Dr. Robert L. Jones III
B.A.
Zoology-Botany - Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana
M.A.T. Biology - Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana
Ph.D. Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology - Indiana
University, Bloomington, Indiana
Personal Statement:
My area of specialization is molecular biology, which is a foundational discipline for virtually every other area of biology, including the medical sciences. I advise and teach students from a variety of backgrounds, and I am interested in helping young women pursue courses of study which lead to medical school or graduate research. I also am interested in presenting biology as a creative discipline which teaches students, regardless of their individual majors, to think well.
My professional emphasis is undergraduate biology education and the development of improved curricular materials for use in lecture and laboratory settings. Toward this end, I have written instructional manuals which I provide free and on-line for three of the courses I teach. These include:
- Cellular Logic - for Principles of Biology
(BIO107).
- Instructional Manual and Guide to the Scientific
Literature - for Genetics (BIO204).
- Course Outline - for Molecular Biology (BIO206).
BIO204 and BIO206 involve extensive readings in the scientific literature. In addition to receiving training in how to read original research articles, students who take BIO107, BIO204, and BIO206 (a course sequence designed for prospective majors) will also be taught introductory research laboratory techniques such as gel electrophoresis of proteins and DNA, Bradford assays, absorption spectra of DNA and photosynthetic pigments, linked spectrophotometric enzyme assays, bacterial cell quantitation, plasmid isolation, bacterial transformation, restriction digests, and recombinant DNA construction.
This course of study is designed to fit with the strong program Cottey offers in general and organic chemistry, and A. S. degree graduates who have succeeded in our biology and chemistry programs have shown a high degree of success in related majors at their chosen transfer institutions. These courses also provide a substantial scientific background for students who choose to pursue our B. A. degree in environmental studies.
Courses taught:
BIO101 Introductory Biology
BIO101L Introductory Biology Lab.
BIO107 Principles of Biology
BIO107L Principles of Biology Lab.
BIO204 Genetics
BIO204L Genetics Lab.
BIO206 Molecular Biology
BIO206L Molecular Biology Lab.
Publications:
Jones, R. L. (2000). 5'-proximal AUG sequences as translation initiation signals on mRNAs in Escherichia coli. Transactions of the Missouri Academy of Science 34: 61-63.
Jones, R. L., J. C. Jaskula, and G. R. Janssen (1992). In vivo translational start site selection on leaderless mRNA transcribed from the Streptomyces fradiae aph gene. Journal of Bacteriology 174: 4753-4760.
Paper Presentations:
Jones, R. L., and G. R. Janssen. The Streptomyces fradiae APH protein is of average stability. Missouri Academy of Science 1995 Annual Meeting, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri. April 22, 1995.
Jones, R. L., and G. R. Janssen. Start codon selection on a leaderless message of the prokaryote Streptomyces fradiae. Missouri Academy of Science 1992 Annual Meeting, University of Missouri at Rolla, Rolla, Missouri. April 25, 1992.
Email: rjones@cottey.edu