What Does Cell Biology Have to Do with Saving Pollinators?

Abstract

As a cell and molecular biologist trained in biomedical sciences, my early research focused on human disease etiology. I was fortunate to be able to realign my research and personal interests in sustainability when I began working on honey bee health as I transitioned to faculty positions at liberal arts colleges. As an Associate Professor of Biology at Barnard College, my teaching focuses on biology at the cell and molecular level, which is strongly associated with problems of human health. A major challenge I have faced centers around connecting the techniques and ways of thinking used in the study of cell biology with the broader environmental issues of honey bee disease and the growing pollinator crisis. In this chapter, I describe how I have worked to incorporate sustainability in a broad sense and justice in a somewhat narrow ecological sense into my lab and my teaching, with a specific focus on my course, Laboratory in Cell Biology. The lab class structure pursued here, which shares many aspects with the course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) model, seeks to create an authentic and inclusive environment to increase laboratory science involvement and enthusiasm in students from diverse backgrounds.