Bio

I am excited to join BioSci as an Associate Teaching Professor in Microbiology in August 2023! I earned my PhD in Immunology and Infectious Disease from SUNY Albany and have been involved with undergraduate education since 2007. I am a passionate educator and scientist who strives to create a dynamic, engaging environment for everyone to learn in. My research interests include bacterial pathogenesis (especially pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis), effects of infectious disease on history and society, and the role of case studies and course-based undergraduate research experiences on student learning.

Publications

• Effect of a liquid syllabus on student engagement and sense of belonging , Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education (2026)
• Celiac Disease and a Gluten-Free Diet Lead to Loss of Methanobrevibacter from the Gut Microbiome , Undergraduate Research in Natural and Clinical Science and Technology (URNCST) Journal (2023)
• Supplementation of a single species probiotic does not affect diversity and composition of the healthy adult gastrointestinal microbiome , Human Nutrition & Metabolism (2022)
• Maggie’s Illness: Protein Structure and Function in Cystic Fibrosis , National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (2020)
• The Unluckiest Man in the World? An Examination of Immune System Function , National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science (2020)
• Decrease in vancomycin-resistantEnterococcuscolonization associated with a reduction in carbapenem use as empiric therapy for febrile neutropenia in patients with acute leukemia , Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (2019)
• Decrease in Vancomycin-ResistantEnterococcusColonization After Extensive Renovation of a Unit Dedicated to the Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies and Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation , Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (2017)
• Prediction of Bloodstream Infection Due to Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus in Patients Undergoing Leukemia Induction or Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation , Clinical Infectious Diseases (2017)
• Fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients , Transplant Infectious Disease (2016)
• Room contamination, patient colonization pressure, and the risk of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus colonization on a unit dedicated to the treatment of hematologic malignancies and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation , American Journal of Infection Control (2016)