Research Interests

Through my interaction with students, I find that many are interested in learning how the body works. Whether that means gaining literacy on basic body functions or exploring the latest findings in Physiology, my students often immerse themselves while in this learning journey. Their desire to learn and enthusiasm is quite contagious, as that motivates me to teach as best as I can.

I received my Ph.D. in Physiology under the mentorship of Dr. Barbara Horwitz at UC Davis. Dr. Horwitz significantly influenced development of my teaching pedagogy. I learned much from her presentation style, her teaching philosophy, and even to this day, I often recall how she resolved teaching challenges. I also learn much from my students as both my successes and failures guide me toward teaching better. And, without question, I gain much from input from my colleagues in the department. All of this contributes to this iterative process of refining my teaching approach.

I’ve taught many courses within our department, including those that target non-majors and majors alike. These include large lecture courses (e.g.  NPB 10 and NPB 101), specialty courses (EXB 110, NPB 113, NPB 114), and NPB core courses (NPB 110A, NPB 110C and NPB 101L). I especially enjoy the specialty courses like NPB 113 and NPB 114.  With each offering, I’m continually reminded that our body can do remarkable things and that we can still learn something new about these processes. Perhaps this is why I passionate about teaching: through this process I am given the privilege to learn something new and exciting, and the privilege to share that knowledge with an avid student.