1) BioMed 48, Evolutionary Biology

This course focuses on the processes of evolution and the patterns generated by these processes. Our aim is to develop a scientific way of thinking about biological diversity rather than attempting to memorize the history of living things. If you can acquire an evolutionary "way of thinking" about the tremendous diversity of life, you will probably remember more, and be equipped to discuss things more intelligently, than if we forced you to memorize dry facts about, say, gene frequencies or the fossil record. How can we account for the extinction of dinosaurs and the existence of mites that crawl around our eyelids? How on earth did some insects come to look so much like sticks? We will seek explanations for such patterns of diversity and for the apparent "good fit" of organisms to their environment. Topics covered include elementary population genetics, the theory of evolution by natural selection, concepts of fitness and adaptation, genetic and developmental bases of evolutionary change, modes of speciation, molecular evolution, principles of systematic biology, paleontology and macroevolutionary trends in evolution, extinction and human evolution. As this list indicates, you will be introduced to the major topics within evolutionary biology: Bio 48 is a survey course. We hope that the exposure to the tremendous diversity within this discipline will illustrate why evolution is viewed as the central theme unifying all of biology. The only prerequisite is a course in Introductory Biology (Bio 20 or a score of 4 on the Biology AP test).

2) BioMed 141, Evolutionary Genetics

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will focus on selected topics in molecular population genetics, molecular evolution and comparative genomics. We will begin by building a foundation of population genetics knowledge that underlies the basic principles of evolutionary genetics. Population genetics is the study of genetic variation within and between populations, and incorporates mathematical models of how to infer evolutionary processes from patterns of genetic variation. Population genetics has direct relevance to the genetics of human disease, the action of evolutionary forces (natural selection, mutation, migration, genetic drift, recombination), the processes of speciation, and ecological and conservation genetics. To illustrate these simple mathematical models, we will draw on classical and recent literature describing the patterns and processes of DNA sequence variation in natural populations of Drosophila, plants, and humans. In the second half of the course we will focus on the evolution of DNA and proteins and molecular systematics, and bring in recent insights from the many genome projects that are underway. A unifying theme throughout the course will be statistical tests of the neutral theory of molecular evolution.

There are two main formats for the course: 1) a lecture and discussion component in which we will cover material in the textbook and dissect papers from the primary literature, and 2) a laboratory component where we will introduce molecular and computational methods used in some of the research that is ongoing in Prof. Rand's lab. Ultimately, the data from the labs will be combined into a group research project to test specific hypotheses about which genes have responded to thermal selection. Problem sets and lab reports will be assigned throughout the semester that involve worked problems or computer analyses of data sets using several recently published software packages. A final term paper in the form of a grant proposal will provide students with an opportunity to describe an integrated plan for future research related to some of the papers or laboratory projects we covered during the semester.

The course has a limited enrollment. As a result we will not tolerate any boneheads, weasels, sliders or other academic waste products. If you are given permission to take this course, it is expected that you meet very high standards of performance and participation. This will not be a pleasant course for students who do not have a high level of motivation for basic research and an insatiable curiosity about the genetic basis of evolutionary change. Permission will be granted to students based on previous courses taken: preferred: Bio 47 and Bio 48; acceptable: Bio 47 or Bio 48; on individual case basis with other Bio courses (Bio 42, 53, 105, etc.). Priority will be given to Juniors and Seniors who will not have another chance to enroll in the class before they graduate.

3) Graduate Seminars BioMed 243 Current Topics in Ecology and Evolution

Phylogenetics (1994),
Modern Synthesis (1996)
Quantitative Genetics (1998)
Phylogenetics (2001)
Environmental Genomics (2004)
Tropical Ecology (2006)
Neutral Models in Ecology and Evolution (2007