2008 INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE TRAINING COURSE IN ANTARCTIC BIOLOGY



January 5th to February 5th, 2008

"Integrative Biology and Adaptation of Antarctic Marine Organisms"


Click here for a downloadable PDF version of course announcement.

Location of McMurdo Station, Antarctica, where the training program will be held
Typical seasonal changes in sea-ice cover are shown for winter and summer

2006 Course Participants outside Captain R.F. Scott's 1902 'Discovery' Hut at McMurdo Station, Antarctica



1. What Focus?

The emphasis of this month-long biology course in Antarctica will be on integrative biology, with laboratory and field-based projects that will be focused on studying adaptations in extreme environments. Modern laboratory facilities for experimental work, sophisticated operational support for field collection, and offering the course in Antarctica make this course unique. A diverse teaching faculty will offer students the possibility of working with a wide range of Antarctic organisms (bacteria, algae, invertebrates and fish), as well as working at different levels of biological analysis (molecular biology to whole organisms).

2. For Whom?

This NSF-sponsored course will accommodate 20 students and is open to all nationalities and to applicants from any country. Applications are invited from graduate students currently enrolled in a Ph.D program, postdoctoral-level researchers, and faculty members who are interested in the biology of Antarctic organisms. Applications are particularly encouraged from scientists who do not have any prior Antarctic field experience. One goal of this training program is to provide new investigators with insights into the logistical issues of undertaking research in Antarctica and to encourage new ideas for unique biological research on organisms living in extreme environments in Antarctica.

3. How Much?

Full scholarships are available to each student accepted into the course. Scholarships will cover the cost of travel to and from your home institution to Antarctica, as well as room and board during the course.

NOTE: All accepted applicants must pass the medical and dental examinations required by the United States Antarctic Program prior to travel to Antarctica. Accepted applicants will be responsible for covering their own costs for medical and dental clearances through their own health-care providers.

4. Where?

The course will take place in Antarctica, at the Science Center (Crary Laboratory) located at the United States Antarctic Program's base at McMurdo Station. The on-site laboratories are equipped with excellent capital equipment for studying organisms at different levels of biological organization, ranging from molecular biology, to biochemistry, to physiology, and for studies of species diversity.

5. Faculty Teaching the Course in January 2008:

In addition to a series of lectures from other scientists working on-site in Antarctica, the following faculty will be teaching the course in January 2008:

      Dr. Donal Manahan, Course Director, University of Southern California
            -- Invertebrate development and molecular physiology

      Dr. Mark Denny, Stanford University
            -- Biomechanics

      Dr. Deneb Karentz, University of San Francisco
            -- Photobiology and phytoplankton ecology

      Dr. Alison Murray, University of Nevada
            -- Microbial ecology and genomics

      Dr. George Somero, Stanford University
            -- Biochemical adaptation


6. Application Deadline:

All completed applications must be received on-line (see below) by August 15, 2007.
It is anticipated that applicants will be notified of acceptance during the month of September 2007.

7. Laboratory & Field Work:
Participants will work with a wide range of diverse Antarctic organisms present in locations around McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The photographs below were taken by participants in previous Antarctic courses.


Photographs show some Antarctic organisms studied during previous Antarctic Biology Courses




Photographs show examples of course participants doing field work in Antarctica




Examples of some laboratory equipment and facilities
used by course participants in Antarctica



8. Course Format:

The course will focus on the following major themes that are central to understanding the integrative aspects of the biology of Antarctic organisms:

  • Biodiversity: characterizing the abundance and distribution of organisms in Antarctic aquatic environments.
  • Constant Environment: studying biochemical and molecular adaptations to a persistent cold environment.
  • Variable Environment: investigating the physiological responses of organisms to fluctuating environmental conditions (e.g., light, food).
All participants in this course will be exposed to these central themes that are the key issues for biology in Antarctica. During daily lectures, faculty and guest lecturers will provide introductions and overviews of polar natural history, Antarctic oceanography, and the evolutionary considerations of biological adaptations to an extreme cold environment that is subjected to months of winter darkness followed by constant summer light. Lectures will also highlight the most recent discoveries in polar biology, ranging from biodiversity and physiology at the molecular level, to the ecosystem impacts of climate change.

The majority of participants' time in the course will be devoted to fieldwork and laboratory activities, with opportunities for both observation and experimentation on bacteria, algae, invertebrates, and fish. McMurdo Station has excellent laboratory facilities for sample analyses and to support sophisticated experimental protocols. In addition, participants in this course will have access by surface vehicles and helicopters to a range of local ice habitats. Field trips will include use of a variety of sampling methods, monitoring of environmental variables, performing in situ experiments and collecting organisms to bring back to the laboratory for further study.




Press release from previous Antarctic Biology Course, 2006:   Antarctic Sun article, February 2006




It is anticipated that this NSF training program in Antarctica will be offered again in January 2010. The application deadline for the next program will be announced in 2009, in the spring-to-summer time frame.