HHMI Program

HHMI program is a novel course designed to teach undergraduates about the "excitement of discovery," the process by which "science is done," and how advances in biology are transforming the society in which they live at "warp speed." My goal is to show undergraduates how research is carried out, how scientists are just like "the rest of us," how much effort, imagination, and creativity go into experimental thought, and that science is "fun." My plan is to reach non-science students, as well as entering life sciences undergraduates who have not yet been exposed to experimental research. In an exciting teaching environment, many of the latter students might choose to become the scientists of tomorrow. My objective is to give both groups of students a "real-life" experience in the daily process of carrying out experimental science.

This course will provide non-science majors and science majors with a foundation in molecular biology as it applies to genetic engineering, but will also address the social, legal, and ethical issues that arise as a result of emerging new genetic technologies. The class will be highly interactive, team-oriented, problem-based, and will teach students how to think critically about experimental science and the societal issues raised by emerging new genetic technologies.

A novel aspect of this course is that I will utilize advanced undergraduates as teaching fellows. Undergraduates, majoring in molecular biology, will be given a unique opportunity to teach the discussion sections and serve as "peer-mentors" in the laboratory part of the course. My goal is to teach students who are committed to the life sciences "how to teach," and to give them an intense, challenging, and unique science education apprenticeship -- both in the classroom and in the laboratory.

Undergraduates from the HHMI lecture will have the opportunity to do hands-on research in the laboratory.  The students will be organized into teams that will carry out original research designed to address the question: what genes control the earliest stages of seed development?