Research

Auburn University Courses Developed

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BIOL5850/6850 Functional Genomics: This is an undergraduate/graduate course I designed my first year and developed into a standard course my second year. This course uses active-learning and analysis-based activities with group participation to learn the fundamentals of Functional Genomics and the current state of the field. Topics include genome-wide and targeted approaches to understand gene function in model and non-model organisms; gene expression and regulatory networks; how to design functional genomics experiments; bioinformatics processing; interpretation of results; and how to present methods and findings from functional genomics experiments.         

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BIOL4970/7970 Evolutionary Epigenetics. I designed this course around the concepts of the CREATE (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, and Think of the next Experiment) method of teaching. Concepts on epigenetics are taught in an evolutionary context. The first couple of weeks I lead the discussions focused on scientific literature to lay a foundation for the course and developing practicing skills for dissecting the scientific papers. Subsequently, we will spend ~ 1 month learning concepts for epigenetics and experimental designs and methods by dissecting literature on the discovery of the epigenetic regulation of the mammalian insulin-like signaling network. We then move on to more specialized topics and students choose topics to present and lead literature based discussions. The last month we focus on a bigger picture understanding of the role of epigenetics in evolution and how epigenetic mechanisms may evolve.

 

BIOL7170 Population Genetics. I redesigned this course around the concepts of the CREATE (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, and Think of the next Experiment) method of teaching. The first part of the semester we focus on a single complicated scientific paper. We identify all the population genetic concepts and unknown vocabulary in that paper, and then spend the next weeks reading & discussing the classic/modern literature (I assign readings from a textbook and scientific papers), and working through problems to understand those concepts. During this time, we also practice skills to dissect scientific papers including concept mapping, illustrating experimental design, and interpreting results. The goal by the end of this section of the course is that the student will have a solid understanding of the concepts and vocabulary of the area of population genetics. The second part of the course we move on to surveying more specialized topics in population genetics and students choose topics to write a mini scientific review, and then present and teach to the class.

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Other Auburn Courses Taught

BIOL3000  Genetics

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BIOL3001  Genetics Laboratory

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Graduate Student Teaching Experience

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National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellow. 

2010. As a PhD student at Iowa State University I had the opportunity to work with a middle school teacher for a year to develop experiment-based teaching modules and implement them in his 7th and 8th grade classes. 

 

 

Here are a couple YouTube vidoes of when I took the students on vitural field trips:

 

Studying garter snakes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains

 

DNA isolations in the Lab at Iowa State University.

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Teaching Labs and Lectures

1999-2004

• 2004 Genetics Laboratory Tutor (Taught Genetics Labs).  Under the direction of Dr. Luciano Beheregaray, Department of Biology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

• 2003  Administrative Assistant.  First Year Biology Office, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

• 2002-2003 Cellular Biology Lecture Assistant. Under the direction of Drs. Rick Pollenz and Mary Kimble, Biology Department, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, U.S.A.

• 2002  Microbiology Laboratory Teaching Assistant. Under direction of Dr. Jonny Elrady, Biology Department, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, U.S.A.

• 2002  Biology II Lecture and Laboratory Assistant– experiments with Social Biology of Ants.  Under the direction of Dr. Debby Cassill, Environmental Science and Policy Department, University of South Florida, Florida, U.S.A.

• 1999-2001 Cellular Biology Laboratory Head Preparatory Teaching Assistant/Teaching Assistant. Under the direction of Drs. Andrew Cannons, Mary Kimble, and Rick Pollenz, Biology Department, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida U.S.A.