Teaching
I have taught regularly at Georgia Tech as an adjunct instructor since 2022, mostly Evolutionary Biology and Microbiology Lab.
I redesigned Evolutionary Biology and Microbiology Lab around active learning. Students recognized both with the CIOS Honor Roll for teaching excellence: Evolutionary Biology in 2024 and Microbiology Lab in 2025.
Courses
| Semester | Course | Students | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | Evolutionary Biology (BIOS 3600/BIOL 6600) | 84 | 4.7 |
| Fall 2025 | Microbiology Lab (BIOS 3381) | 44 | 4.95 |
| Fall 2024 | Microbiology Lab (BIOS 3381) | 48 | 4.8 |
| Spring 2024 | Evolutionary Biology (BIOS 3600/BIOL 6600) | 66 | 4.85 |
| Fall 2023 | Evolutionary Biology (BIOS 3600/BIOL 6600) | 70 | 4.7 |
| Spring 2023 | Evolutionary Biology (BIOS 3600/BIOL 6600) | 98 | 4.7 |
| Fall 2022 | Communicating Biological Research (BIOS 4460) | 9 | 4.6 |
Evolutionary Biology (BIOS 3600/BIOL 6600)
An introduction to evolutionary biology for intermediate undergraduates and beginning graduate students. The course develops population thinking and the ability to read scientific literature, and covers the history of life, major evolutionary transitions, speciation, phylogenetics, natural and sexual selection, genetic drift, genome evolution, evo-devo, and experimental evolution.
Microbiology Lab (BIOS 3381)
A lab course on commonly used microbiological techniques: field sampling, cultivation and enumeration of microorganisms, enrichment and isolation, microbial growth, antibiotic resistance and antibacterial activity, DNA extraction, whole-genome sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis.
Communicating Biological Research (BIOS 4460)
A course on oral and poster presentations. Students learn to present and critically discuss their own research results, engage an audience, and give constructive feedback on their classmates’ talks.
What students wrote
Excerpts from anonymous comments in CIOS course surveys.
Evolutionary Biology, Spring 2026
“Knew how to make students curious about course content. I would come up after class often because I liked the topics he lectured about and we would have really fun conversations about molecular evolution.”
“He’s very approachable to students and he is very passionate about the topics he is teaching. I also appreciated that he always had outside material recommendations for each subject.”
“Dr. Bozdag does a great job of answering questions that provoke good discussion.”
Microbiology Lab, Fall 2025
“Excitement to teach the subject and engagement with students. Just being there physically in the lab is something many lab professors do not do and it was greatly appreciated and informative.”
“Dr. Bozdag was extremely kind and helpful throughout the labs. If you had a question he did not hesitate to help. He took the time to give detailed tips for the lab reports and presentations.”
“Being able to clearly and effectively explain concepts of microbiology. He is also clearly passionate about the subject, which helps make everyone more engaged.”
Microbiology Lab, Fall 2024
“This instructor made me absolutely love the subject, so much so that I willingly and enthusiastically talk about this class a lot to my friends. This instructor made me truly appreciate the intricacies of microbiology and how interesting it can be.”
“Dr. Bozdag is one of the most caring and openly-available professors that I have ever had in my time here at Tech. He is incredibly approachable, and has a way of explaining difficult concepts so that they are much more comprehensible.”
“It was nice to be in a class where the instructors cared about the wellbeing of the students and not just their performance.”
Evolutionary Biology, Spring 2024
“The instructor’s enthusiasm for the content was contagious, making the lectures engaging and the material easy to understand. His clear explanations and active engagement with the class, including eye contact and assistance during activities, were greatly appreciated. Despite feeling like I might have been one of the weaker students in the class, thanks to his teaching style, I learned a lot throughout the course.”
“His lectures were fun and engaging. Although much of it wasn’t new, I still found myself really excited to be there and listen to the lecture.”
“Dr. Bozdag is clearly very enthusiastic about this course and he does a fantastic job of engaging with the students and talking further with them about topics that they are interested in.”
Evolutionary Biology, Fall 2023
“He broke down his topics into easily understood bite-sized pieces and gave a lot of examples.”
“Bozdag is great. Interesting lectures and has good humor. Slides are informative and straight forward.”
Evolutionary Biology, Spring 2023
“He was great at explaining concepts that were confusing (particularly 1 on 1 during office hours), and was always available to meet. It was very clear that he wanted the best for the students.”
“So kind, approachable, friendly, willing to help students, and dedicated.”
Communicating Biological Research, Fall 2022
“Very accommodating and positive about critique and how to improve, genuinely made me feel comfortable to try my hardest on my presentations.”
“He gave great feedback, really cared about the students, and was clearly very knowledgeable about the subject.”
Guest lectures and workshops
- 2026Seminal Papers in Astrobiology (EAS/CHEM/BIOS 8802): Evolution of complex life
- 2024Genetics (BIOS 2600): Population genetics
- 2018–2024Evolution of Complex Life (BIOS 2550/8803): Origin of the eukaryotic cell, two lectures per offering (2018, 2019, 2022, 2024)
- 2017–2019Evolutionary Biology (BIOS 3600/BIOL 6600): Experimental evolution and speciation
- 2018–2021Evolutionary Genomics Winter School: Linux bash for genomics and transcriptomics (2018, Hacettepe University), introduction to genome data analysis tools (2019, 2021)
- 2008–2010Teaching assistant, Izmir Institute of Technology: Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, and Genetics laboratories
Mentoring
Since 2022, I have been the day-to-day advisor for students in the Ratcliff Lab. I have trained more than 15 students, served on seven Ph.D. committees (co-advising four), and written recommendation letters for more than 30 students. The full list is in my CV.