Leadership

Leadership within GEP is distributed across five specialized Committees—Assessment, Curriculum, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI), Professional Development, and Science & IT—each of which addresses specific priorities and are overseen by the Steering Committee.

Steering

Provides overall guidance and leadership of GEP and coordinates the specialized committees

Laura Reed, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biology at The University of Alabama. Research in the Reed Lab focuses on understanding how evolutionary, genetic, and environmental factors interact to shape complex metabolic traits, including diseases like obesity and type-2 diabetes. Laura took over as the GEP’s Program Director in 2017. Within the GEP, Laura is also the Project Leader of the Pathways Project, Chair of the Steering Committee, oversees the Virtual TAs, the Staff, and all financial aspects of the partnership.

Assessment

Assesses the effectiveness of GEP strategies for both student & faculty outcomes

John Stanga, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Mercer University in Macon, GA where he teaches Genetics, Molecular Genetics, Introduction to Biology, and Plant Biology. His scholarship includes investigating how plants sense and respond to the environment and biology education research.

Christy Fleet, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biology at Emory & Henry University in southwest Virginia. She teaches undergraduate courses in Genetics, Biochemistry, and Physiology. Her research focuses on transcriptional control of plant development.

Curriculum

Develops & updates curriculum & specialized pedagogy for all levels of undergraduate biology

Amie is in the Division of Science and Mathematics at Bennington College in Vermont, where she teaches a wide range of molecular/cellular/genetics courses of all levels. Her research interests center around protein (mis)folding and quality control, primarily focusing on the roles of molecular chaperones and the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Since joining the GEP in 2015, she has developed an introductory bioinformatics course titled “Genome Jumpstart,” has served as a past co-leader of the New England Node, and is excited to join the Curriculum Committee leadership rotation.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Establishes best practices & training for creating & maintaining an inclusive & safe environment for all GEP members & students

Maire Sustacek, Ph.D. is a biology faculty at Minneapolis Community and Technical College in Minneapolis, MN, where she teaches Genetics and Microbiology courses. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2009. Her past research interests include repair and recombination of large DNA repeats in yeast and human cancer. Her current work focuses on CUREs and other best practices for making STEM education more accessible and inclusive.

Catherine (Cathy) Silver Key, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at North Carolina Central University in North Carolina. Dr. Key earned a doctoral degree in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Key’s past research focused on developmental genetics of Drosophila melanogaster, and a gene important for DNA replication. Her current research focuses on behavioral genetics, including alcohol-induced behaviors and a male sterility phenotype.

DEI Journal Club

The DEI Journal Club typically meets the second Friday of each month at 1p (CT)

Brian Schwartz is a Professor of Biology at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, teaching general biology, genetics, developmental biology, and evolution. He has a B.S. in Biology from the University of Memphis and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin.

Professional Development & Mentoring

Maintains training & professional development opportunities for all GEP members & includes the Regional Nodes, New Member Training, & Mentoring subcommittees

Rivka Glaser, Ph.D. is a Professor of Biology and the Director of the Honors Program at Stevenson University, where she primarily teaches Introductory Biology and Genetics courses. She is committed to supporting professional development, especially among graduate students and postdoctoral students who are interested in teaching at PUIs. She serves as her campus’s liaison to the Collaborative Teaching Fellowship Program, which provides grad students and postdocs from Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland with mentored teaching experiences at Stevenson and other local colleges and universities. She is also the co-chair of the Undergraduate Genetics Education Network (UGEN), which offers virtual workshops that model innovative and active pedagogies that can be used to teach genetics concepts and/or confront misconceptions about genetics. Each year, the workshop focuses on a socially relevant theme.

Norma Velazquez, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Biology at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. She teaches Intro Biology to majors and non-majors, Introduction to Neuroscience and Behavioral Genetics. Her scholarship is on developing a Drosophila model for long-term nicotine to identity novel genes and molecules that modulate nicotine’s effect and could influence nicotine addictive properties. She’s also broadly interested in how genes influence behavior and in science education research.

Regional Nodes & Mentoring

Coordinates events for regional clusters of participating GEP institutions and partners an experienced member with each new member

Jennifer (Jenni) Kennell received her Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) in 2005 and is now an Associate Professor of Biology at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. She regularly teaches classes related to genetics, including an intermediate level molecular genetics course in which she has incorporated the GEP curriculum and research projects since she joined the GEP in 2014. Her current research focuses on characterizing the role of a family of predicted HAD-domain containing phosphatases in fruit fly metabolism and behavior. During the 2022-23 academic year she served as the NY/NJ Regional Node Leader and she is excited to now serve as a Co-Director of the Regional Nodes.

Kellie Agrimson, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Saint Catherine University in Saint Paul, MN, where she teaches Anatomy and Physiology I and II, Reproductive Science and Medicine, Cell Biology, and Developmental Biology. She earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at Washington State University in 2016 and was an IRACDA Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Minnesota. Her research has included characterizing the role of Liver Receptor Homolog 1 (LRH1) in the mouse testis and manipulating Retinoic Acid levels to study spermatogenesis during the first wave and establishment of spermatogonial stem cells in the mouse testis. Currently, her lab is focused on using CRISPR/Cas9 to ask questions about the role of LRH1 in human testicular cancer cell lines.

Daron Barnard, Ph.D., is a Professor of Biology and Director of the Aisiku STEM Center at Worcester State University in Massachusetts. He teaches undergraduate courses that focus on molecular and cellular biology including Genetics, Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Biology, Developmental Biology and Bioinformatics. His research interests focus on mechanisms that regulate mRNA translation and control early development in the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis.

Science & IT

Advises on development of new research questions and on issues related to the web framework

Nik Tsotakos, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Penn State Harrisburg in Middletown, PA. He teaches undergraduate courses in the areas Biochemistry, Genetics, and Bioinformatics. His research laboratory is focused on the role of non-coding RNAs in regulation of gene expression in health and disease.

Clare Scott Chialvo is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Appalachian State University, a regional comprehensive in Boone, NC. She teaches evolutionary biology, genetics’ labs, and a genomics CURE. Her research interests focus on understanding the evolution of plant-insect interactions with a focus on adaptations that allow insects to feed on toxic hosts. Currently, her lab is examining these questions in mushroom-feeding Drosophila that can feed on deadly Amanita mushrooms along with many edible species. Clare is leading the development of the detoxification gene project for the GEP.

Page Last Updated: January 29, 2025

About

Directories

Members

Curriculum

Research Projects

Students

Leadership

Committees

Steering

Laura K. Reed

Assessment

John Stanga

Christine Fleet

Curriculum

Amie Jo McClellan

Tess Cherlin

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Maire K. Sustacek

Cathy Silver Key

DEI Journal Club

Brian Schwartz

Professional Development & Mentoring

Rivka Glaser

Norma Velazquez

Regional Nodes & Mentoring

Jenni
Kennell

Kellie S. Agrimson

Daron
Barnard

Science & IT

Nik Tsotakos

Clare Scott Chialvo