Robert Suran

Advances in research techniques allow us to address questions that we couldn’t even imagine asking a few years ago. Advances in DNA sequencing allow us to unveil the intricate communities that live unseen around, and on, and inside of us. Additionally, the emergence of new diseases and rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria present us with new challenges. At DCCC, I endeavor to bring these advances to the classroom to help my students succeed both during their time in my classroom and afterwards in their careers.

Courses Taught:
BIO 100 Biological Sciences
BIO 110 General Biology 1
BIO 230 Introduction to Microbiology
BIO 250 Genetics

My doctoral work at Cornell University involved studying how genes encoded in group I self-splicing introns are transcribed using the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism. During my time at Cornell, I discovered my love of teaching. I was a teaching assistant for several undergraduate and graduate level courses. I also had the opportunity to spend several years working at the Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers, an outreach organization focused on improving K-12 education by pairing Cornell faculty and K-12 teachers to develop scientifically- and educationally-sound resources for teachers. After my time at Cornell, I relocated to the Philadelphia area and started working at DCCC, first as a part-time instructor, then as the Senior Laboratory Coordinator, and finally as a member of the Biology Faculty.

My scholarly interests are primarily focused on educational best practices for science courses. I am also generally interested in RNA biology and symbiosis between bacteria and eukaryotes (specifically symbiosis between Wolbachia sp. and arthropods and worms) best practices.