Evolution

This seminar course in biological evolution begins with a history of evolution from the Greek philosophers, moves through the modern synthesis (joining Darwinian evolution with genetics on a solid mathematical / statistical basis in the mid-20th century), and ends with current day concepts. We will explore the lives and work of naturalists Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace and important concepts of evolutionary theory, including natural selection, neutral theory, and nearly neutral theory. We will also cover the many strains of evidence supporting evolution – fossils, genetics and molecular biology, and biogeography. Selected readings will be suggested but not required.

Group Leader: STEPHEN SANDERS
Venue: TBD
Meets on: Tuesday 1 PM - 3 PM
Starting: Apr 8
Sessions: 6
Class Size: 20
Teaching Style:
Weekly Preparation: None
Stephen Sanders received a Bachelor of Science from Georgetown University and an MD degree from the University of Louisville Health Sciences Center. He completed a pediatric residency at the University of Oregon Health Sciences Center and pediatric cardiology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Sanders served as director of the Cardiac Noninvasive Laboratory at Boston Children’s Hospital from 1983 until 1994, chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Duke University for seven years, and chair of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery at Bambino Gesù Hospital in Rome, Italy for 5 years. In 2010 he became director of the Cardiac Registry at Boston Children’s Hospital, a collection of 4,000 cataloged heart specimens. His primary interests include the embryology and morphology of congenital heart defects.