MCB 32: Introduction to human physiology

Large (>400 students), lower-division course for non-majors. I have taught this course since 2013 and have put the most effort into making the class more active. Visit the presentations page to see what I have been working on for this course.

MCB 32L: Introduction to human physiology lab

Lower-division lab course for non-majors, but a requirement for other majors such as nutritional sciences and public health. Students use the iWorx system to collect physiology data on themselves, such as ECG, spirometry, EMG and action potential conduction velocity.

MCB 133L: Cell biology and physiology lab

I used to teach a third of this class for MCB majors with a Cell and Developmental Biology emphasis. We start with a unit of molecular biology and protein-protein interactions where they clone fragments of NFAT and then determine if they interact with Calcineurin. The second part is all fluorescent microscopy on fixed and live cells. The last third, which I have never taught, consists of experiments related to physiology, like calcium imaging and somatosensation.

MCB 163L: Neuroanatomy lab

The other advanced lab class for MCB neurobiology students (they choose one or the other). The emphasis in this lab is on anatomy, but we also do fluorescent imaging, optogenetics, immunohistochemistry, and electrophysiology (recording action potentials from earthworms). I developed most of this course and wrote the lab manual.

MCB 375: Pedagogy for MCB graduate student instructors

Graduate course for first-time GSIs in our department. We developed this course to introduce GSIs to effective teaching methods. We discuss biology education literature, demonstrate active teaching and provide a supportive environment for students to discuss their challenges and successes during their first time teaching.

MCBX427: Current topics in biosciences

This is a seminar course I taught at UC Berkeley Extension Monday nights for 10 years. Every 3 hour class session was one “hot” topic in biology that I selected. We read and discussed 2-3 recent research articles each week. I also taught presentation skills and students gave a 30 minute presentation on a paper. Topics included: optogenetics, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, aging, regeneration, epigenetics, microbiome and COVID-19. I loved this class but eventually had to pass it on to other instructors.

MCB 38: Stem cell biology, ethics and societal impact

Lower-division course for non-majors. We cover cell biology basics, the different kinds of stem cells, their use in medical applications, and ethical issues such as embryonic stem cells, human cloning, genetic engineering and unregulated stem cell clinics.

Bio 1AL: General biology lab

Large (>600 students) lab course that introduces students to lab techniques, statistical analysis, experimental design and primary research literature while building on the foundational concepts covered in General Biology.

MCB 160L: Neurobiology lab

An advanced lab class for upper level MCB neurobiology students. The emphasis in this lab is on electrophysiology, though we cover other techniques like immunocytochemistry, fluorescent imaging, calcium imaging and anatomy. In 2019 I took over the class and rewrote the lab manual, added new assignments and added a new lab about the fruit fly neuromuscular junction. The student evaluations of this new version of the course were very positive.

MCB 165: Neurobiology of disease

An advanced elective course for our neurobiology majors. I developed this course along with two other instructors. We divide the class into developmental disorders, psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases (which I teach). Each week the students read a research article related to the lecture material and discuss the figures in depth in discussion section. Students struggle at first with the articles, but get progressively better throughout the semester. See the presentations page for a poster I made related to this class.

Psych 3: Introduction to how the brain works

Beginning neuroscience course that is only taught in the summer. It is fun to get back to my roots and talk about interesting neuroscience phenomena like synesthesia and prosopagnosia (face blindness).

Mills College courses

I taught a lot of interesting courses at Mills College from 2010-2016. Everything from plant biology to developmental biology and genetics. This is when I learned I can teach any subject in biology.