BIOL 351 Special Topics

Fall 2026

BIOL 351: Ornithology with Lab
Instructor: Dr. Allison Cornell

Birds are among the most visible—and best-studied—organisms in biology. In Ornithology, we use avian systems to examine evolution and adaptation, behavioral ecology, and physiological responses to environmental challenges. We will investigate how birds solve key biological problems—finding food, avoiding predators, choosing mates, raising young, and surviving seasonal change—and how these solutions vary across taxa and environments. Laboratories are primarily field-based and designed to build strong birding and natural history skills.

BIOL 351: Insect Biodiversity & Natural History with Lab
Instructor:  Dr. Nathan Derstine

Focusing on one of Earth’s most diverse and ecologically significant groups, this course covers the natural history, taxonomy, and morphology of insects. Students will learn field collection and preservation methods, gaining practical skills in specimen handling and identification, and also explore the phylogenetic relationships among major insect orders, highlighting their distinctive adaptations, behaviors, and ecological roles.

BIOL 351*: Comparative Sensory Biology
Instructor: Dr. Nathan Derstine

This course explores how organisms perceive the world. Taking a comparative approach, students will learn how different organisms acquire and process signals from chemical, visual, auditory, and thermosensory stimuli to perform the remarkable behaviors that facilitate their survival and reproduction. Emphasis will be on the neuroethology of arthropod and mammalian systems.

BIOL 351: Synaptic Biology with Lab
Instructor: Dr. John Peters

In this course, we will explore the neuronal synapse through the lenses  of molecular and structural biology. Using computational and biochemical approaches, we will study protein–protein interactions, membrane trafficking and fusion, and other molecular events that govern synaptic function under basal conditions, during memory formation, and in disease contexts.

BIOL 351*: Applied Scientific Computing in Python for Biology
Instructor:  Dr. Melinda Yang

This course provides an introduction to Python programming for scientific applications for advanced biologists, with a particular focus on large-scale data analysis and visualization. Examples will derive from a variety of biological fields, from genomics and proteomics to evolution and ecology. Key topics include common data structures in these fields, application of numerical and statistical methods for large-scale data analysis, and popular packages for data visualization. Through hands-on projects applied to real-world scientific problems, particularly in the biological and environmental sciences, students will develop computational skills essential for tackling complex challenges in their field of study.

*Courses will have no labs.