Hopkins Microbiology Course

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Hopkins Microbiology Course is a new, four-week, intensive summer course in microbiology focusing on the intricate interplay between physiological, ecological, evolutionary and geochemical processes that constitute, cause, and maintain microbial diversity. The course is taught at the Hopkins Marine Station, Pacific Grove, CA, and consists of lectures and an extensive laboratory component. This course builds on the inquiry-driven teaching tradition introduced by C. B. van Niel in his Hopkins Microbiology Course taught in the 1950s and 1960s. The objectives of the course are to enable students (i) to isolate key microorganisms driving the biological and geochemical diversity in marine environments, and to conduct and interpret culture-independent molecular characterization of microbial species and their activities; (ii) to assess, evaluate, and recognize physiological and metabolic diversity; (iii) to evaluate and experimentally test ecological and evolutionary factors causing microbial diversification, and (iv) to understand and predict the causes as well as the biological and geochemical consequences of microbial diversity. The distinguishing aspect of this Hopkins Microbiology Course is the unique integration and application of the concepts and experimentation of microbial physiology, ecology, population genetics and experimental evolution in a cohesive study of the environment. The broader impact of this teaching activity is the training of an integrated, multi-level understanding of microbial biology to the next generation of academic and industrial leaders.