An accelerated college-level course for motivated students 8th-12th grade. Students must have a biology background, either from taking AP Biology, a USABO class, or the equivalent. Occasionally, exceptional 6th and 7th grade students may attend as well. Please contact Mrs. Webster if you’d like to discuss whether your student is a good fit.
The course covers topics at very advanced levels (the equivalent of college sophomore and college junior year classes), to prepare students for the semifinal level of USABO and other challenging biology contests. It is divided into four parts: physiology, cell and molecular biology, botany, and genetics.
Most students choose to take all four parts of Advanced USABO in one semester. Some choose to divide the parts over multiple semesters so they can digest the material more slowly! To the whole class or only some parts, register here: https://forms.gle/zXHEMowbdV1PyT9y8.
For students who intend to take the USABO exam in 2027, we also recommend taking the USABO Prep courses offered in December 2026 and January 2027, in which we address student questions on practice exams. (The USABO exams are quite challenging and students often have countless questions as they practice.)
The course is taught synchronously over zoom, so students can easily attend. Mrs. Webster is a dynamic teacher who keeps students engaged and entertained during the class. Students who miss a class can catch up via recording. Homework and class materials are shared via Google Classroom.
For the summer of 2026, the course is scheduled Monday to Thursday, 10AM to noon Pacific, 6/15/26 to 8/3/26, for a total of thirty sessions. Topics alternate day to day, so that students have time to learn and process new information:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | |
| 6/15 to 7/14
18 lessons total: |
Physiology | Cell+Molec | Physiology | Cell+Molec |
| 7/15 to 8/4
12 lessons total |
Botany | Genetics | Botany | Genetics |
Course Topics
The course topics are as follows:
Physiology sessions will deeply cover the following topics in human physiology (and some anatomy)::
- Neuronal Signalling and structures of nervous system
- Sensory physiology
- Muscles
- Endocrine system
- Cardiovascular system
- Respiratory system
- Excretory system
- Digestive system and metabolism
- Immune system
- Development (if time allows)
Botany sessions will deeply cover the following topics in botany::
- Primary and secondary growth
- Physiology and anatomy of roots, leaves, stems
- Plant reproduction
- Photosynthesis (including C4 and CAM plants)
- Soils and mineral nutrition
- Development, morphogenesis, and signalling
- Plant systematics
- Additional topics in nonvascular plants, gymnosperms (if time allows)
Cell and Molecular biology sessions will deeply cover the following topics:
- Cell Chemistry and Bioenergetics
- Proteins (and related pH considerations)
- DNA replication, repair, and recombination
- Gene expression
- Membrane structure and transport
- Cell Signalling
- Lab techniques (with emphasis on both lab applications and how these are tested on USABO) including the following:
- Cell manipulation and study (including cell culture, microscopy, staining, flow cytometry)
- DNA manipulation and study (including sequencing, PCR, qPCR, electrophoresis, Southern blots, recombination techniques, ChIP)
- RNA manipulation and study (including RT-PCR, Northern blots, RNA-FISH)
- Protein manipulation and study (including crystallization, ELISA, western blots, immunoprecipitation, immunostaining)
- Additional topics if time allows: cell cycle, cell death, cancer
Genetics sessions will deeply cover the following topics:
- Review of Mendelian inheritance
- Non-Mendelian inheritance (including imprinting, extranuclear inheritance, mosaicism)
- Linkage and mapping in eukaryotes and prokaryotes, including 3-point linked gene testcross
- Applying statistics and probability
- Mutations, transposons, and DNA repair
- SNPs and copy variations
- Population genetics (Hardy Weinberg)
- Quantitative genetics
- Complementation
- USABO-style Hamiltonian problems.
Textbooks
We will use the following textbooks:
| Topic | Required texts (purchase a paper copy or ask Mrs. Webster for a PDF) |
Supplementary texts (don’t purchase unless you really want to, Mrs. Webster will share a PDF) |
| All topics | Campbell’s Biology, 9th edition. https://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Biology-9th-Jane-Reece/dp/0321558235 . Other editions ok. Used copies are good value! | |
| Physiology | Vander's Human Physiology 14th Edition Other editions ok |
Tortura’s Anatomy and Physiology |
| Botany | Mauseth’s 5th edition of Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology https://www.amazon.com/Botany-Introduction-James-D-Mauseth/dp/1449665802 . Other editions ok.Used copies are good value! |
Stern’s Introductory Plant Biology |
| Cell + Molec | Albert's 6th or 7th edition of Molecular Biology of the Cell. Older editions are NOT ok. Wilson and Hunt’s 6th edition of The Problem Book https://a.co/d/gLucxso |
|
| Genetics | Pierce’s 6th edition of Genetics: a Conceptual Approach. https://a.co/d/eAxvrKU Other editions Ok. (It’s easy to find free pdfs of this online, but for learning purposes I think it’s often better to have the paper version.) |
Goldberg’s From Genes to Genomes (https://a.co/d/0iPuHtp) |
Register here: https://forms.gle/zXHEMowbdV1PyT9y8
For more information about SpringLight Biology courses, click HERE.