Olympic Training

Professor Kosinski-Collins is a faculty adviser to the USA Biology Olympiad team, where she is involved in exam preparation, student advising and instruction, and program redesign.

Melissa Kosinski-Collins

Assistant Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Current research
I am working to change the way students learn in our introductory biology laboratories. In the past, students were given problems whose solutions were already known to scientists. But now we are giving students problems that haven’t yet been solved, and whose outcomes could have real applications to treating human diseases, such as cataracts and colon cancers. This allows students to learn how science is really done — by doing it themselves!

Favorite classroom experience
I asked my students to design a new method to disrupt a molecule implicated in cataract formation, and then to present their ideas in front of the rest of the class. The class was to vote on the best strategy presented and then follow the selected method. I was a bit worried about how some students would react to having to give a presentation on such an open-ended experiment. On the day of the presentation, I heard yelling from the lab and ran to see what was going on. I was awestruck to find that my students had no trouble relaying their ideas; in fact, they were passionately arguing with each other about their own experimental design, like real scientists. It was amazing to see how their ownership of the project really made them excited about the experiment.

What makes Brandeis special
Brandeis is a progressive university that values the education and learning of each individual student. As faculty, we are encouraged to think outside the box and design nonconventional courses for our students at the cutting edge of science and teaching.

Last book read for pleasure
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling.

Favorite world city to visit
Orlando, Fla. It is home to Disney World. This is by far my favorite place to take my daughters and to see the sparkle in their eyes at seeing Cinderella’s castle. Even for me, there is something magical about feeling the awe and wonder of childhood — even in adulthood.