Teaching

Courses Taught at the University of Dayton

BIO 299 “Sophomore Seminar”, 1 credit hour Sophomore-level required course for BIO and EVB majors. This course introduces students to opportunities as Biology Majors and how to read Biological literature.

BIO 312 “General Genetics”, 3 credit hour lecture course.  Sophomore-level requirement for Biology and Environmental Biology majors; elective for premedical and other majors. This course covers Mendelian Genetics, Molecular Genetics, Mutation, Gene Regulation, and Developmental Genetics.

BIO 312H “Honors General Genetics”, 3 credit hour lecture course.  This is an advanced section of General Genetics that additionally assigns students frequent reading and writing assignments on contemporary genetics research.

BIO 312 L “Genetics Lab”, 1 credit hour lab course that uses laboratory experiments to reinforce key concepts of the General Genetics course (BIO 312).

BIO 421 “Biological Problems”, 1 credit hour Biology major independent research project.

BIO 445 “Evolution and Development”, 3 credit honors course that traces animal evolution using comparative methods.

BIO 477 “Honors Thesis:  Independent Research I”, 3 credit hour honors thesis supervision.

BIO 478 “Honors Thesis:  Independent Research II”, 3 credit hour honors thesis supervision.

BIO 545 “Evolution and Development”, 3 credit course tailored to the needs of graduate students and that covers the emerging understanding of animal evolution through the study of development.

BIO 596 “Eco-Evo-Devo”, 2 credit graduate-level course focused on reading and discussing primary literature that is interdisciplinary between ecology, evolution, and development.

BIO 596 “Evolution Literature”, 1 credit graduate-level course focused on the reading and discussion of a book covering a topic in biological evolution. This course has been offered twice, covering the Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, and Improbable Destinies by Jonathan Losos.

BIO 596 “Genetic Networks”, 3 credit hour graduate-level course (undergraduate students allowed with instructors permission) that covers contemporary literature on gene expression regulation during the process of animal development.

BIO 596 “Regulatory Evolution”, 3 credit hour graduate-level course (undergraduate students allowed with instructors permission) that covers contemporary literature on the evolution of developmental gene expression patterns.

BIO 596 “Genome Evolution”, 2 credit hour graduate-level course that looks at whether a combined consideration of population genetics and development makes the path of genome evolution predictable.

Outside of teaching at the University of Dayton, Dr. Williams and his students have participated in outreach activities with area high schools. These activities include, developing new course materials, hands on research experiences, job shadow experiences, and internships. If you are interested in the possibility of working with the lab, please contact Dr. Williams.

Affiliated schools:

Dayton Early College Academy (DECA)

• Job shadows
• Research interships

West Carrollton School District

• Development of new lab exercises
• Research overview and hands-on lab exercise for biology students
• Job shadows