lecture

Teaching & Training

Undergraduate Courses 

  • PLB111 - Plant Physiology (Fall Quarter)
  • This class will enable students to enhance their understanding of the principles of Plant Physiology on which life depends. Specifically, the course will cover the importance of water potential for plant cell structures, the processes of photosynthesis and biochemical pathways for the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and other essential cell components, the structure, synthesis and function of plant cell walls, the synthesis and functions of plant hormones, and the diversity and function of specialized metabolism in plant-environment interactions.
  • ​BIS103 - Bioenergetics & Metabolism (Fall Quarter)
  • This course will enable students to describe how the major biomolecules in living systems are interconverted to provide energy to do biological work including the synthesis of needed biomolecules. Students will build upon their BIS102 skills to use quantitative methods to examine molecular processes in living systems and to predict the direction of cellular conversions.
  • BIS198 - CURE: Green Bioproducts - Discovery and Engineering of Plant Natural Products (Spring Quarter)
  • Plants are nature’s master chemists. They produce thousands of small chemicals to ward of insects and pathogens, to recruit pollinators and beneficial microbes, and to adapt to environmental stress. We use many of these plant natural products as bioproducts, including medicines, fragrances, cosmetics, biofuels and more. In this hands-on CURE lab, you can learn how to use state-of-the art metabolomics technologies to identify natural products in plants. Using this knowledge, we will then explore how we can use plants as a platform to metabolically engineer genes, enzymes and entire pathways to produce plant natural products. This workflow is used in major biotech companies and is being adopted worldwide as a means of producing bioproducts at scale. Specifically, we will collect plant samples in the Arboretum and will analyze their natural profiles using metabolomics tools. By doing so, we will generate a chemical map of the Arboretum, helping to educate people about the diversity of natural products, their roles in nature, and their benefits to humans.  

Graduate Courses 

  • PBI200B - Plant Specialized Metabolism (Winter Quarter)
  • One week section with emphasis on the biosynthesis, distribution, biology and application of plant specialized metabolites.
  • PBI298 - Plant Natural Product Metabolism (not currently offered)
  • ​Plants are nature’s master chemists! This course offers students the opportunity to understand and evaluate for themselves the basis and impact of this claim. We will explore the biochemical logic that defines the natural variation of plant metabolism, and discuss modern tools used for its investigation and biotechnological application. Students will gain insight into the biosynthesis of plant natural products, their biological functions in plant-environment interactions, and their diverse human applications. Special emphasis will be given to plant metabolic pathways that impact agriculture, medicine and nutrition, as well as sustainability in the manufacture of bioproducts in plant and microbial host systems. Drawing on the fundamental knowledge of plant metabolism gained in the first part of the course, we will discuss current analytical, metabolic and plant engineering approaches, as well as ethical and intellectual property aspects associated with biotechnology applications. Students will actively apply the learned material through biweekly group discussions and the preparation of a ‘white paper’ where they propose a research project of their own design that relates to the topics discussed in class.  
  • Project Amazon Link (please inquire)
  • Project Amazon Link (PAL) is a cross-cultural program that aims to partner UC Davis graduate students (Davis, CA) with undergraduate students from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) (Quito, Ecuador) and graduate students from the University of São Paulo, Brazil (USP) (São Paulo, Brazil). Participating students will be connected through a joint online journal club to learn about each other’s culture, academic background, and communities. PAL is designed to provide USFQ and USP students practice with professional English communication and presentation. Students will have weekly email correspondences with two other students from USFQ and USP to allow for practice in mentorship, English writing, and culture sharing. In addition, UC Davis graduate students will have the opportunity to participate in the Graduate Student and Postdoc Certificate Series hosted by the Global Learning Hub, designed to help improve networking and leadership skills for success in intercultural work environments.