BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT SPRING 2021 OFFERINGS

BIOL 2110/2110L  Principles of Biology: Cell & Molecular 

Instructor: Kaarin Goncz

Pre- or co-requisite: CHEM 1120 or CHEM 1215

This class covers the basics of Biology; from cells, to DNA to the origins of life, the universe and everything! Well, maybe not the origins of the universe. The course is required for students majoring or minoring in anything biology-related, but even engineers have been known to take, and pass, this survey course. If you are interested in the micro-machinery of cells, how they produce and harness energy, what makes DNA so important, and what exactly is a gene -  then consider this course. It is open to everyone at any grade level as long as you have taken, or are taking chemistry.

BIOL 2610/2610L  Principles of Biology: Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution

Instructor: Ben Duval

Prerequisite:  BIOL 2110/2110L

BIOL 311/311L  Genetics and lab

Instructor: Linda DeVeaux

Pre-requisite: BIOL 2110 & L (111 & L); CHEM 1215 (CHEM 121)

Highly recommended:  BIOL 331

What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhino?  Find the answer to this and other burning questions in BIOL 311/311L Genetics!  Learn the basics of Mendelian ratios, and their application to genetic counseling.  Find out how RNA polymerase recognizes which genes to transcribe and when.  Understand how a recessive, disease-causing gene can be widely disseminated in a population.  Best of all, finally understand how PCR is used to catch criminals! 

BIOL 343/343L Environmental Microbiology  (Click on name for pdf flyer)

Instructor:  Tom Kieft

Pre-requisite: BIOL 2110 (or BIOL 111)

Microbes comprise the majority of the biomass on Earth, they’re wildly diverse, and their metabolic reactions drive the cycles of C, N, S, Fe, and other elements in the biosphere.  They do all the heavy lifting in wastewater treatment plants and they’re our best hope for remediating pollution, e.g., oil spills.  They’re essential symbionts of plants and animals.  And, oh yeah, they include the yeasts that make our beer and wine.  You should learn about them!

BIOL 352/352L Anatomy and Physiology II

Instructor:  Dean Wilkinson

Pre-requisite: BIOL 351

BIOL 402/502 Ecosystem Biology

Instructor:  Ben Duval

Pre-requisite: BIOL 344

BIOL 443/543 Molecular Biology (Click on name for pdf flyer)

Instructor: Snezna Rogelj

Pre-requisite: BIOL 331 & BIOL 311/311L; CHEM 1215

Molecular Biology with a twist!  Innovation transcends parochial disciplines. With information no longer the limiting resource, knowing how to recombine scientific information into new questions or novel applications becomes critical. To gain courage required to innovate, we will delve into what others have garnered at the interfaces of molecular biology with other scientific disciplines and engineering technologies. These topics span across origins of life on Earth, mechanisms of innate immunity, phage display and ribozymes, SELEX and iRNA in therapeutics, epigenetic imprinting, DNA-based computation, GMOs and beyond.

Shares time and space with BIOL 489/589 Natural and Unnatural Adaptations of Biomolecular Tools 

BIOL 443L/543L Molecular Biology Lab

Instructor: Linda DeVeaux

Pre-requisite: BIOL 331 & BIOL 311/311L; CHEM 1215

BIOL 435/535 Bioinformatics

Instructor: Joel Sharbrough

Pre-requisite: BIOL 311 or consent of instructor and advisor

Interested in DNA, RNA, or proteins? Or in leveraging your education into a career in one of the most exciting industries in the life sciences? Bioinformatics can help you along the way. All computational levels are welcome, from beginner to expert. Learn the skills necessary to understand, analyze, and interpret biological data. Join the Data Revolution!

BIOL 437/537 Infection and Immunity  (Click on name for pdf flyer)

Instructors: Tom Kieft, Linda DeVeaux

Pre-requisite: BIOL 341

There isn’t a more timely topic in biology right now than infectious disease and how our bodies’ immune system responds to infection and other threats.  The course includes a survey of infectious disease mechanisms and diseases of humans, with special emphasis this semester on viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.  We will study innate and acquired immunity, including development of vaccines.

BIOL 471 Senior Seminar

Instructors: Ben Duval; Joel Sharbrough

Pre-requisite: Senior standing

BIOL 481/582 Freestyle

Instructor: Snezna Rogelj

Pre-requisite: Senior or graduate standing

BIOL 489 Bacterial Lifestyles (Click on name for pdf flyer)

Instructor: Clemencia Rojas

Pre-requisites:  Junior Standing; Microbiology recommended

Immerse yourself in the wonderful world of bacteria.  Discover how bacteria have evolved incredible strategies to thrive and survive.  Investigate the ways bacteria exhibit distinct lifestyles, colonizing non-living surfaces as well as other living organisms. Explore how bacteria follow general principles of life like other organisms— including YOU. 

Students who enroll in this course will also be eligible to apply for opportunities to participate in laboratory research in the lab of the instructor at the University of Arkansas for Summer 2021. 

BIOL 489/589 Natural and Unnatural Adaptations of Biomolecular Tools (Click on name for pdf flyer)

Instructor: Snezna Rogelj

Pre-requisite:

Innovation transcends parochial disciplines. With information no longer the limiting resource, knowing how to recombine scientific information into new questions or novel applications becomes critical. To gain courage required to innovate, we will delve into what others have garnered at the interfaces of molecular biology with other scientific disciplines and engineering technologies. These topics span across origins of life on Earth, mechanisms of innate immunity, phage display and ribozymes, SELEX and iRNA in therapeutics, epigenetic imprinting, DNA-based computation, GMOs and beyond.

BIOL 489/589 Neurology

Instructor: Stewart Thompson

Pre-requisite:  PSYC 1110 or BIOL 2110

BIOL 501 Graduate Seminar

Instructor:  Ben Duval

Pre-requisite: Graduate standing

 

Syllabi

Biology faculty teach a surprising variety of classes depending on the year and the semester. Check BanWeb for current offerings.

Current and past syllabi are provided for informational purposes. Students: the only syllabus that matters is the one your instructor gives you.

Dr. Linda DeVeaux classes include Genetics, Microbial Genetics, Synthetic Biology (with Dr. Kaarin Goncz). F2017 311 Genetics Fall 2017 311L S2019 311 Genetics S2019 311Lab 
S2020 311 Genetics, S2020 311L Genetics Lab, S2020 411/511 Adv. Genetics, S2020 ST 589D Science Teaching Genetics

Dr. Benjamin Duval classes include BIOL 2610 Principles of Biology (was BIOL 112 General Biology II), Ecology, Ecosystem Biology, Evolution. S2020 112, S2020 489/589 Ecotoxicolog, F2020 344 Ecology, F2020 345 Evolution

Dr. Tom Kieft classes include BIOL 2110 (was 111 General Biology I), Introductory Microbiology, Environmental Microbiology, Infection and Immunity.  S2017 111 Gen Biology TK, S2018 343L Environmental Micro Lab, S2018 437 Infection & Immunity, F2018 Intro Microbiology, F2018 Bioethics
S2020 343 Env. Micro., S2020 343L Env. Micro Lab, S2020 437/537 Inf. & Imm, F2020 2110 Prin. of Biology

Dr. Snezna Rogelj classes include BIOL 101 (Topics in Biomedical/Biological Sciences with Dr. Sally Pias), Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, FreeStyle Biosciences. F2017 Bio-BMS 101, S2018 333 Molecular Biol, F2018 Bio-BMS 101, F2018 331 Cell Biology, F2018 FreeStyle Motivation
S2020 BIOL 333 wLab, S2020 481/582 FreeStyle, S2020 501 Grad Seminar

Dr. Dean Wilkinson classes include Reproductive Biology, Psychobiology of Sex, Developmental Biology, Environmental Physiology, Behavioral Endocrinology. F2013 489 Envronmental Physiology, S2014 489 Reproductive Physiology, Fall2015 Biol 351 A&PI, S2015 352 A&P II, S2015 489 Psychobiology of Sex, F2015 351L A&PI Lab, F2015 489 Biomed Phys & Engineering, F2016 489 DevelopmentalBiol, S2018 Healthcare & Medicine: The Basics

Dr. Kaarin Goncz classes include BIOL 2110 (was 111 General Biology), BIOL 301 Genetic Engineering, ST 523D Survey of Biology
S2020 Biol 111 General Biology

Dr. Joel Sharbrough classes include Bioinformatics. S2021 435/535 Bioinformatics

In addition, many classes are often cross-listed with Psychology including Dr. Taffeta Elliott's Behavioral Neuroscience and Dr. Stewart Thompson's Animal Behavior.