation
What is this course about?
This is a new class in the biology curriculum designed to introduce you to the amazing field of biology! One of the primary goals of this class is to help you nurture your appreciation for biology at ALL levels, from the tiny molecules that turn chemicals into life, to the non-stop symphony of cells and tissues making incessant adjustments to permit survival and reproduction, to the elegant and inevitable process of evolution.
The super cool thing about this course is that each professor will teach integrative biology through the lens of a topic of their choosing, and our topic will be the integrative biology of the senses! As an evolutionary geneticist, I am interested in how and why organisms change over time and ask questions like, “How do both whales and bats, distantly related species, echolocate?” or “How and why have complex sensory systems, like eyes, evolved?” or “Why do some firefly species flash and others not at all?” All of these questions can be explored through an examination of the senses, from molecules to cells to ecosystems, and I am super excited to go on this journey with you!
What are other goals of the course?
We are also going to devote time to aspects of biology that are not about principles and vocabulary. A critical goal of this class is to help you establish your confidence and identity as a student of biology, and as a member of a community of biologists at Bucknell. We will also explore the process of science and science communication.
What is class like?
In a seminar-style course (no lab), students meet twice a week to engage in discussion, lessons, and activities centered around the course topic and reading. In- and out-of-class assignments help students practice extracting information from different forms of scientific communication, from scientific papers, to textbooks, to popular science articles and books, to infographics. Students gain experience applying this information to new scenarios as part of in-class collaborative problem solving and are assessed by exams. A final project consists of a literature-based scientific mini review paper that integrates perspectives across biological scales for an animal and sense, and includes a creative component designed to communicate the topic for a popular audience in a different medium (not a scientific paper!).
The Lower Lab 