DEI
Professional Goals Statement
Science, and the academy as a whole, has a long history of gatekeeping - selecting for those individuals who come from inherited positions of privilege and power while excluding those from marginalized backgrounds. These barriers range from systemic oppression of racial and ethnic groups to failure to distribute appropriate resources to those in need. This cycle, if left unchecked, will continue. Furthermore it must be acknowledged that progress in science has often, and repeatedly, been made at the expense of marginalized groups and without proper recognition to those who pushed forward that progress. Recognizing the shortcomings and gaps in the current system is important but not enough to elicit change. To that end, it is part of my professional goals to promote and engage in science outreach with the hope of inspiring budding young scientists and offering support to those individuals who perhaps would have never considered science as a career option.
My goal is to become a professor of neuroscience at an undergraduate-focused institution where I can be actively involved on three fronts: 1) research, 2) teaching, and 3) mentoring. All three of these goals align with my overarching goal of increasing the number of diverse students that major in neuroscience or other STEM majors and graduate [6]. There is a stark difference in the number of Black (9%) and Hispanic (17%) individuals entering the STEM workforce compared to White individuals (67%) [1]. Early experience in undergraduate research has been recognized as a high-impact learning method [2] and those who engage in research have been shown to have increased interest in pursuing graduate education [3], resilience [4], and gains in both professional and personal development [5]. By serving as a research mentor to fellow minority students, I believe that it will provide substantial support and belief in their ability to complete a neuroscience or STEM-degree.
Teaching has been canonically approached with a “sage on the stage” mentality where the educator is the fountain of knowledge, privy to all the secrets held within a given field. I disagree with this approach and instead believe that taking a “guide on the side” route to teaching is more fruitful. Students must be given the opportunity to venture into the known (and unknown), stumble, occasionally fall, and find the resilience to improve on their previous attempt. It is my hope to encourage students to develop an enthusiasm for neuroscience and biology, and my goal to help facilitate their learning by providing a safe environment where they can be “loud and wrong”. Critical thinking, independence and resilience are foundational to achieve long-term success: both inside and outside the classroom. I aim to promote these qualities along with disciple-specific skills in all of my courses. I have served as a teaching assistant for three courses, and have won the 2021 Pulin Sampat Memorial Teaching award for the Division of Science for my teaching efforts.
A portion of an educator’s job is to foster a constructive learning environment and mentor younger researchers/students to excel individually as budding scientists. It has been my privilege to mentor 37 undergraduate students at Brandeis University as of January 3rd, 2022. These students have worked with me over the course of one (Galaxy 2019-2020, 2020-2021) or two (Posse 2021-2024) academic years. I have provided academic and emotional support to these students as they grew accustomed to life at Brandeis while also providing educational workshops that spanned personal and professional development, academic enrichment, and social engagement. I have also had the pleasure of mentoring a former summer NSF REU intern (Mark Krimmer, B.S.; 2019) and former Masters student (Yijia Sun, M.S.; 2021) in a research context. Additionally, I have engaged in leading an undergraduate summer journal club for both the Division of Science and within my own lab (Van Hooser lab).
The Latine community along with other marginalized groups need representation in their educational leadership: visibility is the first of many steps to address the inequities in higher education. I will continue to network and engage with fellow URM neuroscientists to address areas of improvement but to also foster a sense of community in a previously unwelcoming space.
[2] Kuh, G.D. (2008). High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter. AAC&U, Washington, D.C
[3] Hathaway, R.S., Nagda, B.A., & Gregerman, S.R. (2002). The relationship of undergraduate research participation to graduate and professional education pursuit: an empirical study. Journal of College Student Development, 43, 614-631.
[4] Nagda, B., Gregerman, S., Jonides, J., von Hippel, W., & Lerner, JS. (1998). Undergraduate Student-Faculty Research Partnerships Affect Student Retention. Review of Higher Education, 22, 55-72.
[5] Seymour, E., Hunter, A. B., Laursen, S.L., & Deantoni, T. (2004). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: First findings from a three-year study. Science Education, 88 (4): 493-534.
[6] Ramos, R.L., Alviña, K., & Martinez, L.R. (2017) Diversity of Graduates from Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Degree Neuroscience Programs in the United States.The Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 16(1):A6-A13
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching has been canonically approached with a “sage on the stage” mentality where the educator is the fountain of knowledge, privy to all the secrets held within a given field. I disagree with this approach and instead believe that taking a “guide on the side” route to teaching is more fruitful. Students must be given the opportunity to venture into the known (and unknown), stumble, occasionally fall, and find the resilience to improve on their previous attempt. It is my hope to encourage students to develop an enthusiasm for neuroscience and biology, and my goal to help facilitate their learning by providing a safe environment where they can be “loud and wrong”. Critical thinking, independence and resilience are foundational to achieve long-term success: both inside and outside the classroom. I aim to promote these qualities along with disciple-specific skills in all of my courses.
Approach to Teaching
The transfer of knowledge does not happen overnight nor do concepts osmose from instructor to student. Learning is the acquisition of novel information that is solidified through experience. The best learning experience is one that is multimodal and engages different aspects whether they be visual, auditory, kinesthetic and so on. In my courses, I aim to explain concepts in biology and neuroscience through different media such that students can find the one that best suits their learning style. This may include written assignments, visual presentations, oral discussion, concept quizzes, or group assignments. Given the current state of the world as a result of COVID-19, these methods of instruction must also be engaging in an online learning environment and allow for flexibility to prevent blue-screen burnout.
I aim to avoid high stakes grading structure (e.g. exams worth 30%+ of students’ grade) and instead incorporate collaborative testing, problem based learning, mastery-based testing, and projects. A particularly lofty goal of mine is to separate the students’ self-worth from their grades. Students cannot be expected to be masters of all subjects; we aim for proficiency and then mastery but not at the expense of one’s mental health.
Mentoring/Advising
A portion of an educator’s job is to foster a constructive learning environment and mentor younger researchers/students to excel individually as budding scientists. It has been my privilege to mentor 37 undergraduate students at Brandeis University as of January 3rd, 2022. These students have worked with me over the course of one (Galaxy 2019-2020, 2020-2021) or two (Posse 2021-2024) academic years. I have provided academic and emotional support to these students as they grew accustomed to life at Brandeis while also providing educational workshops that spanned personal and professional development, academic enrichment, and social engagement. I have also had the pleasure of mentoring a former summer NSF REU intern (Mark Krimmer, B.S.; 2019) and former Masters student (Yijia Sun, M.S.; 2021) in a research context. Additionally, I have engaged in leading an undergraduate summer journal club for both the Division of Science and within my own lab (Van Hooser lab).
My mentoring style changes to match the needs of the student but a typical arrangement includes building confidence, trust, and structure. I treat the students I mentor and work with like professionals and try to clearly communicate my expectations - likewise, I strongly encourage my students to do the same to me. Mentorship is best done when the mentee feels comfortable and is able to reciprocate feedback to the mentor.