Diverse co-teaching: a one-step strategy for assessment, integration, collegiality, transformation, professional and personal growth for the university community

Dr. Fry Dr. Odunuga Dr. Fry and Dr. Odunuga are two very different people. Yet the two share a passion for teaching chemistry and a desire to bring out the best in their students. Since 2016 the two have co-taught chemistry lectures and laboratories, and in this presentation they share their experiences and the benefits of diverse co-teaching. Diverse co-teaching naturally provides students, faculty and staff with a transformational experience, and serves as a universal platform for integrating various groups, promoting collegiality and performing assessment. Summarized below are some items of the transformation that each audience within the university may experience from diverse co-teaching. Faculty How to effectively provide transformational experiences for our students. How diverse co-teaching makes you more aware of how students perceive you. How co-teaching makes your life less stressful and more fun. Students The advantages of listening to, & learning from, people who are different than you. The benefits of having a diverse set of friends/colleagues. How to choose friends who will help you. The University Community How genuine friendships propel both professional & personal growth. The inherent value gained from a diverse community working towards common goals. Respect for all people is fundamental requirement in our society

Differential Tethering of Log Phase Trypanosoma brucei onto Chemically Distinct Surfaces

Our long-term objective is to understand and model the motility of T. brucei. Obtaining high quality images of T. brucei that allow one to differentiate between cell body movement and flagallar movement is difficult with T. brucei because the flagellum is attached along the cell body. Currently, our approach his to tether T. brucei onto a microscope friendly surface. The contributions to the ISIS our progress to date. Specifically, we look at the adhesion density of T. brucei to numerous microscope friendly surfaces and at the optimum adhesion conditions for T. brucei

Discovery of a novel species, Theileria haneyi n. sp., infective to equids, highlights exceptional genomic diversity within the genus Theileria: implications for apicomplexan parasite surveillance

[Display omitted] •Genomic diversity between Theileria equi and Theileria haneyi is greater than Theileria parva and Theileria annulata.•Divergence time between T. equi and T. haneyi is greater than 33 million years.•Genomic diversity between T. equi and T. haneyi is not reflected in differences in pathogenesis.•The Equi merozoite antigen superfamily, present in T. equi, is also present in T. haneyi.•Diversity of Theileria in equids is exceptional and presents consequences for parasite surveillance. A novel apicomplexan parasite was serendipitously discovered in horses at the United States – Mexico border. Phylogenetic analysis based on 18S rDNA showed the erythrocyte-infective parasite to be related to, but distinct from, Theileria spp. in Africa, the most similar taxa being Theileria spp. from waterbuck and mountain zebra. The degree of sequence variability observed at the 18S rDNA locus also suggests the likely existence of additional cryptic species. Among described species, the genome of this novel equid Theileria parasite is most similar to that of Theileria equi, also a pathogen of horses. The estimated divergence time between the new Theileria sp. and T. equi, based on genomic sequence data, is greater than 33 million years. Average protein sequence divergence between them, at 23%, is greater than that of Theileria parva and Theileria annulata proteins, which is 18%. The latter two represent highly virulent Theileria spp. of domestic cattle, as well as of African and Asian wild buffalo, respectively, which differ markedly in pathology, host cell tropism, tick vector and geographical distribution. The extent of genome-wide sequence divergence, as well as significant morphological differences, relative to T. equi justify the classification of Theileria sp. as a new taxon. Despite the overall genomic divergence, the nine member equi merozoite antigen (EMA) superfamily, previously found as a multigene family only in T. equi, is also present in the novel parasite. Practically, significant sequence divergence in antigenic loci resulted in this undescribed Theileria sp. not being detectable using currently available diagnostic tests. Discovery of this novel species infective to equids highlights exceptional diversity within the genus Theileria, a finding with serious implications for apicomplexan parasite surveillance