Patricia Ashby
BIO 201 - Human Anatomy I Patricia Ashby
 Patty Ashby Background I came to Biology by way of the humanities, with a B.A. in English Literature from the University of New Mexico. I love works of fiction and poetry, as well as scientific research and theory, and consider the arts and sciences as complementary elements of a continuum of human expression and curiosity. I initially avoided all science classes, but when I finally took my first college-level Biology course I was completely taken with the amazing beauty and wonder of the living world. I entered the graduate program in Biology at the University of New Mexico where my dissertation research focused on physiological adaptations of metabolism and thermoregulation in the grasshopper, Xanthippus corallipes. I studied adaptations to the local thermal environment in populations across an elevation gradient (from low desert to montane meadows). I measured body temperature, oxygen consumption, and egg production rate. I found that oxygen consumption at field body temperatures was similar across populations, and those females with average metabolism produced the most eggs. I spent many summers running through desert and alpine grasses, net in hand, catching my elusive hopper. I completed my Ph.D. in Biology in 1996, taught for two years at Eastern New Mexico University, and came to SCC in 1998. I've been teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology since 1992. Human being are so many things, and there are many ways to describe them. A study of our anatomical form and physiological function is fascinating and revealing. I continue to be stunned by the seeming fragility of cells, tissues, organs, and systems where so many things can go wrong, yet the sturdy robustness and plasticity that takes us from conception to old age with such deceptive ease. The rapid pace of biomedical and basic research provides new information every day on the nature of how we function. To keep up with recent advances, Suzanne Kelly and I, in collaboration with ASU's Department of Bioengineering, offer a spring seminar in bioengineering. Students from SCC visit the research labs at ASU, and ASU researchers come to SCC to lead discussions. |
Teaching responsibilities
For more information on these classes, follow the links above. For an old copy of Dr. Ashby's syllabus for each class, follow the links below.
Links of Interest
Picture provided by Alexandre Latchininsky's website
Cellular Automata sites:
http://www.aridolan.com/ad/CA.html
A two dimensional cellular automata
In all my classes I try to provide students with a detailed foundation of factual and conceptual information, as well as encourage enthusiasm and appreciation for the innate beauty of our physical being.
Outside of teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology, my scientific interests include grasshoppers (still love them!), complexity theory (especially cellular automata), physiological ecology, conservation, and evolution.
