Special Topic Courses
COURSE TITLE: BIOL 495/595-A1 Ecological and Evolutionary Genomics
PRE-REQUISITES: BIOL207, BIOL208, BIOL221
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Olav Rueppell
DESCRIPTION: This course surveys the application of genomic approaches to problems of ecology and organismal evolution. It combines the explanation of methodological and conceptual approaches with a discussion of case studies. Topics include adaptation, speciation, genome evolution, metagenomics, population genomics, and functional genomics.
METHOD(S) OF COURSE DELIVERY: Lecture by instructor to provide background and student-led seminar on a case study
Course Title: BIOL 495/595 -A2: Glycobiology
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Lisa Willis
DESCRIPTION: Glycobiology is the field of science that studies carbohydrates (aka glycans) that are found in all living systems. This is a discussion-based course in which students will learn how to give a good presentation, how to provide critical feedback, and how to write for a general audience. We will focus on the role of glyans in a wide range of biological systems, depending on the students’ interests. Examples include evolutionary biology, breast milk, the microbiome, climate change, cancer, allergies, xenotransplantation, and environmental remediation.
Enrolment in this course is limited. Please contact the instructor at lisa.willis@ualberta.ca with any questions.
Course Title: BIOL 495/595-A3: Foundations in Ecology
PRE-REQUISITE: BIOL 208 and at least two 300-level Ecology-type courses ( in any department).
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. JC Cahill
DESCRIPTION: This course is focused on in-depth discussion and understanding of foundational ideas & papers in ecology. The class will be seminar-based, requiring in-class discussion & presentations, along with synthetic writing. Broadly, we will identify a handful of key concepts in ecology, dive into understanding their origins, and then follow them through time to understand how they became foundational to the academic discipline of ecology. This course is well suited to students who have an interest in the science of ecology and a desire to learn broadly within the discipline.
As a discussion course, space is limited. Please contact the instructor at: james.cahill@ualberta.ca with any questions.