Teaching

I am a member of the MIT-WHOI Joint Program Faculty, and am active in both the Biological and Chemical Oceanography degree programs.  I co-developed and co-teach the following courses:

Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry with Stefan Sievert.  This is an introduction to the field of marine microbiology, and is aimed at first and second year graduate students. We have taught this course during the falls of 2013, 2015 and 2017.  We will next offer this course during Fall, 2019, with a video link between the MIT and WHOI campuses.

Recent Advances in Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry with Stefan Sievert.  In this discussion-based course, we focus on the recent literature in the field and incorporate new understandings and advances in marine microbiology into the framework we develop in the ‘Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry’ course.  We first taught this course in Spring, 2018 and plan to offer this course again during Spring, 2020 with a video link between the MIT and WHOI campuses.

The Salty Symbiosis with T. Aran Mooney.  This topics course serves as an introduction to the general topic of symbiosis, and focuses on symbiotic interactions occurring within the oceans.  The first module of the course is a general introduction to symbiosis.  In the second module, we will examine specific examples of symbiotic interactions between ocean organisms.  This course was offered in Spring, 2019.

Microbial Oceanography Field Course with Stefan Sievert, Andrew Babbin and Greg Fournier.  Students spend 10 days at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences Station in Bermuda and receive hands-on training in microbial sample collection, cultivation, nutrient analysis, respiration rates, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics.  This course was offered in January, 2020 with funding from a Doherty Chair Award.