足彩app哪个是正规的 Microbiology Time Machine: Historical Artifacts, Scientists, Sites & 足彩app哪个是正规的 Stories 足彩app哪个是正规的y Tell

A Discovery Core Experience

May be taken as BCORE 110 (Natural Sciences) or BCORE 107 (Social Sciences)

About This Course

This course explores the history of microbiology and how microbes have shaped our world. From the invention of early microscopes to the development of germ theory, antibiotics, and vaccines, you’ll learn about key scientific breakthroughs and the people behind them. Along the way, we’ll examine how culture and history influence the way we understand and respond to microorganisms.

Selected Projects & Activities

This quarter we’ll work on a few activities, including a project to propose an official Washington State microbe where you’ll team up to champion a tiny contender, making your case with science, creativity, and a bit of persuasive flair. Along the way, you’ll also help build engaging online resources that spotlight the most exciting moments in microbiology’s past, giving educators new ways to connect history with science. Expect collaboration, creativity, and a chance to see not only what microbes can do, but how people can use curiosity, ingenuity, and science to discover, create, and implement change.

Who Should Take This Course (and Why)?

This course is a great fit for first-year students curious about health, medicine, public health, and/or history. No prior background in microbiology is needed; just bring your curiosity and willingness to explore how science connects to the real world.

  • Considering a career in health or medicine? Build a strong foundation by understanding how microbes shape disease, treatment, and public health.
  • Interested in public health or global issues? Explore how science and society have responded to infectious diseases across time, and how we see that playing out today.
  • Love history or storytelling? Discover the people, breakthroughs, and cultural moments that transformed our understanding of the invisible world.
  • Not sure about your major yet? Get a taste of both science and the humanities in an engaging, accessible way.
  • Looking for a collaborative, hands-on class? Work with peers on creative projects that connect science, history, and communication.

Professor Stefanie Iverson Cabral, Ph.D. (she/her)

School of Nursing and Health Science

About Dr. Iverson Cabral

  • PhD, Pathobiology, School of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle
  • BS, Microbiology with a minor in biotechnology, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA

I am a microbiologist with a research background in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), where my work focused on understanding how these microbes persist in the body by evading the immune system. This scientific interest has also sparked a deeper curiosity about the history of infectious diseases—especially how and why pathogens spread, what we have done to combat them, and the stigma that often accompanies diagnosis.

Alongside my passion for microbiology, I have always loved history, which has shaped my teaching approach where I take time to explore past pandemics and outbreaks to highlight both the breakthroughs that improved human health and the moments when public health decisions were influenced more by bias than by scientific evidence.

I am excited to teach this course, which was is inspired by my work with the American Society for Microbiology’s Center for the History of Microbiology Archives, as well as my experience as a Science Ambassador Fellow at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention which allowed me to visit their museum where I saw many of the historic artifacts we’ll explore in this class.

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