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.
Executive summary Since 2006, we have been teaching a four-week, intensive summer course in Microbiology at the Hopkins Marine Station. This course builds upon the inquiry-driven teaching tradition introduced by C. B. van Niel in his renowned Hopkins Microbiology Course taught in the 1950s and 1960s. The objectives of this course are to enable students: 1. 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; 2. to assess, evaluate, and recognize physiological and metabolic diversity; 3. to evaluate and experimentally test ecological and evolutionary factors causing microbial diversification, and 4. 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 conceptual ideas and experimentation of microbial physiology, ecology, population genetics and experimental evolution in a cohesive study of the environment. In traditional University curricula, courses in microbial physiology, genetics, ecology and evolution are taught distinctly from each other often competitively and without much cross-referencing. Each field has its own theories, thinking, and vocabulary, but the synthesis and assimilation of these clearly related aspects of microbial life is often lacking. This Hopkins Microbiology Course is not bound to adhere to such a strict curriculum. Therefore, we have assembled an international expert team specializing in physiology, ecology, and evolution to develop a coherent picture of how to understand microbes function in nature and the principles of what constitutes Microbial Diversity, how it is generated, and how it is maintained. Over the last 5 years and with support through this NSF grant the course educated 80 young scientists. The course recruits from an international student body from mainly European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, Netherlands, England, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Israel, but also Puerto Rico, Russia, Japan and China, as well as the US and Canada. The course is oriented primarily towards graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty who want to develop or intensify their understanding of the complexity of how microbial processes shape our natural environment, and how such environments affect microbial diversification. The composition of the student body is representative of different disciplines, including molecular microbiology, biochemistry, environmental engineering, geology, chemistry, and oceanography to exemplify the power of a multidisciplinary research environment.
