Leslie Blackie Home

A little about me:  

 I had a traditional university education (B.A. in Biology, M.S. in Genetics from UC San Diego, and Ph.D in Cell and Molecular Biology from UC Berkeley) and I very much enjoy the small class format of the community college and the teaching emphasis at Laney College. 

My classes are taught in B201 MWF 9-10, 12-1 and TTH 9-12 and 1-4.  My office hours are MW 10-11 and TTH 12-1 in B200/B201.   I prefer to meet with students and discuss issues and questions during office hours or lab class. I also can be reached by email. My address  is lblackie@peralta.edu.

I have high expectations for my students.  Bio 1A and Bio 1B are demanding courses intended for students majoring in Biology.  This means that I need to not only teach you the material, but also prepare you for a 4 year university experience and ultimately a demanding job market in the biological, healthcare or pharmaceutical industries.

My courses are very interactive.  Lectures often involve questions asked of students, explorations of ideas, and exchanges of ideas.  I encourage student involvement in both the lecture and lab portions of the class.    I expect punctuality and good attendance in my courses.  Everyone must take the prerequisites, with good reason.  The prerequisites have been established by committee to benefit students.  The prereqs are not an obstacle, they are there because your proven success in those courses makes it much more likely that you will be successful in my class. There is a lot of material to cover and regular participation is crucial to success.   Biology is a complex and interconnected subject that I thoroughly enjoy teaching.  There is always more to learn and new discoveries being made.  It is particularly exciting when lecture topics in the classroom coincide with news stories being reported.