B.S. Resource Management and Conservation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.A. American Studies, Michigan State University
Ph.D. History (Science Studies), University of California, San Diego

• BIS 380 Bioethics
• BIS 384 Health, Medicine and Society
• BISSTS 420 Race, Gender, Science, and Technology
• BCORE 107 The Science and Medicine of Harry Potter
• BIS 490 Research Seminar – Inequalities in Medicine, Science, Technology

I believe we learn best by asking questions. The questions we ask are based on the meanings we give to the presented material, and this meaning is made through our individual experiences. Meaning is also made through associations that are taught, consciously and unconsciously, through education and culture. Each student brings their own layer of meaning to the classroom. My role is to help students interrogate these meanings by encouraging them to ask questions about where they come from, while, at the same time, respecting the diversity of meanings encountered. Learning is not just about uncovering meanings, but also about making new ones through interaction with people and things.

As a historian, my teaching is grounded in historical narrative, especially the voices of participants. In my courses, I provide students with the opportunity to directly interact with primary sources as well as a variety of outside sources including museum exhibits, movies, television programs, plays, newspaper and magazine articles, and campus lectures. I want my students to learn that the historical material discussed in the classroom has real world, present-day, applications. This experiential-learning will enable them to make coursework more personal and thus, more meaningful. I believe students must be active participants in their own education. It is my role to guide my students through these interactions and motivate them to formulate their own questions and critical theories by providing them with disciplinary tools and historical contexts.

My long-term scholarship expands on my investigations into public use of science to include ideas of health, disease, and identity. I am particularly curious about the role advocacy and advocates play in terms of identity-formation related to norms of health and disease. Currently, I am exploring the connections between health and spirituality as well as alternative forms of healthcare, specifically the impact of yoga practice and philosophy on recovery from illness and self-expression.

I love to write creatively. My favorite genre right now is the haiku.