The Department of Biology will offer a new course called Medical and Veterinary Entomology next fall.

This course is an introduction to the study of insects, with a  prerequisite of general Biology. This is the first time the course has been offered at ACU, and the 12 seats are filling up quickly.

Dr. Qiang Xu, assistant professor of biology, specializes in Entomology. Xu said students can expect to cover topics such as diseases and how they are transmitted.

“This course addresses a lot of diseases transmitted by insects, like malaria, yellow fever etc. Those diseases are still around so we need to put effort is preventing that from happening. Students will learn what cases those diseases, and I think it’s a good idea for my students to take advantage of that,” he said.

Ashlann Wood, freshman pre-vet major from Conroe, says that she’d want to check out the course and believes it would benefit her major.

“I would love to take it because it seems really interesting to see how diseases effect both animals and humans. Even though it has to do with bugs, I’d still take it. It would definitely benefit me,” Wood said.

Xu said not only medical or science majors can benefit from taking this course, but students in other majors as well.

“I would like to prepare the students better if they want to peruse a degree in Entomology, but it also goes well with any students in pre-health concentrations. Students who are interested in medical missions in places like Africa, they need to be aware of certain diseases and this course would prepare them for that,” he said.

Next fall Xu is expecting several students to enroll in the class, and hope to continue teaching the course to prepare students in Entomology the best he can in years to come.

“I never want my students to be at a disadvantage when going to Med-School, and this class will only help them be further prepared,” he said.