Department of Biological Sciences

Science 2 Fall 2007

Who Am I?

• Dr Michael Sneary– B.S. Biology, St Mary’s College

– M.A., Ph.D. Anatomy, U. C. San Francisco

– NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, U.C. Berkeley

– At SJSU since 1990

– Research Collaborations: EECS, U.C. Berkeley, NASA Ames and the Technical University, Munich Germany

What Do I Do?• Teaching

– General Physiology and Neurophysiology– Physiology for Engineers (BioMedical Devices)

• Research– Neurobiology and evolution of sensory systems

• Advising– Systems Physiology and Pre-Medical

• Director of Field Studies in Natural History• Other

– Backpacker, Cross Country and Telemark Skier

Nature of our programs

• Personal interactions with faculty members in lower and upper division courses

• Hands-on, laboratory-intensive and field-intensive lower and upper division classes

• Opportunities for undergraduate research • Personalized advising by faculty members

What’s Needed to Succeed?

• Desire– YOU must want to be a biology major

• Determination– YOU must establish realizable short and long-term

goals (know your strengths and weaknesses!)

• Skills– YOU must acquire good study habits

• Be consistent and efficient

• Cooperative learning techniques

What Do Our Graduates do?

• Enter post-graduate programs• Medical, Dental, Veterinary, Pharmacy,Optometry

(UCD, UCSF, UCI, Stanford)

• Ph.D programs (Be a professor or research scientist)

• Work in biotechnology• Work in conservation biology• Work in health care professions• Teach K-12, or at a community college

Graduate Work is Required to Get a Good Job

• B.S. = entry level jobs doing basic lab or field work

• M.S. = managerial level operations for instance guiding a specific research team

• Ph.D. = long-range planning for a lab or business involving research directions and hiring

Contact

• Brochures, Information, Quick Advice

• Duncan Hall 254 924-4900

• All faculty act as advisors

• Students are assigned advisors based upon – academic concentration within the department– professional goals

• Medical, Dental, Pharmacy

Students!

• 1000+ undergraduates

• 100-125 graduate students

• Some Lecture sections are large (100-200), but labs are small (18-24) and afford lots of contact time with the instructor

Programs in Biological Sciences• Bachelor of Arts

– Biological Science– Biological Science, Preparation for Teaching

• Bachelor of Science– Conservation and Organismal Biology– Marine Biology– Microbiology– Molecular Biology– Systems Physiology

Starting Out

• In the first two years most biology majors take the same set of courses

• In the upper division your courses depend upon your area of concentration

• BEGINNING COURSES– Biology 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6– Chem 1A, 1B, 112A, 112B, 113A

• MOST, BUT NOT ALL, MAJORS GET A CHEM MINOR

– Physics 2A, 2B

BA General Biology &BA Prep for Teaching

• Allows for a more flexible curriculum

• Including classes inside and outside of the College of Science

• Prep for teaching program is approved by the state as subject matter preparation for a single subject credential

BA Biodiversity Stewardship

• A new degree!

• Preparation for work in environmental fields including parks, consulting firms, government positions etc

• More later in the semester

BS Conservation and Organismal

• Areas of Emphasis– Botany (e.g. Plant Physiology)

– Zoology (e.g. Entolmology)

– Conservation (Ecology and Conservation Genetics)

• After Graduation– Park Ranger

– Environmental Consultant

– State and Federal Government Positions

– Graduate Schools

BS Marine Biology

• Upper division courses in– Marine Ecology, Physical Oceanography– Courses at Moss Landing Marine Labs

• After graduation – Graduate Schools– Government jobs

• NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration)

BS Microbiology

• Upper division courses in– Pathogenic Microbiology, Microbial

Physiology

• After Graduation– Biotechnology– Clinical Lab Scientist– Professional Schools– Graduate Schools

BS Molecular Biology

• Upper division core courses in– Molecular Biology, Immunology, Molecular

Genetics

• After Graduation– Biotechnology– Clinical Lab Scientist– Professional Schools– Graduate Schools

BS Systems Physiology

• Upper Division core courses in– General physiology, endocrinology,

neurophysiology

• After Graduation– Biotechnology– Professional Schools

• Medical School, Dental School, Pharmacy School

– Graduate Schools (masters and Ph.D degrees)

Some Growing Professions

• Clinical Laboratory Scientist (Med Tech)

• Conservation Biologist

• Biotechnologist

• Science Educators

Clinical Laboratory Scientist

• Huge demand for next 10 to 15 years• Managing hospital labs• Starting salaries in the $60Ks

Conservation Biologist

  SJSU Biology Students Survey Future State Park Land

• Students from the Biology Department's Redwood Forest Ecology course have conducted an extensive biological survey of a recovering redwood forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Currently owned by the Sempervirens Fund (a Los Altos based redwood forest conservancy), this 1340-acre parcel called the San Lorenzo River Redwoods is scheduled for sale to the California Department of Parks and Recreation over the next few years as an addition to Castle Rock State Park. This will effectively increase the area of the park by 50%, protect valuable wildlife habitat, and provide miles of publicly accessible, scenic hiking trails.

As the impact of humans on their environment grows…..

BiotechnologistThere are many growing and successful Biotechnology companies in the Bay Area. Our department now has a masters program in Biotechnology

Science Educators

California’s population continues to grow and with it the demand for teachers in Elementary School, High School, and College

Biology Minor• There is a set curriculum or you can make up your

own in consultation with an advisor• A customized minor might be a good idea for

those students in– Chemistry (proteomics)– Physics (instrumentation for flow cytometry and

chromatography)– Mathematics (applications of chaos theory and non-

linear systems theory to biological issues)– Computer science (parallel processing in neural

networks, software for genetic analysis)

Clubs

• Biology Students Association (3rd floor Duncan Hall)

• Pre-Medical

• Pre-Dental

• Pre-Pharmacy

• Pre-Optometry

• Departmental Seminar (Wed 1:30-2:20 pm)

Welcome to RUMBA's Web site

The REU program at San José State University, called Research by Undergraduates using Molecular Biology Applications (RUMBA), will engage six undergraduate students each summer in a ten-week research program focused on molecular biology applications.  Faculty members with expertise in the areas of genetics, molecular evolution, molecular environmental microbiology, cell & molecular developmental biology, and biodiversity will mentor students.

To Change Your Major

• BIOL 1 with a C or better

• ENG 1A with a C or better

• CHEM 1A with a C or better