Courses
At Purdue University I currently teach:
FNR 24150: Ecology and systematics of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles
3 credits, lecture-hybrid
Fall, all years
co-taught with Dr. Patrick Ruhl
The goal of this course is to introduce you to the basic biology and systematics (relationships) among fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. I focus specifically on evolutionary relationship and the many adaptations that fishes have to survive, including their overall body structure, feeding anatomy, gills, buoyancy organs, and sensory systems. In this course you will also learn about major transitions in the evolution of fishes and herps. I emphasize content knowledge but also the ability to draw evolutionary relationships and basic anatomical systems in fishes. The course is also designed to promote group work and critical thinking alongside individual assessment.
BIOL 65200: Advanced Ecology and Evolution Discussion
1 Credit, discussion
Fall, all years
co-taught with 6 faculty
This course is typically co-taught among 6-7 faculty and I am currently serving as instructor of record and course coordinator. This course introduces students to a variety of important topics in ecology and evolution while also learning about how to read and think critically. Topics often include: how to read theoretical papers, biodiversity and disease, evolution at different time scales, connections between form and function, statistical replicability, phenotypic plasticity, and coevolution.
BIOL 69500: Writing in Ecology and Evolution
1 Credit
Spring, all years
co-taught with 6 faculty
The course is typically co-taught among 6-7 faculty and concerns itself with learning how to effectively write proposals and manuscripts in ecology and evolutionary biology. Each week focuses on a different section of a scientific manuscript or proposal and reviews best practices. Assignments each week are to write your own examples, read and analyze examples from others, and edit your own or other's writing. Our goal is that at the end of this course you will be able to construct a clearly-written and well-organized thesis proposal or manuscript.
Additional teaching experience
I have also been a teaching assistant for two classes at Harvard: Life Sciences 2, Human Evolutionary Anatomy and Physiology, and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology 130, The Biology of Fishes. Myself and another graduate student have also co-taught a semester-long graduate seminar geared towards writing a predoctoral grant (NSF GRFP, Hertz, Ford, NDSEG, etc.) for the past three years. In addition, I taught a two-week course with another graduate student though Harvard's pre-college summer program. Our course was called Surf and Turf: An introduction to marine and terrestrial biology.
Outreach
I have participated in outreach programs at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and with ADZ Group (> 30 lectures). I commonly give talks to students from underserved regions in the greater Boston area, and I help make science visible, accessible, and interesting in these talks. I also regularly give talks to visiting groups of junior high and high school students from Japan, and I have given numerous lab tours to academic and non-academic visitors, ranging from age 6 to over 60. In all of my outreach activities, I seek to inspire the next generation of scientists, educate the next generation of citizens, and demystify scientists and the scientific process.
Mentoring
I have been lucky to mentor both undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and high school researchers during my career thus far. I seek experiences that will be meaningful to my mentees and I support them on their desired paths in life. If mentees are engaging in research experiences, I typically meet with them weekly and help work towards publications or publication-quality research. Outside of research, I am also a mentor through multiple programs that seek to build student belonging and success through mentorship. For example, I participate in the Sloan PReMMiSS program between Purdue and Chicago State to mentor and bring minoritized students from Chicago State to Purdue, and I am a faculty mentor in the Undergraduate Science Scholars program that supports underrepresented students with scholarships at Purdue. I always enjoy getting to know others and I seek to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in my mentoring practices.
At Purdue University I currently teach:
FNR 24150: Ecology and systematics of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles
3 credits, lecture-hybrid
Fall, all years
co-taught with Dr. Patrick Ruhl
The goal of this course is to introduce you to the basic biology and systematics (relationships) among fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. I focus specifically on evolutionary relationship and the many adaptations that fishes have to survive, including their overall body structure, feeding anatomy, gills, buoyancy organs, and sensory systems. In this course you will also learn about major transitions in the evolution of fishes and herps. I emphasize content knowledge but also the ability to draw evolutionary relationships and basic anatomical systems in fishes. The course is also designed to promote group work and critical thinking alongside individual assessment.
BIOL 65200: Advanced Ecology and Evolution Discussion
1 Credit, discussion
Fall, all years
co-taught with 6 faculty
This course is typically co-taught among 6-7 faculty and I am currently serving as instructor of record and course coordinator. This course introduces students to a variety of important topics in ecology and evolution while also learning about how to read and think critically. Topics often include: how to read theoretical papers, biodiversity and disease, evolution at different time scales, connections between form and function, statistical replicability, phenotypic plasticity, and coevolution.
BIOL 69500: Writing in Ecology and Evolution
1 Credit
Spring, all years
co-taught with 6 faculty
The course is typically co-taught among 6-7 faculty and concerns itself with learning how to effectively write proposals and manuscripts in ecology and evolutionary biology. Each week focuses on a different section of a scientific manuscript or proposal and reviews best practices. Assignments each week are to write your own examples, read and analyze examples from others, and edit your own or other's writing. Our goal is that at the end of this course you will be able to construct a clearly-written and well-organized thesis proposal or manuscript.
Additional teaching experience
I have also been a teaching assistant for two classes at Harvard: Life Sciences 2, Human Evolutionary Anatomy and Physiology, and Organismic and Evolutionary Biology 130, The Biology of Fishes. Myself and another graduate student have also co-taught a semester-long graduate seminar geared towards writing a predoctoral grant (NSF GRFP, Hertz, Ford, NDSEG, etc.) for the past three years. In addition, I taught a two-week course with another graduate student though Harvard's pre-college summer program. Our course was called Surf and Turf: An introduction to marine and terrestrial biology.
Outreach
I have participated in outreach programs at the Harvard Museum of Natural History and with ADZ Group (> 30 lectures). I commonly give talks to students from underserved regions in the greater Boston area, and I help make science visible, accessible, and interesting in these talks. I also regularly give talks to visiting groups of junior high and high school students from Japan, and I have given numerous lab tours to academic and non-academic visitors, ranging from age 6 to over 60. In all of my outreach activities, I seek to inspire the next generation of scientists, educate the next generation of citizens, and demystify scientists and the scientific process.
Mentoring
I have been lucky to mentor both undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, and high school researchers during my career thus far. I seek experiences that will be meaningful to my mentees and I support them on their desired paths in life. If mentees are engaging in research experiences, I typically meet with them weekly and help work towards publications or publication-quality research. Outside of research, I am also a mentor through multiple programs that seek to build student belonging and success through mentorship. For example, I participate in the Sloan PReMMiSS program between Purdue and Chicago State to mentor and bring minoritized students from Chicago State to Purdue, and I am a faculty mentor in the Undergraduate Science Scholars program that supports underrepresented students with scholarships at Purdue. I always enjoy getting to know others and I seek to support diversity, equity, and inclusion in my mentoring practices.