Teaching Schedule (2025 – 2026):
Fall: Biol 270 (the M/W section), Biol 343
Winter: Biol 333/503, Human Anatomy & Physiology II and Biol 512
Spring: Biol 270, Biol 351, Biol 340
To schedule an advising appointment with me during Fall quarter, use this link; if none of those times work for you, please email me and we’ll find an alternate time.
Descriptions of my courses:
Biology 270: Biological Investigation. This course introduces students to biological literature, and to the theory and practice of experimental design and statistical analyses. Students design and conduct group research projects.
Biology 333: Human Anatomy & Physiology II. This course covers the cardiovascular, immune, urinary, and respiratory systems.
Biology 340: Bioethics. I will be teaching this course for the first time this year – I’m excited to take this on! Our catalog description is: This course will discuss biological, social, ethical and economic implications of current advances in the biological sciences.
Biology 343: Biology of Aging (previously team-taught with Dr. Karen Carlberg). In this course we study the biology of aging from multiple perspectives, ranging from clinical and anthropological topics to cellular, biochemical, and evolutionary mechanisms.
Biology 345: Biology of Symbiosis. This course introduces students to the physiology, biochemistry, ecology, and evolution of symbiotic relationships.
Biology 351: Principles of Animal Physiology. This course takes a systems approach to vertebrate physiology. It is designed for those students who would like to learn ‘some physiology’ but are not taking the three-quarter human A&P sequence.
Biology 430: Immunology. This course covers topics in cellular and molecular immunology and is intended for seniors who are interested in graduate and professional programs in the health sciences.
Biology 436: Cell Biology. This course focuses on eucaryotic cell biology.
Biology 490: Senior Capstone in Animal Ecophysiology. Lecture material will cover the concepts of animal ecophysiology. Student groups will design and conduct research projects with invertebrates, fish, or amphibians.
Biology 496: Animal Physiological Ecology (2012). This course explores the physiological and ecological strategies animals use to survive in “stressful” environments.
Biology 500/501. These are seminar and seminar prep courses for our graduate students.
Biology 510. Biological Research Methods I. This is a first-term course for our Master’s students in which we discuss principles of research ethics, experimental design, and proposal writing.
Biology 512: Current Topics in Physiology. My current topics courses vary by year. In past years we have focused on 1) how to conduct physiological research within evolutionary and ecological frameworks, 2) epigenetics and physiology.
Biology 513: Current Topics in Cell and Molecular Biology. We will be focusing on free radical biology in the focal species (or closest related species) of each graduate student’s thesis research project.
If you are a student in these courses, please enroll in the appropriate Canvas course to keep up-to-date on assignments and announcements.
Advising
During the academic year, my advising times serve both as office hours for my courses and general advising hours. Please email me if you have class conflicts with the time periods for any given quarter.
If you want to learn about different types of health careers, visit this page: https://explorehealthcareers.org/
An excellent opportunity to get extensive clinical shadowing experience here in Spokane is the Cope Health Scholars program.
If you are considering the Pre-Medicine/Pre-Dentistry option, make sure you look over our advising guide before you come to talk to me. You can find the link to that guide here.
Pre-med students:
Pre-med students need to read about the MCAT exam – you can do so in two spots – Preparing to take the MCAT and Taking the MCAT.
The AAMC has detailed information for step-by-step planning (starting with sophomore year) for preparing to apply to medical programs. They also have additional suggestions for what to consider doing during your gap year (>60% of incoming medical students have taken a gap year between the end of their undergraduate and the beginning of medical school!)
Pre-med students should spend quality time with the admissions webpage at UW. In particular, take a look at the 2025 statistics for GPA and MCAT scores for the UW med school (note the MCAT was considered optional during some pandemic-affected years).
More schools are moving to Holistic Review of admissions.
Additional admissions pages: WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and Pacific Northwest University (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine).
Pre-dent students
Pre-dent students have several portions of the ADA (American Dental Association) website to check. Look here to search for dental programs and access links to the programs you want to learn more about. The ADEA (American Dental Education Association) presents step-by-step planning for preparing to apply to dental programs and suggestions for preparatory activities, starting with Freshman year.
You can learn about the admissions test, the DAT from the ADA.
Information about gap years for dental students presented by ADEA.
Pre-dent students also should spend quality time with the admissions webpage at UW, at admissions page for the Pacific Northwest School of Dental Medicine, and the admissions webpage at OHSU.
Pre-optometry students
Pre-optometry students should read all of the information at the ASCO website. Here you can find information about your entrance exam (the OAT).
Pay particular attention to the newest set of prerequisites for all Optometry schools in the US. Many of our students have Pacific University’s program as their top choice.
