Department of Biological Sciences Creates 'Virtual Classroom' for Public to Take Course on Biosciences in the 21st Century

Business Wire, Sept 7, 2007

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- A newly created "virtual classroom" will allow the public and members of the Lehigh University community to take part in Bioscience in the 21st Century, a free multidisciplinary introductory course offered by the Department of Biological Sciences. The course, available through the Lehigh Web site, will explore several theme-based topics in bioscience and their social and ethical considerations. The open access course is part of a new Bioscience Education grant provided to Lehigh by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) in September 2006.

Lehigh faculty from multiple fields, including biological sciences, chemistry, English, philosophy, bioengineering, and physics, will examine contemporary life science issues. Topics such as obesity, infectious diseases, cancer, stem cell biology, advances in cell biology and medicine, genome-based medicine, and neurobiology will be addressed. As an introductory survey, it is designed for anyone with an interest in life sciences. This is also recommended for high school students, their parents or teachers looking to supplement their science curriculum.

"There is a need for greater public understanding of science and to promote science literacy. This course is intended to meet that need," said Professor Vassie C. Ware, the lead instructor in the course and co-director of the HHMI grant. "It provides a broad examination of issues in life science and draws upon the diverse expertise of our faculty. The program will give a good sense of the scope of issues facing life sciences today."

All lectures, the syllabus and course materials are available online, giving members of the Lehigh community and interested members of the public full access without registering for the course. A video of each lecture and the accompanying PowerPoint presentation will be posted on the site every two days throughout the semester, and will be archived for viewing at any time.

"This is an opportunity to take advantage of the university as a public resource," said Ware. "We structured this program to make it accessible to anyone within the Lehigh community and to the community as a whole."

To access the lectures and accompanying course materials, please visit www.lehigh.edu/bioscience21 or iTunes U at www.lehigh.edu/itunesu.> About Lehigh

For nearly 140 years, Lehigh University (www.lehigh.edu) has combined outstanding academic and learning opportunities with leadership in fostering innovative research. The institution is among the nation's most selective, highly ranked private research universities. Lehigh's four colleges - College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business and Economics, College of Education and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science - provide opportunities to 6,500 students to discover and grow in a learning community that promotes interdisciplinary programs with real-world experience. Lehigh's campus is located in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley - in Bethlehem, PA (50 miles north of Philadelphia and 75 miles southwest of New York City).

About HHMI

HHMI is one of the world's largest philanthropies, with laboratories across the United States and grants programs throughout the world. The Institute is a nonprofit medical research organization that employs hundreds of leading biomedical scientists working at the forefront of their fields. In addition, through its grants program and other activities, HHMI is helping to enhance science education at all levels and maintain the vigor of biomedical science worldwide. HHMI's endowment at the end of the 2006 fiscal year was approximately $16.3 billion.