Teaching Associates

Meet teaching associates in the biological sciences at Brown.

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    Kelly Cleveland, MS

    Teaching Associate

    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.

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    Jody Hall, MA

    Senior Teaching Associate and Senior Academic Advisor

    Jody is an instructor in multiple biology courses and serves as advisor for concentrators in Biology and Health & Human Biology. She holds a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Zoology from the University of Rhode Island and a Master of Arts in Biotechnology from Harvard University. With a clinical and research background in genetics, Jody came to Brown in 1990 to develop a laboratory curriculum for several undergraduate Biology courses. She strives to use laboratory instruction as a versatile tool for accomplishing a wide range of learning goals including reinforcing lecture material, exercising critical thinking, and building transferable technical skills. She has served on the Undergraduate Laboratory Instruction Task Force, the Biology Undergraduate Education DIAP Committee and was a recipient of the Brown CIS Teaching with Technology Award. Jody teaches: BIOL 200 Foundations of Living Systems, BIOL 470 Genetics, and BIOL 100 Living Biology, a seminar course for first-year students, as well as courses in the Summer@Brown Program.

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    Liz Lavigne, PhD

    Teaching Associate

    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.

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    Andrea Sobieraj, ScM, CSCS

    Senior Teaching Associate and Academic Advisor

    Andrea earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a dual degree in Theatre from Framingham State College. After working in Industry in Boston Biotechnology for several years, Andrea took a position teaching in the Physiology Department at Brown. This position led her to apply to the Graduate program and earn a Master’s in 2000 in Biology & Medicine. The focus of her graduate work was in Exercise Physiology. This work led to creating and implementing the course, Principles of Exercise Physiology. Andrea also conducts metabolic measurements and training with elite athletes and is a World level competitor in her sport of figure skating. She is the faculty liaison to the Cross Country and Track & Field teams on campus. In the Biology department, she serves as an academic advisor for Biology concentrators as well as an advisor for pre-health careers. Andrea teaches: BIOL 0800 General Physiology, BIOL 1160 Exercise Physiology, and BIOL 0285 From Gene to Protein Function.

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    Sarah Taylor, ScB

    Senior Teaching Associate and Senior Academic Advisor

    After studying Comparative Literature at Yale (French, Italian and English), Sarah switched gears and received an ScB in Biology at Brown with a focus on Comparative Physiology. She joined Undergraduate Biology at Brown in 2007; since that time she has taught in over 15 undergraduate biology courses at Brown, taught CHEM 0350, (Organic Chemistry) for seven years in summer sessions, served as an adjunct instructor in Biology at RISD (Human Physiology and Animal Physiology), and tutored chemistry in the broader Providence community. In addition, Sarah has been affiliated with the Science Center at Brown, working to improve academic tutoring and advising programs students across STEM disciplines. Sarah has extensive advising experience and serves as a concentration advisor in Biology, HHB, Biochemistry and APMA-Bio. She has served on the Biology Curriculum Committee, conducts training of new advisors at Brown and is an active participant in TEAM-STEM and other advising initiative at Brown. Outside of Brown, Sarah enjoys gardening, traveling and is an avid amateur mycologist who spends long hours in the woods hunting mushrooms with her dog Luka. Sarah teaches: BIOL 0190 R/S, Phage Hunters an inquiry-based freshman research class that is part of a national HHMI science education initiative, BIOL 0210 Diversity of Life, and BIOL 0280 Biochemistry.