About Me

I am a science educator, mycologist and marine biologist. As a Lecturer at Binghamton University, I coordinate teams of graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants (TAs) for our intro biology course sequence. TAs prepare and teach the Discussion Sections associated with each of our introductory courses. In addition to developing content for discussion sections, an important part of my job his training TAs to effectively teach and manage their sections.

I also teach several upper-level biology courses at Binghamton, including Marine Biology and two other courses I am in the process of developing – Coastal Ecosystems & Fungi and Disease.

Prior experience: I taught at Lock Haven University from 2018-2020 as an Assistant Professor of Biology (temporary). My teaching responsibilities included pre-health microbiology, as well as introductory biology for majors and non-majors. In the summer of 2019 I developed and taught a brand new undergraduate field course – Coastal and Marine Mycology – at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station in Wallops Island, VA. This course was set to run again in the summer of 2020, but was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. In addition to my teaching responsibilities, I mentored multiple undergraduate research students on independent projects that resulted in presentations at regional conferences and publications in peer reviewed journals. You can find more information about my previous teaching experience here.

Research and Training: I earned my Ph.D. in 2018 from Pennsylvania State University in Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology. I am broadly trained in fungal taxonomy, ecology and evolution. I am particularly interested in fungi responsible for diseases in wildlife, as well as fungi that inhabit marine environments. My Ph.D. work focused on the taxonomy and ecology of human and animal-infecting Fusarium species. You can find more information about my research interests and experience here.