My first official course at the University of Maine has been approved! Starting Fall 2020, I will teach AVS 254: Introduction to Animal Microbiomes!

This 3-credit course is geared towards undergraduates with a science background, with sophomore status or higher. Some familiarity with microbiology, genetics, mammalian anatomy, or microbial ecology would be helpful, but is not specifically required.

The working syllabus can be found here, with more information on lectures, assignments, workload, classroom policies, and more:

Description:  This course introduces students to host-associated microbiomes; the genomic collection of bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses present in a host ecosystem. In each lecture, we will focus on an anatomical location, and discuss the host and environmental pressures which select for the resident microbial community.  The material is primarily in animals (mammals, birds, fish, amphibians) but includes some human-specific comparisons. This course will introduce ecological theories (e.g. environmental selection, neutral theory) in the context of microbial communities, the history of host-associated microbiology, and how technology has contributed to or limited our understanding of organisms and their critical role in our health and development. The skill-set objectives include group discussions, reading scientific literature, and scientific writing in a variety of styles and both technical and non-technical formats.