Life Sciences Webinars

Dr. Terry Austin

Temple College

Terry Austin has been an instructor at Temple College for 15 years. He was chair of Biology for over a decade. During that time he has taught both semesters of a two-semester Anatomy & Physiology course and has transitioned A&P to a fully online offering. In addition he has transitioned Microbiology into a hybrid offering, where all course components other than lab are fully online. These days Terry lives in Salado, Texas where he oversees his online courses and continues to develop and deliver content for his virtual classrooms. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Midwestern State University with an emphasis in Mammalogy. He has completed doctoral work in Neuroscience at the University of North Texas. Terry is the author of several VideoTutor modules for Pearson’s MasteringA&P and is a Faculty Advisor for both MasteringA&P and MasteringMicrobiology.

Dr. Warner Bair

Lone Star College

Warner B. Bair III received his Ph.D. in cancer biology from the University of Arizona in 2006. He started his undergraduate educational career as an adjunct professor at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona teaching introductory biology classes. Since 2010, he has been a biology professor at Lone Star College – CyFair in Cypress, Texas. He teaches an introduction to biology course as well as an allied health microbiology class. Dr. Bair is a co-principal investigator on a SBIR/STTR Community College Research Teams (Phase IICC) NSF grant. Dr. Bair’s teaching philosophy includes increasing student engagement by developing real world, inquiry based lesson plans. In the case of his microbiology classes, this is accomplished by framing the lesson with a case study and relating cell biology principles to clinical manifestation of diseases. Technology is used both in and outside of class to assess students’ prior knowledge and comprehension of the material. A flipped classroom approach is also used to provide basic instruction prior to class, freeing up class time and to allow in class student group work.

Dr. Colleen Belk

University of Minnesota

Colleen Belk has taught biology at the University of MN-Duluth for the past 25 years. She is a member of the UMD Honors faculty and The UMD Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Among other awards, she has been the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Teaching as well as the Advisor of the Year award. She is currently writing, along with her co-author Virginia Borden-Maier the 6th edition of their non-majors biology textbook Biology: Science for Life.

Dr. Michael Black

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Michael Black received his Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from Stanford University School of Medicine as a Howard Hughes Predoctoral Fellow. After graduation, he studied cell biology as a Burroughs Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. His current research focuses on the use of molecules to identify and track the transmission of microbes in the environment. Michael is a professor of Cell & Molecular Biology at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where he teaches introductory and advanced classes for majors in cell biology and microbiology. In addition to his teaching and research activities, Michael serves as the director of the Undergraduate Biotechnology Lab, where he works alongside undergraduate technicians to integrate research projects and inquiry-based activities into undergraduate classes.

Joan Salge Blake

Boston University

Joan Salge Blake is a Clinical Associate Professor at Boston University and the author of Nutrition & You, 4/e, Nutrition & You: Core Concepts to Good Health, 1/e, and the co-author of Nutrition: From Science to You, 3/e. Joan is also a National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics National Media Spokesperson. Follow her on Twitter @joansalgeblake.

Norm Christensen

Duke University

Norm Christensen is professor emeritus and founding dean of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. He earned his BA and MS at California State University, Fresno, and his Ph.D at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research includes the causes and consequences of fire in grasslands, shrublands, and forests; the impacts of human land use and land abandonment on ecosystem change and species conservation; and the influence of global warming patterns of ecosystem change. Norm has been honored twice with awards for undergraduate teaching and was instrumental in the development of Duke’s undergraduate program in environmental science and policy. He is lead author of The Environment and You, published by Pearson.

Dr. Bryan Dewsbury

University of Rhode Island

Dr. Bryan Dewsbury earned his BS degree from Morehouse College, and his MS and PhD degrees in Biology from Florida International University. He is a Prinicipal Investigator at SEAS (Science Education And Society) Research program which focuses on questions relating to identity constructs, bias, relationships, and the effects of those variables on learning in students (K-PhD).

Dr. Clarissa Dirks

The Evergreen State College

Clarissa Dirks is a Professor of Biology at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington where she currently investigates the distribution and biodiversity of Tardigrada. As a biology education researcher she investigates how students acquire and master science competencies and developed a validated instrument to assess undergraduates’ acquisition of these skills. She co-authored the book Assessment in the College Science Classroom, and as part of a larger project with the Social Science Research Council she recently coauthored the white paper Essential Concepts and Competencies for Biology, which is now a book chapter. She was named a National Academies Education Fellow and Mentor in the Life Sciences and served as a co-chair of the National Academies Scientific Teaching Alliance Executive Committee and a member of the National Research Council’s Board on Life Sciences committee on Education about Research with Dual Use Potential. She was a member of the CBE-Life Science Education Editorial Board and also co-founded the Society for Biology Education Research (SABER). She graduated with a B.S. in Microbiology from Arizona State University and earned her Ph.D. in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Washington.

Josh Frost

Pearson

Josh Frost leads the Campbell Biology for majors team at Pearson. He began his career at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, working on a multi-year project in diversified approaches to assessment funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. For the past fifteen years, Josh has worked at Pearson and has worked on Campbell Biology since the sixth edition. In 2013, Josh and his author team published Campbell Biology in Focus, an alternate version of Campbell driven by the Vision and Change blueprint for ensuring that all students understand certain core concepts that are necessary for biological literacy while also being able to demonstrate a set of core competencies in disciplinary practice. Josh is a National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences.

Professor Lori Garrett

Parkland College

A veteran educator with 30+ years of teaching experience, Lori K. Garrett co-coordinates the anatomy & physiology curriculum and teaches A&P courses at Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois. She oversees their cadaver program and was instrumental in securing a digital dissection table for the college. Lori earned her Master’s Degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois and taught at the U of I College of Medicine and at Danville Area Community College before settling into Parkland. Lori was named DACC’s Faculty of the Year and received the NISOD Excellence Award, the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Central Region Faculty Award, and ultimately ACCT’s national William H. Meardy Faculty Award. Lori is the author of The Art of Teaching A&P: Six Easy Lessons to Improve Student Learning and of Get Ready for A&P, which has been adapted into a series of Get Ready books for additional disciplines. She developed and wrote MyReadinessTest for A&P, several A&P video tutors, instructor manuals, and study guides.

Professor Ruth Heisler

University of Colorado – Boulder

Ruth E. Heisler is a senior instructor in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado at Boulder where she teaches and coordinates several courses, including Human Anatomy, Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, and Forensic Biology. She has been an instructor at the University of Colorado for more than 15 years. At the University of Colorado, Ruth has worked extensively with the Science Education Initiative to improve both the teaching and understanding of scientific material at the undergraduate level. In addition, she has been involved in academic outreach through workshops with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Biological Sciences Initiative. She has been a consultant on projects with the Center for Human Simulation, working with data generated through the Visible Human Project. Ruth has been deeply involved in the development of Practice Anatomy Lab, as coauthor of versions 2.0 and 3.0, and is also coauthor on the newly released A Photographic Atlas of Anatomy & Physiology. She is also author of a custom laboratory manual developed for a large, cadaver-based human anatomy lab. Ruth received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Minnesota, and her M.A. in Biology from the University of Colorado.

Dr. Kelly Hogan

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Kelly Hogan is a senior STEM lecturer in Biology and the Director of Instructional Innovation for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, teaching introductory biology and introductory genetics to science majors. Dr. Hogan teaches over 400 students at a time, using interactive teaching techniques and technologies. Dr. Hogan’s research interests relate to how large classes can be more inclusive through the use of evidence based teaching methods and her work has received national attention in publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic and The Washington Post. She completed her undergraduate degree in biology at The College of New Jersey and earned her doctorate from UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Hogan is the author of Stem Cells and Cloning, Second Edition, co-author on Campbell’s Essential Biology with Physiology, Fifth edition and Campbell’s Essential Biology, Sixth Edition and Campbell’s Biology Concepts & Connections, Eighth Edition and is lead moderator of the Instructor Exchange, a site within MasteringBiology for instructors to exchange classroom materials and ideas.

Dr. Suzanne Keller

Indian Hills Community College

Suzanne M. Keller teaches Microbiology and Anatomy & Physiology at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, where most of her students are studying to enter nursing or other Health Science programs. Suzy’s down-to-earth teaching style translates challenging concepts into easily understood parts using analogies and stories from her own experiences, a technique that she also deploys in her role as co-author, with Elaine Marieb, of Pearson’s best-selling Essentials of Human Anatomy & Physiology. An Iowa native, Dr. Keller earned her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas, and she is a member of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) and the Iowa Academy of Science. When not teaching or writing, Dr. Keller enjoys reading, traveling, family gatherings, and relaxing at home under the watchful eyes of her two canine “children.”

Dr. Matt Laposata

Kennesaw State University

Matthew Laposata is a professor of environmental science at Kennesaw State University (KSU). He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in biology from Bowling Green State University, and a doctorate in ecology from Pennsylvania State University. Matt is the coordinator of KSU’s two-semester general education science sequence titled Science, Society, and the Environment, which enrolls over 5000 students per year. He focuses exclusively on introductory environmental science courses and has enjoyed teaching and interacting with thousands of nonscience majors during his career. He is an active scholar in environmental science education and has received grants from state, federal, and private sources to develop and evaluate innovative curricular materials. His scholarly work has received numerous awards, including the Georgia Board of Regents’ highest award for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Dr. Shawn Macauley

Muskegon Community College

Dr. Shawn Macauley teaches Anatomy & Physiology I and II at Muskegon Community College in Muskegon, Michigan. His research and professional interests include physical, visual, and memory rehabilitation with patients suffering from vestibular dysfunction; problems with chronic wound healing, especially as presented in patients with diabetes; effective use of technology in teaching introductory science classes; and advocacy for individuals with physical disabilities. Shawn received his M.S. in Microbiology and Cell Sciences from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. Medical Sciences from the University of Florida College of Medicine. Shawn is a Faculty Advisor for MasteringA&P.

Dr. Jason Neff

University of Colorado – Boulder

Jason C. Neff is a professor in the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Jason received his BA from CU Boulder and his Ph.D. from Stanford University and is a biogeochemist that has studied ecosystems around the world. Dr. Neff’s research includes studies of carbon release from boreal ecosystems in Alaska and Siberia and work on the global nitrogen cycle. Recently he has been working to understand how land use change in the western US has affected the production and deposition of dust. This work has been featured on National Public Radio, and highlighted in newspapers around the world. Dr. Neff is the author of the Introductory Environmental Science digital text, A Changing Planet, published by Pearson.

Dr. Rebecca Orr

Collin College

Rebecca B. Orr earned her Ph.D. in Cell Regulation at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She has taught a variety of freshman through senior level biology courses for over 18 years. Her passion is investigating strategies that increase student success in the majors introductory biology classroom, and she enjoys focusing on the creation of learning opportunities that both engage and challenge students. Much of Rebecca’s efforts are spent incorporating technology into the lecture portion of the course through a variety of means, and analyzing how various strategies and technologies impact student learning. She is currently focused on the use of Learning Catalytics and the implementation of team-based learning in her on-campus, freshman majors biology course.

Dr. Kevin Petti

San Diego Miramar College

Kevin Petti, PhD, teaches courses in human anatomy and physiology, human dissection, kinesiology, and health education. He has been teaching at San Diego Miramar College since 1987 and is president emeritus of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society. Dr. Petti has contributed to several anatomy and physiology textbooks. Most recently he is a coauthor for the forthcoming third edition of Visual Anatomy and Physiology (publishing January 2017). As a dual U.S./Italian citizen, he regularly travels to Italy teaching Study Abroad for San Diego State University and continuing education for anatomy professors in the Anatomia Italiana program he founded in 2009. These courses visit the very lecture halls and dissection theaters of the first modern anatomists. Students learn about the genesis of anatomy as a science in Italy, and its connection to the work of the Renaissance Masters, who also dissected bodies to enhance their art. Dr. Petti is often invited to lecture about this topic at conferences, universities, museums, and Italian-American groups. He has also been invited by the Italian Consulate to speak at their Cultural Institutes in Los Angeles and New York City, as well as the University of Palermo in Sicily. Dr. Petti has a bachelors degree from Humboldt State University, a masters degree from San Diego State University, and a doctorate from the University of San Diego. He has a keen interest in staying physically active. He has completed more than ten triathlons and has rock climbed for years. The 2000′ Northwest Face of Yosemite’s Half Dome is his proudest climbing achievement. He is married and has two children.

Dr. Elena Pravosudova

University of Nevada, Reno

Dr. Pravosudova is originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, but has lived in the US for 25 years. She earned her BS and MS in Zoology from St Petersburg State University, and a PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology from Ohio State. Her training is in Ornithology and Behavioral Ecology however, her real passion is undergraduate education. Elena loves coming up with new ways to improve teaching and learning, but ironically the more time she spends doing it, the more endless the process seems. When Elena is not teaching, advising, or working on her courses, she likes to cook, hike, and hang out with her husband, dogs, macaw, grown-up kids, and 18-month old grandbaby!

Dr. Kim Quillin

Salisbury University

Kim Quillin received her B.A. in Biology at Oberlin College summa cum laude and her Ph.D. in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. Kim has worked in the trenches with Scott Freeman on every edition of Biological Science, starting with the ground-up development of the illustrations in the first edition in 1999 and expanding her role in each edition, always with the focus of helping students to think like biologists. Kim currently teaches introductory biology at Salisbury University, a member of the University System of Maryland, where she is actively involved in the ongoing student-centered reform of the concepts-and-methods course for biology majors. Her current research focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning with an emphasis on visual model-based reasoning as a science process skill.

Dr. Pamela Sandstrom

University of Nevada, Reno

Pamela Sandstrom is an undergraduate Biology instructor and academic advisor. She began her academic and professional career as an ophthalmology technician after completing a degree in Physiology at the University of California, Davis. In 2002, she returned to graduate school and earned a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno. Since 2007, she has taught almost 6,000 undergraduate students in a variety of classes: non-majors Biology, Intro to Cell and Molecular Biology, Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Genetics, as well as laboratories in Microbiology, Cell Biology, and Molecular Biology. Her large-enrollment Introductory Biology and Genetics hybrid lecture classes include online content and weekly mandatory discussion groups. Her use of numerous teaching strategies, including Mastering and Learning Cataltyics, have also been helpful in engaging students with different learning styles.

Dr. Eric Simon

New England College

Eric J. Simon, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Biology and Health Science at New England College, in Henniker, New Hampshire. He teaches introductory biology to science majors and nonscience majors, as well as an upper-level course in tropical marine biology that includes a field component in Belize. Dr. Simon received a B.A. in biology and computer science and an M.A. in biology from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University. His research focuses on innovative ways to use technology to improve teaching and learning in the science classroom, particularly for non-science majors. Dr. Simon is the author of the introductory non-majors biology textbooks Biology: The Core (2nd Ed.), the lead author of Campbell Essential Biology (6th Ed.) and Campbell Essential Biology with Physiology (5th Ed.) by Simon/Dickey/Hogan/Reece, and a co-author of the introductory biology textbook Campbell Biology: Concepts and Connections (8th Ed.) by Taylor/Simon/Dickey/Hogan/Reece, all published by Pearson Benjamin Cummings.

Ashten Shope

East Carolina University

Ashten Shope is a fourth year student at East Carolina University, majoring in Cellular and Molecular Biology. She is an experienced transgender advocate and educator specializing in trans issues, mainly those surrounding sociocultural acceptance, trans health disparities and care, and the biological premise of gender identity and expression. She has been a member of over 30 LGBT information panels and has taught lectures on trans issues at the graduate and undergraduate levels and at various agencies and community-based organizations. Ashten has also made her own transition public by speaking in transgender Q&A sessions, allowing students and faculty to communicate directly with her to gain a better understanding of transgenderism and the process of medical transition. She plans to attend medical school to earn her medical doctorate upon the completion of her bachelors. In her free-time, she enjoys writing fiction and spoken word poetry, spending time with friends and family, and traveling.

Al Trujillo

Palomar College

Al Trujillo began teaching at Palomar College in San Marcos, California in 1990. In 1997, and has been awarded Palomar’s Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2005 he received Palomar’s Faculty Research Award. Al knows his students and has mastered the skill of engaging them. Al is also the author of Essentials of Oceanography, 12e and a contributing author for Earth and Earth Science of the Tarbuck/Lutgens franchise.

Dr. Lisa Urry

Mills College

Lisa A. Urry is Professor of Biology and Acting Dean of the Natural Sciences Division at Mills College in Oakland, California, and a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating from Tufts University with a double major in biology and French, Lisa completed her Ph.D. in molecular and developmental biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program. She has published a number of research papers, most of them focused on gene expression during embryonic and larval development in sea urchins. Lisa has taught a variety of courses, from introductory biology to developmental biology and senior seminar. As a part of her mission to increase understanding of evolution, Lisa also teaches a non-majors course called Evolution for Future Presidents and is on the Teacher Advisory Board for the Understanding Evolution website developed by the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Lisa is also deeply committed to promoting opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities in science. Lisa is a co-author of Campbell Biology and Campbell Biology in Focus.

Professor Karen Vail-Smith

East Carolina University

Karen Vail-Smith has been a faculty member in East Carolina University’s Department of Health Education and Promotion for 27 years and has taught over 10,000 college students how to lead healthier lives. Fifteen years ago, she created the department’s personal sexual health course, which is a popular elective for approximately 300 students every year. As the instructor of this course and through her research, she has developed an interest in and knowledge of gender issues that affect college-aged adults. She has received numerous teaching awards, including the prestigious UNC Board of Governor’s Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award. During her career, she has published more than 30 articles in the health professional journals, produced 50 nationally-distributed health promotion videos, and contributed to several personal health textbooks. She is the co-author of the recently released third edition of Pearson’s Choosing Health.

Dr. Derek Weber

Raritan Valley Community College

Derek Weber is an associate professor of biology at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, NJ. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from Moravian College and a Ph.D. in biomolecular chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His area of interest is in the use of instructional technology to create a more active and engaging learning community. His current work focuses on best practices in the flipped classroom, which he began four years ago. His work in this area was recognized with the Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology at the International Teaching and Learning Conference and his Principles of Microbiology course was awarded Best Overall Course by SoftChalk Lesson Builder. He was also nominated as a top technology innovator in the Chronicle of Higher Education. His work creating MicroBooster video tutorials is available through Pearson’s MasteringMicrobiology platform.

Dr. Jay Withgott

Jay Withgott has authored Essential Environment as well as its parent volume, Environment: The Science behind the Stories, since their inception. In dedicating himself to these books, he works to keep abreast of a diverse and rapidly changing field and continually seeks to develop new and better ways to help today’s students learn environmental science. As a researcher, Jay has published scientific papers in ecology, evolution, animal behavior, and conservation biology. He has taught university lab courses in ecology and other disciplines and authored articles for numerous journals and magazines including Science, New Scientist, BioScience, Smithsonian, and Natural History. By combining his scientific training with prior experience as a newspaper reporter and editor, he strives to make science accessible and engaging for general audiences. Jay holds degrees from Yale University, the University of Arkansas, and the University of Arizona.

Professor Michael G. Wood

Del Mar College

Michael G. Wood is a Professor of Biology at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he has taught anatomy & physiology and biology for over 30 years. He has received the “Educator of the Year”, “Teacher of the Year”, and “Master Teacher” awards from the Del Mar College student body and from the local business community. He received his M.S. at Pan American University, now the University of Texas at Pan American, where his graduate studies included vertebrate physiology and freshwater ecology. Michael is a member of the Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) and is author of Laboratory Manual for Anatomy & Physiology featuring Martini Art (Main, Cat, and Pig Versions), the latest edition of which just published in January.