Seminar Title: Microbes & minds: fostering inclusive learning environments

Speaker Bio: I joined the University of Glasgow, UK as Lecturer in the College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences after attaining my PhD in reproductive medicine at the University of Manchester in 2018. My doctoral research focused on understanding how a poorly functioning placenta can lead to small and unwell babies (fetal growth restriction).

I was previously a research and teaching assistant at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia following completion of my BSc studies in biomedical science at Edinburgh Napier University in 2012, which included a semester of study at the University of Vermont, USA.

I take a student-centered and inclusive approach to teaching and learning design with the goal of supporting my students to become critical thinkers and enthusiastic learners. I am creative in my approach and embrace the use of technology-enhanced learning and teaching to support active learning in the classroom.

I am an established scholarly researcher with a postgraduate diploma in Academic Practice (2021) and hold Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). My current educational research projects seek to evaluate how students engage with innovative teaching modalities, the utility of open educational resources to support students’ transition to university and students’ perspectives of patient involvement in healthcare research and practice.

I believe that we should be educating socially conscious students who appreciate how scientific and healthcare research affects the public. I am an advocate for public engagement and lead the award-winning public engagement project Have You Heard? which aims to tackle the haze around science stories in the news.