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Global Environmental Microbiology
(GEM)
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Back row: Joanna Goley, Kevin Chau, Eric Smith, Keneth Kim, Benjamin Little, Ceasar del Cano, Ellen White, Samantha Valdez, Carolina Guia, Brittany Freitag; front row: Fizza Sajid, Loren Ramirez, Lindsey McGinn, Aimee Tramel, Kassandra Hishida
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Apply for this year's GEM course! Applications are due February 1, 2013.!
| Introduction to Microbiology |
Week 1 |
Welcome to the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations Global Environmental Microbiology (C-DEBI GEM) Course! In the first week of the course, lectures will focus on beginning our tour of the microbial world and discussing what microbiology is all about. We will cover the importance of microbes, the cell as the fundamental unit of life and how microbes shape the world around us. Further, we will discuss the historic roots of microbiology and explain how scientists hundreds of years ago came to realize that these very small organisms existed.
Hands-on laboratories:
- Pipetting techniques
- Introduction to basic molecular lab techniques
- Student presentation preparation and delivery
| Aquatic/Terrestrial Microbiology |
Week 2 |
In this week, we leave the USC campus and head to the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains to focus our attention on unique terrestrial and aquatic environments, the bacteria that live there, and how they make their living. While many people think of bacteria solely as ‘germs’ that are bent on infecting humans or other animals, more commonly bacteria play an important role in global biogeochemical cycles as both consumers and producers.
Hands-on laboratories:
- Field measurements and sampling
- Bright field, phase, and epifluorescent Microscopy
| Marine Microbiology and Basic Oceanography |
Week 3 |
This week students leave the mountains and cruise to Santa Catalina Island and the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center, a state-of-the-art teaching facility and research laboratory. Here students will experience more in-depth learning of microbial habitats/processes with corresponding intensive lab work to introduce students to a systems view understanding of Microbiology.
Hands-on Laboratories:
- Oceanic sampling
- Water quality analyses
- Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
- Molecular analysis of microbial communities
| Microbial Habitats and Course Synthesis |
Week 4
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The final week of the course focuses on the subsurface microbial biosphere of the ocean through an introduction to Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and seafloor sampling. Students also progress and intensify their study of microbial metabolisms and are introduced to basic bioinformatics. The course culminates with lectures to tie together course learning and experiences as well as student presentations.
Hands-on Laboratories:
- Basic Bioinformatics
- ROV exploration
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