Most of Earth's surface is underwater, and so is most of the life: at 30,000 species, fish make up more than half of all vertebrate diversity! Still, fish are among the most poorly understood of all animals—partly because the world they experience is so different to our own. This course will immerse you in fish biology, from laboratory experiences to groundbreaking research on sensory biology, biodiversity, and more.

Ancient DNA makes breathtaking headlines regularly. For decades DNA has added nuance to our world but now we can literally peer back into the genetic past, even to extinct species. In humans, we have way to understand our own genetic history – where did we come from? Which groups mixed? Who is pure bred? (answer: no-one). How did war/changing climate/disease affect people? Humans have been through multiple cultural/technological changes – can we see? (answer: yes). Let’s look!

Antibiotic resistance - the ability for bacteria to mutate and evolve, and thus cause antibiotics to fail - is a major global health threat. Pharmaceutical companies are less likely to fund research and development of new antibiotics due to their relatively low profitability (they don't make a significant amount of money for the pharmaceutical company). As bacteria become more resistant to the antibiotics we use today, it is critical that we have a pipeline of novel antibiotics to combat these pathogens. This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE).

Ever wonder...
Why do you do high or low repetitions of weights?
Why there are work and rest intervals? Dynamic vs. Static warm-ups?
When and what you should eat before, during, and post-exercise?
What exercise advice is based on myth and fact?
This one-week "crash" training course will give you the necessary basics for understanding how exercise programs are created based upon scientifically driven data.

Have you ever questioned why certain types of cancer are so difficult to treat or how basic science discoveries translate into clinical practice? As advances over the last decade have increased the awareness and knowledge of cancer, today's discussions about this disease have changed. This course will use a combination of lecture and laboratory exercises to teach you the fundamentals of cancer biology.

Scientists have been studying cause and effect for centuries. Performing experiments help us determine the answers to basic questions like "What happens if I water plants with salt water?" to more complicated questions like "Will drug A treat cancer better than drug B?" You will be engaged in an intensive and interactive research environment guided by expert scientists in the C. elegans field. This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE).

Through intensive laboratory work, you will explore genetic phenomena at the molecular level. Beginning with structured experiments that reinforce key principles, you will advance to more self-directed projects and explore applications in research and medicine. Topics include analysis of the correlation between genetic variants and specific human traits, the genetic basis of drug metabolism in personalized medicine, and mechanisms by which environmental factors influence gene expression.

As a student enrolled in this course, you will become a disease investigator! How are disease outbreaks managed? Who should be involved in the day-to-day decision making for the response? You will look at all social and environmental factors that influence how we respond to outbreaks. The main objective is for you to understand the basics of infectious disease epidemiology, dissemination of critical information, and identify all potential barriers for success in containing the outbreak.

The goal of this course is to provide you with practical and accessible tools that will allow for the design, analysis, and interpretation of biological experiments. This course provides a rare opportunity for you to experience the scientific process firsthand. You will be mentored in developing a novel question and hypothesis all the way through the final stages of producing a scientific manuscript. This is a Course-based Research Experience (CRE).

What would the perfect crime look like? What makes an expert witness an expert? These are but a couple of the many questions we will explore during this course. Forensic science is an exciting field that combines scientific principles from many different science disciplines with technology and math resulting in new, sometimes surprising outcomes!

Genetics has come a long way since the time of Mendel. This course will provide a broad overview of modern molecular genetics, including recent advances in the field. We will explore both Mendelian and non-Mendelian biological systems, and discuss the ways in which genetic systems can defy the "Central Dogma" of molecular biology (genes encode RNAs encode proteins). This course will emphasize both fundamental concepts and cutting-edge topics in genetics.

Addictive substances have been part of the human experience since prehistory. But why do some people develop substance use disorders, while others never become addicted? How can we reduce the harms of substance abuse? In this course, you will understand how drugs affect the brain and behavior, learn the common risk and protective factors for developing addiction, compare and contrast different treatments for addiction, and critically analyze the historical context of drug use.

Understanding how pathogens are transmitted, lead to illness, and how they can be controlled or cured is the cornerstone of medical science. We will explore a variety of pathogenic organisms by examining their life cycle, transmission from host to host, and why some pathogens result in epidemics. You will discover not only the treatment of epidemic disease and also the molecular mechanisms behind why each treatment works.

Have you ever wondered why we have different types of cells even though they all contain the same DNA? Have you asked yourself why some of these cells develop diseases and why some of them don’t? In this course, we will learn how to answer all these questions by exploring the basics of genetics and epigenetics.

So you think you want to be a doctor? This course is designed to help you answer that question by letting you see the practice of medicine in the United States firsthand, giving you a taste of what an American medical school would be like, and helping you evaluate how well your talents and preferences match those of a career in medicine. Students who take this course are expected to have a strong foundation in biology and a willingness to explore beyond the science and truly understand the practice of medicine.

How can a fruit fly teach us about neuromuscular disease? How can the yeast we find in bread teach us about how the human body prevents cancers from starting? In this course, we will explore how model organisms are used in biomedical research. This will be done through a mix of lectures and labs that will include hands-on work with real life model organisms.

Whether you are interested in studying cancer biology, immunology, viruses, or to better understand the fundamental molecular and cellular processes of any living organisms, being familiar with laboratory techniques associated with nucleic acids and proteins is fundamental. In this course, you will gain essential laboratory skills and exposure to life in the laboratory.

Medical science has brought enormous advantages to the 21st century: extending human life and reducing suffering. However, there are also major ethical and practical concerns arising with scientific progress. How do we frame, re-frame, and decide these controversial issues as ethicists, doctors, individuals, and as a society?

Are you fascinated with how an athlete can compete a task under stress? Do you wonder what conditions you can control or alter that will influence your body’s performance in sport? Do you have a passion for a career in Biology/Sports Science or as a Competitive athlete? You will learn the basic physiological mechanisms that start as soon as your body is in motion and your adrenaline rises and their impact on training plans and performance.

“Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” -Dobzhansky
Evolution is the force that illuminates the amazing diversity of life on the planet today. Evolution has been extensively documented and supported by an entire field of research dedicated to uncovering its complexities. However, discourse among politicians, school boards, and the media portrays evolution as controversial and contentious. Even well-meaning media outlets perpetuate misconceptions about evolution. Why is Darwin’s famous theory so misunderstood?

Are you interested in medicine, research and biotech? This course will provide an example of how all these different interests can be combined into a compelling biomarker project. Biomarkers are a major foundation of modern, personalized medicine and the key for discovering new therapeutics. The course will provide an overview on how medicine, research and public health work together to positively impact human health.

The study of the brain is very different from the study of any other organ in the body. Nerve cells share many of the same fundamental characteristics with other cells, yet they produce unique behaviors such as coordinated movements, visual perception, learning and memory, emotion and intelligence. We will study the human brain in health and disease to gain knowledge of its function, appreciate its fascinating complexity and develop skills essential for accurate research in a sea of information.

The human brain is one of the most complicated and mysterious systems on the planet. In recent decades, a huge push has been made to understand the brain through computer modeling and causal manipulation of brain circuits. Scientists developed these models and tools not only to advance our understanding and treatments of neurological and psychiatric illnesses, but also to help us understand what underlies daily human experiences ranging from memory to perception to decision making.

What happens in your brain when you decide to buy a lottery ticket or go on a date with someone? What about when you spend hundreds of dollars on an expensive gadget that you stop using after a few months, or when you decide to say something that you should have known would be embarrassing? Are economic decisions and decisions in general the result of a messy fight between a 'rational' part of your brain and an 'irrational' one, or is decision-making all the result of one underlying and possibly unconscious mechanism?

Our brains are the driving force of our actions, but our environment and past decisions can greatly shape our brains. In this lecture and project-based course we will examine the bidirectional link between brain and behavior. We will take advantage of innate and learned behaviors to analyze and ultimately attempt to understand how our past experiences can change our brains, leading us to different actions in the future.

Have you ever wondered about the difference between recreational and medicinal usage of psychoactive drugs? How do psychoactive drugs operate in the brain? What makes some drugs legal and others illegal? In this course, you will learn about the societal implications of different legal and illicit drugs. You will also learn the basic biological mechanisms of psychoactive drugs such as cocaine, LSD, nicotine, caffeine, and more.

Ever wonder what drives animals to behave in interesting ways? Curious how we are connected to our furry friends? In this course you will learn the fundamentals of comparative cognition including an introductory look at shared mechanisms across human and non-human animals and the evolution underlying our behavior. You will investigate these questions from a scientific perspective and explore basics in experimental design, understanding literature, and demystifying animal intelligence.

Have you ever wondered how an olympian can reach untold levels of physical prowess? What is movement analysis? How is optimal function achieved? This course provides a deep dive into movement, function, and injury prevention from the level of a High School Athlete to an Olympian.

Molecular biology and biochemistry are two closely related fields where the properties of key biological molecules, such as proteins and DNA, and how they interact with each other in living organisms are studied. Research in these areas has become so successful at explaining living processes that it is used in almost all areas of the life sciences from medicine to the study of plants. Researchers play an integral role in the discovery of drugs that help prevent and cure diseases. Biochemists and molecular biologists also work in forensic crime labs, agriculture, biotechnology, hospitals, scientific law, and education.

So you want to enter the medical, dental, or veterinary fields. These disciplines require an understanding of life processes. To develop this understanding requires a knowledge of organic and biochemistry. This lecture and laboratory course will take you through the basics of organic chemistry where you will learn chemical structures and structural conversions. This will extend into biochemistry where basic biochemical components are considered from the organic perspective.

The world relies on energy. This course considers the engineering application of efficiently utilizing energy sources to produce useful work. It considers advances since the start of the Industrial Revolution with wind, water, steam, electricity, internal and external combustion machines up to modern efforts with solar, nuclear, ocean, wind, and controversial approaches. Engineering tradeoffs, limitations, penalties, and projections are discussed along with a strong hands-on component of demos and device building.

Have you ever wondered how pacemakers are made, or how cartilage is grown for joint repair? In this course, you will learn how biomedical engineers - specialists in combining the principles of human biology and engineering - develop devices and tissue-engineered technologies that improve, rehabilitate, and even save lives!

Are you considering a career in engineering? Are you fascinated by what engineers do? In this course, you will be given the opportunity to experience engineering and design first hand. You will gain an understanding of the fundamentals of the engineering design process, a grasp of the various fields of engineering, and an appreciation of the far-reaching impacts of engineering.

A revolution is taking place in the laboratories of the world--new materials with fascinating properties are being discovered every day. In addition, old materials have been found to have amazing new strengths--including metals that do not rust, foam that can repair itself, and powdered bananas. Scientists at NASA are using special nitride ceramics that can be touched with our bare hands even though they could be at a searing 3000 Celsius! New titanium nanocomposite alloys are lighter than steel, but ten times as strong. In the near future, we might even be able to to build an elevator to space! In this course, you will learn the fundamentals of Materials Engineering as you uncover the properties of these materials and many others.

The demand for energy is expected to grow 30% by 2040. Today, most of the energy harvested originates from non-renewable sources. What role can engineers play in developing renewable energy technology to meet the anticipated demand? What does it take to become an engineer in this field? In this course, you will explore in detail, the increasingly innovative potential of wind and solar energy.

Environmental detective meets product designer: You. A single plastic bag can take up to 1000 years to decompose. Americans dispose of 365 plastic bags per person per year, on average. As of November 12, 2021 there are 331,648,943 Americans. Patented in 1965 by a Swedish company, this singular product, the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag, has become an iconic global staple for toting items and is consumed worldwide at the rate of one million a minute. Can you solve this environmental conundrum?

Climate change is shifting relationships between people, plants, animals and their shared environment causing diseases to spread where they have never been before. This course highlights how changing ecosystems influence infectious disease transmission and treatment, often with a disproportionate effect on the poor. By the final session, you will understand how climate change amplifies inequalities in infectious disease.

You will work with experts at Roger Williams Park Zoo to explore local and global conservation issues.

Adaptive, resilient, interdependent, fractal are all traits that describe elements and patterns found within nature, but what do these words and patterns have to teach us about shaping change within the environmental movement? Using wisdom from the book “Emergent Strategy” by scholar adrienne maree brown and the work of other visionaries, this course explores phenomena and patterns within our ecosystems to find inspiration and imagine a way forward in the face of intersectional global crises.

This course is aimed to expose you to the area of environmental health and illustrate how it is directly and indirectly incorporated into numerous elements of our life. Toxic metals, vector-borne illness, food safety, water quality, radiation, pesticides, air and climate change, hazardous waste, risk assessment, and the role of the community in environmental health are some of the topics that will be discussed.

Global ocean health is crucial to a livable planet. During this course, you will become familiar with the many habitats of Narragansett Bay, the multiple branches of marine science, current research and methods employed in the field, and scientific peer-reviewed journal articles. You will be introduced to real-world research methods utilized by marine scientists and local researchers to study biotic and abiotic aspects of marine habitats, using our bay as a model for the global ocean.

Since the beginning, our home planet has undergone truly spectacular changes. Travel through time and explore the frozen tundras and sweltering jungles of Earth’s past, and discover the many wild and even alien-like creatures that once ruled it. Together, we will explore the rise and fall of multiple worlds on our home planet. The formation of the Earth, the origin of life, mass extinctions, plate tectonics, and how scientists have unraveled this 4.5-billion-year history will all be part of our journey through the ages.

Most of us today are landlubbers. Our modes of travel, sustenance, communication – all are essentially land based. But things were not always this way. For most of the colonial period, waterways, not land, were the center of life, travel, and the economy. This course explores the watery worlds of early America through a combination of in-class sessions and on-the-water experiences in a kayak, chartered sailboat, and motorboat.

Hands-on Medicine is a one-week course that will integrate you into the life of a medical student. Through classroom activities, anatomy lab, and clinical skills sessions, you will learn how medical students take a holistic view of the human body and discover everything there is to know about its anatomy, physiology, and disease processes.

Nanotechnology provides a broad array of applications to solve urgent problems in wide ranging scientific fields. Introduction to Nanotechnology provides an overview of nanotechnology, discussing the fundamental science of nanotechnology and its applications to engineering, biomedical, and environmental fields. We will also discuss the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and how the different basic sciences merge to create the field while leading to novel solutions of pressing issues.

Astronomy is the oldest science, with the first observations of the heavens conducted by our early human ancestors. Records of astronomical measurements date back as far as Mesopotamia nearly 5000 years ago, with later observations made by the ancient Chinese, Babylonians, and Greeks. This course is designed to give you a brief glimpse into what we've learned since then. From basic measurement skills to black holes and general relativity, all aspects of this magnificent art will be covered.

What made you who you are? How do you see yourself changing in the future? Human development is brought to life in this course. You will raise a "virtual child" from birth to age 18 to see the effects of your parenting decisions over time. You will also create a lifespan portfolio project that ties the course material directly to your own experiences. For the final stages of life, we will read and discuss a short philosophical memoir. From infancy through elderhood, we will explore the many influences that shape who we become.

Cannabis is a widely used psychoactive substance, yet scientists are only beginning to understand its impact on human health and behavior. This course will expose you to cutting-edge biological and psychological research related to cannabis (i.e., marijuana). By completing this course, students will develop critical thinking skills and learn how cannabis use intersects with neuroscience, physical and mental health, and social policy.

The completion of the Human Genome Project may be the most important scientific achievement of our lifetime, but how much can genes tell us about complex human behavior? How much does the environment impact human behavior and might there be a biological signature of that influence? What research techniques can be used to identify specific genes and specific environments that influence behavior? This course addresses all these questions and more in a dynamic and interactive learning environment.

Psychology – the study of the mind, the brain, and behavior – is relevant to every aspect of your life! How does personality form? How are memories constructed and stored? How do society and culture impact an individual’s behavior? How are mental illnesses diagnosed and treated? These are just some of the questions we will attempt to answer in this course. This course will introduce a broad range of topics in psychology, including biological psychology, social psychology, personality, developmental psychology, health psychology, and psychological disorders.

Climate change causes and exacerbates floods, fires, and sea-level rise at an unprecedented rate that is straining our ability to adapt. This is the result of fossil-fuel driven growth, yet societal efforts towards a sustainable economy are halting at best. This course introduces the environmental sociological perspective on global warming and other environmental problems to help you better understand how they are a direct result of society's relationship with nature and what needs to change.

What is a disaster, and how do the two broadest categories—natural and human-made disasters—differ from one another? This interdisciplinary course focuses on natural and human-initiated disasters and their impact on human life. We will explore how social dynamics such as culture, inequality, and social structure influence vulnerability and shape how people face, respond, recover, or fail to recover from disasters.

Emerging effects of the climate crisis make clear the need for the critical engagement of social scientists to understand and develop solutions for the myriad social, political, and economic impacts of the climate crisis. In this course, we will consider climate change from a sociological perspective. We will focus on the social and economic factors that have contributed to climate change and critically assess the wide range of responses that have been proposed to confront this global emergency.