Biology Education

Aisling’s love for the natural world began as a child while exploring her backyard in rural upstate New York. She studied Biology at Smith College and then worked in a cancer biology laboratory before pursuing her PhD at Brown University and a postdoc at Tufts University. She researched host-pathogen interactions, working to understand the mechanisms viruses and bacteria use to establish infection and evade natural defenses. After a decade at Assumption University as an Associate Professor, Aisling returned to Brown where she currently teaches in the classroom. She prioritizes the joy of learning, rigor, transparency, and intersectionality of the sciences and the humanities. Through her work with the Sheridan Center and its START program, she rejects the “weed-out” culture of STEM courses and instead promotes inclusive teaching practices to build a sense of trust, belonging, and community. Diverse and flexible assignments allow her students to highlight their unique learning styles, hone new skills, and demonstrate growth and mastery of biological content as they develop the foundational skills needed to succeed in their upper-level biology courses and in research laboratories. Aisling teaches BIOL 0510 Introductory Microbiology, BIOL 0530 Principles of Microbiology, and BIOL 1945 Outbreaks and Infection.