Kelly received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry/Biochemistry and Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Before joining the Multidisciplinary Laboratories (MDL) at Brown in 2013, she worked in several research labs where she studied insulin/IGF-I signaling and cellular vesicle transport, while honing her technical skills in biochemistry, cell culture, and molecular biology. In the MDL, Kelly works closely with faculty, teaching assistants, and instructors in the development and implementation of their laboratory courses by providing technical and instructional support. During her MDL tenure, she has become passionate about supporting undergraduate biology students and helping them develop technical skills and confidence working in laboratories, and beyond. Outside of Brown, Kelly sings in a 60’s cover band, and studies and performs Middle Eastern dance. Kelly will be co-teaching with Andrea Sobieraj BIOL 0285 Inquiry in Biochemistry: From Gene to Protein Function.

Liz has recently been appointed as an instructor and is very excited to embark on this new journey of learning. She has already spent a lot of time at Brown: She earned her PhD from the Pathobiology program, concentrating on immunology and infectious disease.

The focus of Liz’s research was the human innate immune response to Candida albicans, a fungus that can cause severe illness in patients who are immune-suppressed and is a known agent in hospital-acquired infections. A unique property of that organism is that there is a bio-active component in the cell wall that can actually be used to enhance certain cancer therapies. Her work evolved to focus on the molecular mechanisms by which that phenomena occurs.

Liz has worked on a broad range of projects in both academia and the biotech industry. She currently works in Brown’s Multidisciplinary Teaching Laboratories where her training in the principals of how to think about science and the tools to do science align to enhance the undergraduate biology learning experience.

In her free time, Liz is often looking for reasons to be outside in beautiful New England – some of them are biking, hiking and growing things. Liz teaches 10232 Deciphering the Human Genome in the Summer@Brown Program.