Teaching

Motivation for teaching

I want to teach quantitative biology and bioinformatics to expand access to skills that can improve the lives of families like mine and people like me. Getting more people involved in biomedical research creates more chances for life-changing discoveries about health and disease, and I have a vested interest in making sure researchers have the necessary skills to perform robust analyses and draw rational conclusions from data. Because I have a natural aptitude for conceptualizing and explaining biology, and because I can code and write despite disability that limits bench work, I believe biomedical education and bioinformatics research are the optimal use of my talents.

Systems analysis techniques apply widely across biology, and over my lab career, I observed a consistent knowledge gap in these quantitative skills among practicing biologists. Despite the explosive growth of big data in biomedical science due to technological advances, few researchers have the programming and statistical skills or mathematical framework to analyze and integrate the results into actionable findings that improve our understanding and treatment of disease. This lack of quantitative expertise limits research progress.

My rare combination of biology knowledge, teaching aptitude, programming and quantitative skills, biomedical research experience and patient perspective position me as an excellent future quantitative biology educator and textbook author. Unlike many lecturers, I have a teaching degree and license, as well as experience from classrooms to massive online courses. As an experimentalist turned programmer, I can communicate with both wet and dry lab biologists and teach diverse audiences. This versatile skill set will also facilitate my dream of writing quantitative biology textbooks, including introductory resources for new biologists and bioinformatics training for current bench researchers and healthcare providers.

Teaching credentials

  • Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.), Secondary Education - Biology. National-Louis University, Chicago, IL. 2016.
  • Professional Educator License (IL), Biology and Chemistry endorsements. 2016-2022.

Teaching experience

  • Lead Content Developer, HarvardX Data Science Professional Program. 2019-2020.
  • Science Lab Coordinator, Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL. 2016-2017.
  • Science REACH co-sponsor and WYSE/TEAMS sponsor, Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, IL. 2016-2017.
  • Student teacher, Conant High School, Hoffman Estates, IL. 2016.
  • Teaching assistant, BIOS 25227: Endocrinology 2: Systems and Physiology. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2014.
  • Teaching assistant, BIOS 25228: Endocrinology 3: Human Disease. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2013.
  • Teaching assistant, CABI 31500: Frontiers in Cancer Biology. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2013-2014.
  • Teaching assistant, BIOS 25226: Endocrinology 1: Cell Signalling. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2013.
  • Teaching assistant, BIOS 25227: Endocrinology 2: Systems and Physiology. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2013.
  • Teaching assistant, BCMB 30400: Protein Fundamentals. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2012.
  • Teaching assistant, BIOS 20235: Biological Systems. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2009.

For more details, feel free to read my CV.