COURSES
Courses I teach at Christian-Albrechts University Kiel
BIOL-131: DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Winter semester
Compulsory course from B.Sc. curriculum
This is a practical course aimed to complement the series of lectures "Animal Developmental Biology" and to introduce the following concepts: pattern formation, morphogenesis, differential gene expression. In this course, the students examine major developmental stages and processes (cleavage, gastrulation, organogenesis, metamorphosis) of classical model animals - the fruit-fly, sea urchin, newt and chick. The students get first experience in preparing a specimen of the mosquito's polytene chromosome - to visualise differential gene expression.
BIOL-110: CELL BIOLOGY
Summer semester
Compulsory course from B.Sc. curriculum
This practical course introduces students to the basics of cell biology. Students get familiar with the diversity of animal cell types and tissue, get deeper insights into the process of cell division and differentiation, and acquire skills in microscopy of histological sections. In this course I make a particular emphasis onto the principle that the structure of a cell or tissue determines the function.
BIOL-155: DEVELOPMENT OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
Summer semester
Elective course from B.Sc. curriculum
In this one-week course, students are introduced to several key concepts in modern developmental biology - such as differential gene expression and pattern formation. Participants conduct an experiment to investigate spatio-temporal aspects of the differential gene expression using in situ hybridization. The course is highly dependent on the active participation of the students - their individual work in the lab, the presentation of scientific articles, and active participation in the discussions.
BIOL-235: DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES
Summer semester
Elective course from M.Sc. and MAMBE curricula
This course for Master students takes place at the Biological Station Helgoland of the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in the North Sea. The course is composed of lectures, seminars prepared by the participants, experiments in the lab, and field excursions. The goal of the course is to extend the basic knowledge of developmental biology, demonstrate the influence of the environment onto development of diverse marine animals, and to raise student's interest in the contemporary evolutionary developmental biology. The participants investigate comparative anatomy, life cycles, larval stages, reproductive patterns, and self-nonself recognition systems in selected representatives of some invertebrate taxa (sponges, cnidarians, flatworms, tunicates). The course also provides an opportunity to improve the student’s communication skills. Informal interactions with the instructors gives insights into the current research trends in the EcoEvoDevo field. Since two years, I teach this course together with Assoc. Prof. Igor Adameyko (Karoliska Institute, Medical University Vienna).
BIOL-233: EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT
Summer semester
Elective course from M.Sc. curriculum
In this practical course, we explore some fundamental mechanisms of development - axis specification and pattern formation, inductive interactions, stem cell proliferation and differentiation, regeneration. We use the freshwater polyp Hydra for all experiments within this course and demonstrate, how a simple evolutionary informative model system and a set of well-designed simple experiments can provide deep insights in essential developmental questions.