FALL 2026 Schedule

Section	Instructor	Location	Schedule	Notes
A1	Kubica	CAS 318	W 4:40 pm-5:30 pm	Mammalogy: Mammalogy is the study of mammals. Therefore, in this course, you’ll learn about a variety of biology subfields through the lens of mammals, including behavior and anatomy. Mammalian systematics and evolution will be key components of the course. You’ll also work on your presentation and grant writing skills. The readings will mainly come from primary literature. This course includes multiple short assignments, 5 take-home Check-Up Assessments, 1 in-person Midterm and a final GRFP (grant proposal).
A1	Kubica	PSY B45	TR 3:30 pm-4:45 pm	Mammalogy: Mammalogy is the study of mammals. Therefore, in this course, you’ll learn about a variety of biology subfields through the lens of mammals, including behavior and anatomy. Mammalian systematics and evolution will be key components of the course. You’ll also work on your presentation and grant writing skills. The readings will mainly come from primary literature. This course includes multiple short assignments, 5 take-home Check-Up Assessments, 1 in-person Midterm and a final GRFP (grant proposal).

FALL 2026 Schedule

Section	Instructor	Location	Schedule	Notes
B1	Redhuis	LSE 504	TR 1:30 pm-3:15 pm	R Data Science for Biologists: Students will learn statistical and data visualization techniques using the R programming language. Emphasis will be placed on intuitive and practical applications of statistics. The course will be themed around analyzing biological data, but students can choose to work with a variety of non-biological datasets as well. All levels of programming experience are welcome.

FALL 2026 Schedule

Section	Instructor	Location	Schedule	Notes
C1	Traniello	LSE 404	M 1:00 pm-4:00 pm	Evolution and Ecology of the Social Brain - One of the greatest challenges in biological science is to understand the evolution, organization, and functionality of the brain, an extraordinarily complex and energetically costly organ responsible for remarkable information processing, computation, and behavior. During the course of their evolution, the brains of animals living in groups have experienced ecological and sociobiological performance demands to adapt to social life. This course explores the nature of these adaptations. This course is focused on the evolutionary neurobiology of the brain using a broad analysis of patterns of brain evolution in diverse clades ranging from invertebrates to humans. The importance of this broad perspective was summarized by Christopher Walsh, Director of the Allen Discovery Center for Human Brain Evolution at Harvard Medical School: “To understand when and how our modern brains evolved, we need to take a multi-pronged approach that will reflect how evolution works in nature.” Similarly, the NSF BRAIN Initiative noted that understanding the human brain will benefit from comparative studies of animal models. We will study the natural history of the brain at different levels of analysis.

FALL 2026 Schedule

Section	Instructor	Location	Schedule	Notes
K1	Kaufman		TR 1:30 pm-3:15 pm	Topics in Biology: Dynamics of Society in Nature. This seminar dives into the dynamic and often counter-intuitive relationship between society and nature. This is sometimes referred to as coupled human-natural systems or CHANS, and also as social-ecological systems. This is the underlying theory and science of sustainability. The course material will help you to think about the convergence of natural science, ecological economics, and sociocultural value systems, an essential step in connecting science to policy directives and sustainable behavior at governance levels from villages to international superpowers. We will examine this convergence through an existing policy rubric, the SDG (sustainable development goal), and a series of in-depth case studies drawing from both the Global North (US and Australia- renewable energy and ecosystem-based management in the coastal ocean) as compared to parallel problems being dealt with in the Global South (here, the Caribbean, East Africa, and the Mekong Basin in Cambodia). The flows of services and production of materials that connect nature and society are called “ecosystem services”. The course is conducted in a mixed lecture/seminar format, calling upon the students to actively participate in workshopping environmental solutions based on background readings. It will be especially useful and fun for students with an interest in practical aspects of STEM disciplines, the social sciences, and both together. Interests in related arts are also encouraged as a means of expression, but are not the focus of this course.