TEACHING

I have eight years of teaching experience at three different institutions: Indiana University, Louisiana State University, and the University of Miami. Over the course of my teaching career, I have instructed high school students, undergraduate students, and graduate students on a suite of different subjects; including vertebrate and human physiology, zoology, marine biology, introductory biology, and research and professional ethics; in both classroom and laboratory settings.

Teaching Positions

Associate Instructor; Walter Center for Career Achievement, Indiana University (Arts & Sciences Internship undergraduate course, 2021)

Associate Instructor; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University (Research and Professional Ethics for the Bio-Behavioral Sciences graduate course, 2019)

Instructor; Foundations in Science and Mathematics Program; College of Arts and Sciences, Indiana University (Zoology (Animal Diversity) high school course, 2017-2018)

Assistant Instructor; Department of Biology, Indiana University (Integrative Human Physiology and Biology Laboratory undergraduate course, 2016-2017)

Guest Instructor; Department of Biology, University of Washington (Survey of Physiology undergraduate course, 2015)

Teaching Assistant; Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University (Vertebrate Physiology Laboratory and Marine Communities Laboratory undergraduate courses, 2013-2016)

Instructor, High School Careers in Medicine Workshop; Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami (Introduction to Physiology high school course, 2013)

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MENTORING

As a Ph.D. student at Indiana University, I mentored three undergraduate students conducting independent research projects in the Demas lab. Two of my undergraduate students, Desirée Nieves Canabal and Ayley Shortridge, completed independent research projects as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in Animal Behavior, which is offered through Indiana University’s Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior. In addition, my undergraduate student Clarissa Ren completed an independent research project and a senior honors thesis during her time as a research assistant in the Demas lab.

Indiana University Undergraduate Students Mentored

Desirée Nieves Canabal (2018, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez)
REU Program in Animal Behavior; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University
Project Title: Fecal transplantation and the role of the gut microbiome in aggressive behavior

Clarissa Ren (2017-2019, Indiana University)
Indiana University Hutton Honors College Research Program
Project Title: Photoperiod modulates the gut microbiome and behavior in Siberian hamsters

Ayley Shortridge (2018, Michigan State University)
REU Program in Animal Behavior; Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University.
Project Title: Modulation of the HPA axis and anxiety-like behavior following fecal transplantation in Siberian hamsters

I have also mentored and trained undergraduate research assistants on laboratory techniques, both in the Demas lab at Indiana University and in the Galvez lab at Louisiana State University. These students assisted with one or more of the studies I conducted as a Ph.D. student at Indiana University or as a graduate research assistant at Louisiana State University.

Indiana University Undergraduate Research Assistants Mentored

Kate Adaniya (2018-2022, Cox Scholars Program); Taylor Deckard (2019-2021): Eamonn Duffy (2019-2020; Hutton Honors College); Lizbeth Funkhouser (2020-2022; Science, Technology, and Research Scholars Program); Sarah Henderson (2017-2020, Cox Scholars Program); Cameron Logan (2017-2019); Caroline McCord (2019, Hutton Honors College); Grace Murphy (2018-2019, Hutton Honors College); Andi Nowakowski (2018-2019, Hutton Honors College); Molly Pendergast (2019, Hutton Honors College); John Reinhart (2018-2019), Sydney Szwed (2021-2022).

Louisiana State University Undergraduate Research Assistants Mentored

Jamie Drummond (2014-2016); Ryan Hoffman (2015-2016, Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College); Brittney Keosayasing (2015-2016); Christina Rubio (2015-2016, Roger Hadfield Ogden Honors College); Veronica Rubio (2014-2016, Initiative for Maximizing Student Development).