Education
MEdHP, Johns Hopkins University, 2016
PhD, Technical University of Munich and Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, 2003
MS, Technical University of Munich, 1998
Overview
My interests focus on the development, oversight, and evaluation of effective and engaging science and health education programs. In my function as Director of the R3 Center for Innovation in Science Education (R3ISE) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, I lead the R3 Graduate Science Initiative, a program that stands for “the three R’s” of good scientific practice: Rigorous research conduct, Reproducibility of scientific findings, and social Responsibility of scientists to society.
The program’s mission is to bring more critical thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and practical ethics considerations into graduate student training in biomedicine, health, engineering, and technology. My R3ISE team strives to educate broadly interested scientists who are not only technically proficient but particularly open-minded, reflective, creative and skilled in scientific reasoning, problem-solving and innovative research design. Our goal is to develop practitioners with a strong moral and philosophical mandate who will be poised to become role models and mentors for good scientific practice in many fields relevant to the STEMM sciences. The R3 program is fundamentally committed to excellence in communication, teaching and mentoring, and uses carefully designed assessments based on humanistic education frameworks.
My research as an active, interdisciplinary, basic science practitioner with a joint appointment at the Johns Hopkins School of Education focuses on assessment methods to evaluate critical thinking and performance of rigorous research practice. Both at Johns Hopkins and nationally through professional societies I lead faculty development workshops on building evidence-based teaching capacities. By means of community outreach, I also investigate ways to broaden participation in science among learner populations from underserved communities.
During earlier, pre- and postdoctoral research I worked in the areas of quantitative and integrative systems biology, protein structure-function relationships and structure-based drug design. The highly interactive, dynamic and multidisciplinary experiences during my years as a bench scientist continue to inform and inspire my current work and decision-making processes as Director of the R3ISE Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Under my leadership, the Center strives to re-build bridges between the science disciplines and their philosophical foundations.
Web and social media: jhsph.edu/r3gsi | @R3_GSI | @R3JHSPH
Honors and Awards
AWARDS & HONORS
JHSPH SOURCE Recognition Award for outstanding dedication and service to Baltimore and JHU as a Service Learning Faculty Fellow (2017)
Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Online Teaching by the Student Assembly of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (2016)
Induction to the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society (2016)
Recognition for Teaching Excellence by the Dean’s Office of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health (2015-2018)
GRANTS & FELLOWSHIPS
Educational Research Grant by the Johns Hopkins Gateway Science Initiative (2013 – 2015)
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (2009 – 2011)
Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2007)