This course gives students the opportunity to learn about many different subjects in biology. Many students think they want to do one thing and end up changing their minds after they have tried it out. Everyone's path can change and this class can help individuals determine if they want to pursue the field of microbiology, epidemiology, etc.

How did changing the amount of incubation time change the results? Why does Salmonella require so much incubation time?

Why aren't we using another genome annotation website like PEECAN? Or have you ever put the sequence in Dr. Kreshawn's program?

I think it is interesting that other universities do not have classes like this one. This course provides students with many opportunities to learn that we would generally only get in a research lab. I feel that this class gives biology students the chance to determine if they want to pursue a career in research and go to graduate school.

I understand that we have to keep our database updated when new strains of Salmonella have been discovered at our collection sites, but why do we not sequence data from different rivers and streams? I understand the purpose of this course is to educate ourselves about collection methods, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, etc., and to educate the state on new outbreaks. However, I feel it would also benefit the state health organization if we tried to screen for Salmonella in untested areas around Harrisonburg.

This class reminds me of a class I took in my sophomore year. In ISAT 203 you bring in bags of dirt from your backyard or another location and try to find a bacteria species that you can isolate and send off to sequence. In ISAT 204 you take the entire genome sequence for one bacteria species and work on annotating the genes to try and determine their function.