Peter Kropp

This is the first laboratory course a student takes and is a prerequisite for all upper-division laboratory courses- required for the major. Students are introduced to the processes of investigative biology and scientific writing. Laboratories cover topics presented in the core lecture courses, BIOL 115 and 116, and introduce a variety of techniques and topics, including field sampling, microscopy, PCR, gel electrophoresis, enzyme biochemistry, physiology, evolution and population biology. The course emphasizes the development of inquiry skills through active involvement in experimental design, data collection and management, statistical analysis, integration of results with information reported in the literature, and writing in a format appropriate for publication. The year culminates in six-week student-designed investigations that reinforce the research skills developed during the year. Evaluation is based on laboratory notebooks, lab performance and scientific papers, as well as oral and written presentations summarizing the independent project. Prerequisite: completion or concurrent enrollment in BIOL 115 or equivalent.

This is the first laboratory course a student takes and is a prerequisite for all upper-division laboratory courses- required for the major. Students are introduced to the processes of investigative biology and scientific writing. Laboratories cover topics presented in the core lecture courses, BIOL 115 and 116, and introduce a variety of techniques and topics, including field sampling, microscopy, PCR, gel electrophoresis, enzyme biochemistry, physiology, evolution and population biology. The course emphasizes the development of inquiry skills through active involvement in experimental design, data collection, statistical analysis, integration of results with information reported in the literature and writing in a format appropriate for publication. The year culminates in six-week student-designed investigations that reinforce the research skills developed during the year. Evaluation is based on short reports, quizzes, lab performance and scientific papers, as well as oral and written presentations based on the independent project. Prerequisite: BIOL 109Y and 115 or equivalent.

This course is required for the major (AP or IB credit can be applied), therefore, biology majors should take this class prior to the junior year. Energy flow is a unifying principle across a range of living systems, from cells to ecosystems. With energy flow as a major theme, this course covers macromolecules, cells, respiration and photosynthesis, physiology and homeostasis, population and community interactions, and ecosystems. Throughout the course, the diversity of life is explored. The course also introduces students to the process of scientific thinking through discussion of research methodology and approaches. No prerequisite. Offered every year.

Students volunteer weekly at Knox Community Hospital, College Township Fire Department or another designated health provider. We study health research topics including articles from biomedical journals. The academic portion of the class meets as a three-hour seminar. Students read and critique articles on topics such as diabetes in the community, pain-killers and drug addiction, AIDS and STIs, influenza transmission, and socioeconomic status and health disparities. Outside of class, students have four hours a week of reading, and a minimum of four hours a week of service. Students' assignments include keeping a journal on their service and class presentations related to the reading and their service. This counts toward the upper-level organismal biology/physiology requirement for the major. Prerequisite: one year of biology or chemistry and permission of instructor.

This laboratory course is designed to complement BIOL 266. The topics covered in the laboratory expose the student to some of the standard techniques used in modern cell biology. The laboratories also illustrate some of the fundamental ideas of the field. Instead of covering a wide variety of techniques and preparations superficially, we concentrate on a select few, covering them in greater depth. Some topics to be covered are protein separation, cell permeability and cell motility. This counts toward the upper-level laboratory requirement. Prerequisite: BIOL 109Y-110Y. Prerequisite or corequisite: BIOL 266. Generally offered every other year.

Human physiology is the study of how the human body operates at a molecular, cellular and organ system level. This course builds upon fundamental biological concepts to support students in connecting basic biology to human health and disease. Human physiology has an application-based approach with analysis of medical case studies to emphasize and reinforce the principles of physiology. This counts toward the organismal biology/physiology requirement for the major. Prerequisite: BIOL 115 and 116.

This combined discussion and laboratory course aims to develop abilities for asking sound research questions, designing reasonable scientific approaches to answer such questions, and performing experiments to test both the design and the question. We consider how to assess difficulties and limitations in experimental strategies due to design, equipment, organism selected and so on. The course provides a detailed understanding of selected modern research equipment. Students select their own research problems in consultation with one or more biology faculty members. This course is designed both for those who plan to undertake honors research in their senior year and for those who are not pursuing honors but want practical research experience. A student can begin the course in either semester. If a year of credit is earned, it may be applied toward one laboratory requirement for the major in biology. This course is repeatable for credit. Prerequisite: BIOL 109Y–110Y and 116 and permission of instructor.