Teaching Philosophy

On the first day of classes in the fall of 2016, I stood at the bottom of the 500-people auditorium, feeling nervous and slightly dizzy, asking myself how I would manage to teach this large enrollment class, BIO 305 Genetics.  The 10-foot-long podium seemed like a great place to hide; as I imagined taking cover, I crossed glances with the students: they were as apprehensive as me! The realization of our shared fears and uncertainties created an instant connection. Instead of hiding, I embraced the vulnerability that came from feeling that way.

In that moment I realized that growing into a teacher would mean feeling discomfort. I decided to accept that feeling, rather than fighting it. It was not an easy journey, but it was one that brought me immense joy: I love being a college professor.

I am proud of the teaching-learning space that I have been able to create with students. I have focused on fostering inclusivity and belonging by engaging in transparent communications about norms and expectations and establishing interactions that are mindful of the many identities and backgrounds of students and instructors.  In this type of learning, environment students have agency over their own learning and find the space to focus on their desire for knowledge, rather than grades, class rank, or “fitting in”. This teaching space is particularly important to STEM majors because it helps students develop the mental freedom and agility that will be needed to find creative and flexible solutions to tomorrow’s challenges.

My goals for the future are to improve this learning environment by making the interactive parts of my classes more equitable and accessible to a range of voices, and by changing the way I facilitate discussions and guide students through group work. I will also continue to change the structure of my classes, especially Genetics, to ensure that they support a mindset of abundance and growth, rather than one of scarcity and competition. Achieving these goals will help make students feel more welcome and valued in STEM fields and enhance their academic progress, success, and retention.

Classes

FIRST: FUTURE in RESEARCH, SCIENCE, & TEACHING

Monica is the founder and now faculty mentor for this club, which aims to prepare undergraduate students for the graduate school application process, the transition to research at the graduate level, and the future pursuit of PhD-based careers. FIRST will connect undergraduates with graduate student mentors and hold events on science-based professional development, in addition to informing them about career paths within the biomedical sciences.

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Mentoring Philosophy

I believe in creating a supportive learning environment and in developing a nurturing relationship among people in the lab, in passing on scholarship through ‘humanship,’ in the ability to be compassionate, while maintaining a rigorous scientific environment. This type of relationship helps create an alliance made of common scientific goals and honest communication within the lab, both of which are key to a great mentoring and working relationship.

I see the lab as a team where each person individual progress is supported and enhanced by the group. As the leader of the team, my role is to instruct, inspire, and induct: instruct mentees to become creative thinkers, inspire them in their journey and support them through challenges, and finally, promote their transitions to the next step of their careers.

Since 2015 I have mentored 4 graduate students, many of whom won awards for research excellence, including the 2020 Proquest Best Dissertation Award and the HHMI Gilliam Fellowship. I have also been mentoring 4 postdocs (currently in the lab, one with a K99), 3 lab technicians (1 is a PhD at Cornell, 1 is a core manager at WSU, 1 at Harvard Medical School), 2 PREP students (both Ph. D students ), and 10 undergraduates. I have also sat in 13 thesis committee meetings. Thus, although I have only had a lab since 2015, I have a good record of mentorship and training.

In the lab and the classroom, I strive to make STEM education more inclusive and equitable so that it is welcoming to individuals from different identities and backgrounds. I have taken several professional development and training workshops on inclusive and diverse mentorship and teaching from the HHMI Gilliam training, CIMER, the Rackham Faculty Allies for Diversity Program, The Center for the Study of Teaching and Learning, and the UM Advance Program. From 2020-2021 I served as the Rackham Faculty mentor for Diversity and the MCDB DEI Officer, and chair of the DEI committee. As part of the DEI committee, I have helped identify areas of opportunity to improve the climate in my department. Some of these areas included career development workshops and seminars on inclusive teaching and mentoring, strategies to build connections between faculty and students in our department and at universities in the south-east MI area, a new MCDB DEI website with resources, and changes to the way graduate students are evaluated and expanding the demographics and gender of invited seminar speakers. We applied and received Rackham funding to implement these goals in 2021. In 2021 I stepped down as a DEI officer to organize the NextProf workshop for our department. In this event, all STEM departments in the UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts offer workshops on how to apply for academic jobs for postdoctoral fellows from backgrounds underrepresented in academia with the goal of diversifying the faculty pool and providing networking opportunities. If you are interested in applying, please contact me and see here.

Graduate Program Affiliations

Perspective graduate students can rotate in the lab after admission to either the Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, the Program in Biomedical Sciences, the Neuroscience Graduate Program, and the Cell Molecular Biology Program. If you are interested in the lab before or after admission, please email me! I am currently serving on the Neuroscience Admission Committee.

Postdocs Inquiries

Postdoctoral candidates should email me with a CV and a cover letter summarizing their graduate work and describing their future interests, especially those related to current or potential projects in the lab. Please also list the names of three references.

Undergraduates

All undergraduate students are welcome to apply by e-mailing me directly with their resumes, class list, and schedule. If you are interested in a co-sponsor, please also email me directly or stop by BSB 4214.