Teaching Faculty #77

General Information

Academic History

B.Sc.(h)           Biology                                               University of Saskatchewan
M.Sc.               Microbial Genetics                             University of Saskatchewan
Ph.D.               Molecular Biology & Genetics            University of Guelph

Contact Information

Email
craigber@mail.ubc.ca
Office Phone

Teaching Information

Teaching Interests

Currently my position at the University of British Columbia is to coordinate and teach Biol 234 (Fundamentals of Genetics), Biology 335 (Molecular Genetics) and Biology 344 (Human Genetics).

My graduate research included genetic characterization of E.coli minicells during my M.Sc. My supervisor obtained the first patent on a living organism in Canada and developed a natural live vaccine against neo-natal calf scours. My Ph.D. work was on isogene switching in muscle cells and my supervisor and I were the second to publish using RT-PCR as a technique we developed as an alternative to Northern Blots.  During my time at UBC I had the opportunity to work on characterizing expressed human CNR1 (CB1) and CNR2 (CB2) GPCR receptors in a photon emission assay developed using insect cells grown in tissue culture.

The underlying consideration in my teaching philosophy is allowing students to learn and apply scientific concepts in a fun and interesting manner. I try to prepare and maintain a comfortable classroom environment in which students in their learning process.  I strive to get students to think about their own way of thinking.  No matter what the subject matter, I try to teach my students to think like scientists and specifically like geneticists.  Students need to be constantly challenged and become proactive in their learning.  A relaxed classroom environment encourages student participation including the asking of questions and sometimes slightly off-topic subject matter discussions which are often interesting and informative.

I believe in presenting any course material in the simplest, most straight forward manner possible.  The main goal of my approach to teaching is to develop student self-reliance, group learning, problem based learning, and to lead students away from memorization.

Courses Taught/Teaching

BIOL 234 Fundamentals of Genetics
BIOL 334 Introductory Genetics
BIOL 335 Molecular Genetics
BIOL 344 Human Genetics