BIOL 1010 - Introduction to Biology  

In this course, students gain a basic knowledge repertoire of the foundational concepts of biology.  Both majors and non-majors are the target audience and contributing discussion participants.  Students are encouraged to investigate how the basic biological principles apply to recent relevant research, that seek to solve the grand challenges of our times.  What is life?  In answering this question, students come away with a fundamental understanding of our ecology, genetics, and evolution.  Students engage in ethics discussions to gain awareness of how technology can help, not hinder, our species to better the human condition.

BIOL 1015 - Introduction to Biology Lab

In this lab course, students gain hands-on experience working interactively with peers in laboratories.  In these labs, students pose hypotheses, visualize models, predict outcomes, share ideas with laboratory peers, and design tests of their hypotheses via in-person lab discussions, and via in silico simulations.  They are encouraged to bridge classroom content and real world events, by keeping abreast of relevant recent research.  Summer field trips to the New York State Museum at Albany allow students to discover our past ecology, explore ice-age megafaunal evolution and extinction, and absorb our local socio-cultural history.  Thus, students relate what they learn in labs, to the real (and local) world.  Laboratory activities include the collection and analysis of diverse datasets:

1. Ecology:  Students identify specimens in local Albany stream water samples ex situ at RPI Walker Labs, generating datasets of community taxa.  
2. Bio-Statistics:  Students compute Shannon's Diversity Index, EPT index, and J index to understand species richness and evenness in the above limnological community samples, and perform a Student's TTest to evaluate their datasets, and compare the health of two of our local Albany streams.
3. Cell Biology 1:  Students travel into our invisible (to the naked eye) world, by using Light Microscopy to visualize living eukaryotic cells at the micron-scale level in pond scum.  They compare these observations with those of prokaryotic (bacterial) cells in yogurt and other common fermented foods.
4. Cell Biology 2:  Students compute and compare cell cycle phase durations in animal (Ascaris) and plant (Allium) cells.
5. Genetics:  Students understand Mendelian Inheritance Patterns by examining the genetic information flow patterns in in vivo data, using fruit flies as their model organism.  
6. Molecular Biology:  Students extract DNA, and visualize in vitro PCR amplified DNA data.  
7. Evolution:  Students generate in silico phylogenetic trees from ungulate megafaunal morphological data.  
8. Bio-Chemistry:  Students move biochemical structures, on an AI learning Platform, to understand how amino acid monomers join together to form protein polymers, and predict biochemical outcomes of a mutation.  
9. Bio-Informatics:  Students learn to use software to visualize protein crystals at the nano-scale level in data stored in PDB, NCBI and in other public databases. 
10. ArtX projects enable students to create innovative projects via their favorite medium of art, such as storytelling, cartoons, painting, dance, music, drama, or via their favorite interests, such as, sports, math, architecture, economics, material science, engineering, AI, or coding, with the goal of making connections between newly-learned Biology concepts, and their major field of study.  

Thus, students learn to apply the Scientific Method to datasets in labs.  Simultaneously, via such team-based laboratory activities, students build peer networks, across disciplines, across campus departments and schools, while working collaboratively together in the labs because they hail from a wide spectrum of majors, and from disparate geographic or socio-economic areas.  Hence, a firm sense of inclusion, diversity and belonging is nurtured in such active labrooms, with educational equity.  Yelnar, a  student from Kazakhstan noted “I made friends in this course” during freshman year away from his relatives, with a frozen bank account, while war raged in Ukraine in 2021.

BIOL 1961 - Sense and Signal 

This is an undergraduate level introductory course.  It explores fundamental concepts in neurobiology such as, the human body’s chemical and electrical signals, how neurons communicate, the action potential, ion channels, neurotoxins, muscle contraction, neurological diseases, as well as animal movement, behavior, and intelligence.  The goal is to understand our human body, how it receives signals, how it processes signals, and how it transmits signals.  In other words, how do living beings live?  How does life work?  The course emphasizes active learning in a collaborative environment via interactive discussions on life's mechanisms. 

BIOL 2940 - Introduction to Biology Undergraduate Mentor I, II and III 

The primary role of the undergraduate mentor (UGM) is to facilitate and enhance the teaching and supervisory activities of the graduate teaching assistant (TA) within each of the Introduction to Biology BIOL 1015 Laboratory Sections.  The UGM demonstrates the use of laboratory  equipment, follows safety procedures, performs Molecular Biology techniques, such as, PCR & Gel Electrophoresis, Microscopy & Wet Mount Preps, and shows students how to collect data, such as Megafaunal Morphological Traits for Cladistics.  The UGM brings an excellent understanding of how the course operates since the UGM has previously taken the laboratory course.  The UGM demonstrates techniques, and helps undergraduates learn a wide range of skills, from wet lab skills, to quantitative/statistical skills, to basic biochemistry/bioinformatics data visualization skills, and more.  Thus, the UGM not only gains teaching experience, but gains fluency in basic laboratory research skills.  Meantime, the UGM enriches their own managerial skills repertoire, by setting up/ breaking down laboratory sessions, inventorying laboratory supplies and specimens, and interacting collaboratively within a team, to ensure smooth delivery of the laboratory course.

BIOL 2960 - Human Evolution Lab

This course explores the status of our current knowledge on Human Evolution.  The goal is to provide active learning in a collaborative environment, to seek the causal factors leading up to our own emergence.  What makes a human?  Data collection is from laboratory specimens (phenotypic traits), as well as from public databases (genomic/protein datasets).  Interactive discussions, simulations/computational activities allow students to generate hypotheses, and design tests of their hypotheses.  Data analysis utilizes the supporting evidence, while tracing the evolutionary relatedness amongst primate/mammalian species.  The impact of disease pathogens, lifestyle/culture and environment on human populations is discussed.