Research
STEM Graduate Student Persistence
Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (including cross-sectional surveys, social network analysis, and multivariate statistics) my lab explores how graduate students navigate their developmental ecosystems and how their experiences contribute to them persisting in academia. My personal experiences as a queer scientist have profoundly influenced my research agenda, prompting a focused commitment to identifying and dismantling systemic barriers that hinder the persistence and success of these groups in STEM.
Related Project(s):
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Survival analysis of marginalized communities in STEM graduate education (in collaboration with Dr. Candice Quinn at the University of North Alabama)
Figure 1
STEM Graduate Student Professional Learning and Identity
Related Projects:
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Effects of an Active-Learning Professional Development Program on Graduate TA's Perspectives of Teaching (in collaboration with Dr. Emily Weigel at Georgia Tech)
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Biology Graduate Students Conceptions of Research and Teaching
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Effects of Campus Closures on Graduate Students (in collaboration with Dr. Kelly Lane at University of Minnesota)
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Mentorship networks of graduate students (in collaboration with Dr. Kelly Lane at University of Minnesota)
Life Science Student Awareness and Use of ChatGPT
Modern generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, use machine learning techniques to produce text and images that resembles human speech in response to user prompts. Recent studies have highlighted the transformative potential generative AI tools in higher education, including their ability to assist in content generation, question-answering, and even research activities (Michel-Villarreal et al., 2023). However, these technologies also raise important ethical considerations, such as concerns about academic integrity and the need for responsible integration into educational settings (Vaccino-Salvadore, 2023). My lab is studying the usage patterns of students using ChatGPT and student and faculty ethical perceptions of this tool. Our findings will help to shed light on the impact of these tools on academic performance as well as any ethical concerns that students may have.
Promoting Equitable and Inclusive Biology Education
There are several shortcomings when it comes to sex education and reproductive health education internationally. Cultural shifts are occurring, particularly with regard to sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender identity, and reproductive health, particularly for female-presenting and trans-identifying individuals. If these topics are ignored or misrepresented in educational resources, it may lead to female-presenting students and students belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community to feel ostracized. Furthermore, it may lead other students to accept only what is given to them as the norm, contributing to misunderstanding and social stigma towards the LGBTQIA+ community and the female-presenting population. Therefore, a tier of my research program focuses on creating a biology curriculum that is inclusive and accessible for students, regardless of background. In particular, my lab focuses on the representation of LGBTQ+ populations and the lack of representation of them in biology curriculum, historically. In one study, we are analyzing open access biology textbooks, with a particular focus on human biology and physiology, to identify how sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender identity, and reproductive health are discussed and represented within the context of anatomical and psychological mechanisms.
Graduate students are often important components of departmental instructional teams as well as budding researchers. As such they must learn to find synergy between these roles. Conflict between their roles (i.e., research and teaching) can cause a fragmented professional identity to form and negatively influence both their research and teaching practices. In our lab, we study the professional learning of graduate students and become scholars (professional learning) while navigating tensions between their roles. We apply social theories of learning to investigate how graduate students develop a professional identity and how positioning in networks can inform this development. The conceptual framing for our work is shown in Figure 2 to the right.
Figure 2