Teach the concepts of the central dogma of biology with a hands on activity of building cute creatures (bug babies) from candy!  Participants will practice transcribing DNA into RNA from a template, and then use the RNA sequence to build amino acids. Using a “protein decoder” will allow for translation of RNA into specific traits.  Bug babies will then be built using marshmallows and other household supplies; demonstrating firsthand how the alteration of a few nucleotides can result in very different organismal phenotypes.

Students construct paper recombinant plasmids to simulate the methods genetic engineers use to create modified bacteria. They learn what role enzymes, DNA and genes play in the modification of organisms. For the particular model they work on, they isolate a plant herbicide resistant gene and combine it with a bacteria's gene sequence (plasmid DNA) to engineer crops' resistance to herbicide Roundup.

Use the Case Analysis Sheet as a scaffold for students when they begin a new case study (or read a newspaper article). This sheet  will help students generate questions and reflect on what they already know about the topics in a case, as well as identify types of resources to use as they learn more.  

Using paper chromosomes each marked with a unique allele, students make their Reebops (a fictional animal), form gametes, fertilize and make two generations of offspring.  They then construct the offspring out of candy using a trait/gene chart.  Pedigree charts may be introduced as an option. 

BioQUEST Contact: Jeremy Wojdak

BioQUEST Contact: Tara Pelletier

We are seeking two plant biologists and one invertebrate biologists with a research focus on wetlands.  Please talk with Holly Gaff if you are interested or want more information. Please pass this ad to anyone you know on the market for these kinds of positions!

BioQUEST Contact: Holly Gaff

"We seek a scholar or scholar/practitioner in cultural studies, literature, or performing/studio arts who is attentive to hierarchies of power and privilege and can offer cross-cultural and/or transnational perspectives on environmental traditions. Fields and research approaches are open, but could include: critical race theory, ecocriticism and nature writing, ecofeminism/feminist environmentalism, energy humanities, indigenous and post-colonial/decolonial/decolonizing environmentalisms, posthumanism and animal studies, and queer ecologies. Applicants with a demonstrated record of working successfully with a diversity of students, including underrepresented and marginalized populations, are encouraged to apply."

BioQUEST Contact: Carrie Diaz Eaton

Montgomery College, in Maryland, is a three-campus community college serving over 50,000 students represented from more than 160 countries. If you are interested to teach Biology in a diverse community college environment, look out for part-time faculty announcements in the provided link! Job positions will be advertised about two months before the start of a semester.

BioQUEST Contact: Vedham Karpakakunjaram

In 2019, UC Berkeley, UCSF, Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Janssen Research & Development came together to establish the Data Science Health Innovation Fellowship Program, to bring together experienced data scientists with academic and industry researchers, to facilitate collaboration among scientists, engineers, clinicians, and entrepreneurs, to tackle complex problems in health and patient care and to accelerate innovation in healthcare through data-driven approaches.

This fellowship program offers a two-year research and entrepreneurial opportunity for seasoned data science professionals to apply computer science, data science, data engineering, and computational statistics research and development principles, along with relevant domain science knowledge, to complex problems and datasets, to advance understanding of health and improve patient care by providing meaningful clinical insights. The fellowship program will recruit serial cohorts of up to five outstanding data scientists per year from industry and academia. We are seeking applications from a wide range of backgrounds and with specializations across the burgeoning field of data science, such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, developing and optimizing methodologies, software, and tools while working with various large datasets. The datasets Fellows have worked with may be healthcare related, such as electronic medical records, clinical notes, medical images, high-content microscopy and ‘omics, or should have comparable levels of scale and complexity. Fellows will receive training, support, and guidance from domain science and medical experts, including a mentor from each of the three collaborating organizations. The primary responsibility of the Fellows is to successfully identify and conduct interdisciplinary data-intensive research related to healthcare and use computational and data science technology as a tool to accomplish the aims of the research. 

BioQUEST Contact: Perot Saelao

We seek candidates with a Ph.D. in Chemistry who have a strong commitment to pedagogy and a specific interest in teaching undergraduate lecture and laboratory courses with a preference for biomolecular chemistry. Applicants with prior teaching experience are encouraged to apply. More information is available in the attached link. To ensure full consideration, all materials should be received by October 15, 2019.

BioQUEST Contact: Pat Marsteller

We seek candidates with a Ph.D. in the biological sciences and a strong commitment to pedagogy and a specific interest in teaching and advising undergraduates. Applicants having prior experience with evidence-based teaching practices are encouraged to apply; postdoctoral experience is preferred. More information is in the attached PDF. Review of applications will begin November 1, 2019

BioQUEST Contact: Pat Marsteller

From CAST, this updated version of the three principles of UDL has suggested checkpoints

Resource from CAST on developing learning goals

I integrated a BAG module (using the methods to assemble certain genes) into a "standard" Molec Biol course.

This is a syllabus where Build-a-Phage was implemented in the laboratory portion of a semester-long elective course for majors. 

This "bundle" contains all resources in the Ethics in Synthetic Biology collection.  

While this article focuses on public health, the discussion of decolonizing data is valuable: Decolonizing data is where "the community itself is the one determining what is the information they want us to gather. Why are we gathering it? Who's interpreting it? And are we interpreting it in a way that truly serves our communities? Decolonizing data is about controlling our own story, and making decisions based on what is best for our people. That hasn't been done in data before, and that's what's shifting and changing."

Montgomery College, in Maryland, is a three-campus community college serving over 50,000 students represented from more than 160 countries. If you are interested to teach Biology in a diverse community college environment, look out for part-time faculty announcements in the provided link! Job positions will be advertised about two months before the start of a semester.

We revised our capstone seminar around this method. It is a good way for scaffolding a research article.