Abstracts - Society for Developmental Biology

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more likely than students who did not take the course to (1) persist in STEM majors and (2) participate in undergraduate
research projects. Thanks to NSFTUES for support (DUE-094279).
Program/Abstract # 69
A thematic integration of development into an introductory organismal biology course
Savage, Rob, Williams College Dept of Biology, Williamstown, United States
Undergraduate students interested in Biology enroll in a sequence of introductory courses that vary in topic, enrollment
size, number and order depending upon the institution. Typically, there is a single organismal course that introduces
students to evolution, ecology, behavior, and a second course that introduces students to molecular and cell biology. In the
introductory sequence, developmental biology tends to be associated conceptually with organismal biology because it is
considered a formal component of the study of evolution, but the actual integration of molecular developmental
mechanisms into an organismal biology course has been difficult to achieve for a number of reasons. At Williams, the
organismal biology course integrates developmental biology into the study of evolution by focusing on how form is created
in the context of the studying the mechanisms of evolution. In this course, students examine the sources of genetic
variation, the developmental processes that translate the genome into form, and how the environmental filter acts on
variation in a population to generate biodiversity. The integration of development into a standard organismal biology
curriculum provides a mechanistic understanding of how genomic change drives morphological change and adaptation in
evolution. The poster will present the thematic course structure including a syllabus, primary and secondary sources and
the laboratory program that includes two multi-week,inquiry-based labs (one in urchin development and the other in wood
frog population structure) that correspond directly to lecture.
Program/Abstract # 71
Inquiry-based laboratory exercises in the Biology of Stem Cells
Meyers, Jason, Colgate University Department of Biology, Hamilton, United States
As part of an upper-level seminar course on the Biology of Stem Cells, I developed an associated set of laboratory
exercises to introduce students hands-on to several key techniques in stem cell biology and to provide the opportunity to
begin learning about experimental design. The laboratory was divided into three units: planaria regeneration, mouse ES
cells, and vertebrate regeneration. For each unit, students were introduced to the model system with a basic experimental
demonstration, then asked to design a limited experiment to answer some question about the properties of the cells we were
working with, the students then learn a given technique for each unit to analyze their experiments and draw conclusions
(e.g. microscopy, immunocytochemistry, RT-PCR, etc.). After the three units, the students are asked to design and carry
out a final experimental series over 4 weeks using any of the model systems and techniques that we used, basing their
experiment on research in the primary literature, and then presenting their findings to their peers. The laboratory units
complement the major themes of the seminar course, and by integrating the primary literature, help students connect the
literature with the process of doing scientific investigation.
Program/Abstract # 72
Development of a First Year Biology Lab Containing a Strong Research Element
Olena, Abigail; Talley, Jennell M.; Bairley, Robin; Sissom, Charles Brian; Baskauf, Steven J., Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, United States
The number of students choosing biological sciences majors and research careers varies significantly, with large numbers
of students who major in the biological sciences pursuing non-research careers. The best predictor of pursuit of a career in
research is early exposure to research. The beginning biological sciences sequence at Vanderbilt University consists of two
semesters of lecture-based seminars that are usually taken in conjunction with introductory biological sciences laboratories.
While every student enrolls an identical lab in the first semester, two lab choices are offered in the second semester. The
first choice (111b) is the course the majority of students take, and is very like the first semester of lab with generally one
experiment per three hour lab period, resulting in a problem set or lab report to be turned in the following class period. The
second choice (111c) is worth two credits, as compared to one for 111b, and, in addition to selected pre-designed
experiments, devotes significant class time to student development of an independent research project. Students work in
groups of four or eight, with one teaching assistant taking responsibility for no more than eight students. At the end of the
semester, student groups design and present a poster about their research to the department of biological sciences. Here we
describe the development and function of the course, as well as compare student attitudes toward doing undergraduate
research and pursuing research careers before and after taking 111b or 111c.