The topics covered in these courses vary based on the research interests and expertise of the faculty teaching them, providing students with the opportunity to engage with advanced concepts and emerging research that align with the faculty’s specialized knowledge.
Special topics courses are updated prior to the start of each academic year and will be posted when the Academic Calendar for the year is available.
Current Special Topics in Biology
BIOL_O 430/530-O | 2026W T1
Antimicrobial Pharmaceuticals and Therapy – Dr. Sanjoy Ghosh
This course will focus on agents and strategies used to deter microbes in various environments. Antimicrobial substances that are synthetic (sulfonamides and quinolones), semisynthetic (methicillin and amoxicillin), or originating from plants (quercetin and various alkaloids) and animals (lysozyme) will be discussed. This module focuses on key pharmacologic concepts that are related to the medical use of antimicrobial drugs and microbial resistance to these drugs.
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
- Outline how antibiotics were discovered and what drives the discovery of new antimicrobial drugs.
- Define and differentiate the following related terms: antibiotic, antimicrobial, anthelmintic, antiparasitic, and antifungal.
- Describe the different mechanisms of action for antimicrobial drugs, and associate these mechanisms with the common classes of antimicrobial drugs.
- Explain pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic factors that affect dose and duration of treatment needed to provide effective therapy for bacterial infections.
- Describe some important considerations in prescribing antimicrobial drugs to successfully treat infections in animals without promoting microbial drug resistance.
With permission of the department head, this course may be taken more than once with a different topic. Credit will be granted for only one of BIOL 430, 431, 432, 433, 530, 531, 532, 533 when the subject matter is of the same nature.
BIOL_O 430C
Animal Biomechanics – Dr. Ken Savage
This course explores a deceptively simple question: Why are exercise treadmills powered? The course will apply concepts that undergraduate students have typically already encountered in other courses to new contexts to understand animal locomotion. Thus, the course will introduce students to the application of easily accessible concepts in physics, materials science, and engineering to biological systems to understand structure and function in locomotion. Cost of transport is the amount of energy required to move one kilogram one meter, and it might be surprising to learn just how expensive the cost of transport is for terrestrial locomotion, even when compared against flight. By the end of the course students will be able to:
- Understand equations for force, energy, work, and power, and apply these equations conceptually to explain how animals reduce cost of transport during locomotion.
- Calculate mechanical and length advantage in skeletal systems, and apply to differences between vertebrate taxa to differences in locomotor strategies.
- Apply simple concepts (not derivations or calculations) in physics, materials science, and engineering to understand the relationship between structure and function in skeletal-muscle systems (focusing on vertebrates).
- Understand other biology degree courses in a broader context, fostering a multi-disciplinary approach to applying their knowledge.
For special topic course inquiries please contact: ugbiology.okanagan@ubc.ca
Please refer to the Academic Calendar for information regarding degree and course requirements.