Claudia Rossano earned her undergraduate degree in Biology (2001) and got her Ph.D. in Ethology and Animal Ecology (2004) at the University of Florence (Italy). Part of her work on biological clocks was undertaken at the School of Biosciences in Birmingham (UK), where she started a collaboration that resulted in the publication of several papers on the ecological and physiological significance of circadian and ultradian rhythms in animals. Since 2002 she actively participated in numerous EU Framework programs on comparative and integrated approach to the ecology of Mediterranean coastal zones, cooperating with several Universities and Institutes mainly in Europe and North Africa (CNRS, Rennes, France; School of Biosciences, Birmingham, UK; HCMR, Heraklion, Crete; Universitè de Tunis, Tunisia; University of Alexandria, Egypt; Università di Cagliari, Italy). From 2011 to 2015 she worked in the Mapmed Project, on use of bioremediation technologies in Mediterranean touristic ports and transfer of monitoring tools to institutional authorities, with a task on the evaluation of the ecosystem status based on the association of water and sediment macrofauna to phytoplakton and microbial communities. Her research interests included biological rhythms, behavioral variability and adaptation, semi-terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, biodiversity, conservation and animal ecology.
She still has occasional research contacts with University of Florence and she is actually involved in adult education following the UE directives on development of competences.
She collaborates with Kent State University Florence from 2017 with the courses Elements of Genetics, Ecology and natural history of Mediterranean ecosystems, Human biology and Human biology Lab. Currently, she teaches Human biology and Elements of Genetics.
Course descriptions
Elements of Genetics (Spring)
The Course is organized in four main modules that cover Classical Genetics, Quantitative Genetics, Molecular and Population Genetics, and Functional and Medical genetics with the aim of providing tools to understand mechanisms of inheritance and genetic relevance to biological and biomedical research and technologies. This upper-division course assumes solid knowledge of material covered in BIOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS (BSCI 10120).
Human biology (Fall)
This course is an introduction to human biology and as such will cover all aspects of the human organism from biochemistry to cells to organ systems to disease and death. Whenever possible, course topics will be related to every day issues and concerns. Minimal science background is needed for this course, but good listening and study skills are essential! If and when allowed by local authorities and Kent State policy the course includes a visit to a natural sciences exhibition, which includes an important collection of anatomical waxes.