Department of Biology

Melissa Kosinski-Collins

Professor of Biology

Research Description

Biology Education, STEM Education Policy, Protein Folding and Aggregation

Although, I received my Ph.D from MIT in 2004 for studying protein folding and aggregation, my true passion has always been in biology teaching and education and I have always recognized the importance of mentoring and inspiring young scientists. I was an education research post doc for two years in the HHMI Education Group at MIT and focused primarily on biological education research and the importance of concept-based teaching and learning in biology. To continue to meet this end, I currently serve as the Editor-in-chief of the Atlas Journal of Science Education.

I recognized the need for better biological preparation at the high school level and am actively involved in several secondary education efforts. I was a faculty advisor to the United States Biology Olympiad Team involved in exam preparation, student advising and instruction. I have also worked as the MRSEC Director for Outreach, Education and Diversity here at Brandeis.  In this position, I counseled area high school biology teachers in methods to incorporate college level molecular biology, biophysics, and chemical biology labs into their classrooms, led high school field trips to Brandeis research facilities and coordinated outreach activities at the Discovery Museum in Acton.

In light of my interest in protein structure, I am studying the importance of learning and manipulation of biological macromolecules in 3-dimensions. I am part of a collaboration with the Biology, Physics, and Academic Computing Departments at MIT to create a free, scalable 3D visualization software engine that may easily be manipulated by students, but has the flexibility and functionality to be used by advance protein biochemists. This program is currently used by undergraduates in introductory biology and I hope to further incorporate it into our K12 outreach effort in connection to the Robbins Family 3D classroom here on campus.

I am currently the academic coordinator for the Brandeis Science POSSE program and summer bootcamp.  Each year, 10 talented graduating seniors from New York City intending on pursing science degrees are selected to attend Brandeis as a cohort.  In advance of their matriculation to campus, they spend two weeks of the summer in an intense training program experiencing labs, lectures, and assignments that model Brandeis coursework.  I facilitate this program and work with the Science Posse students throughout their academic careers here at Brandeis.

On campus, I am teaching the introductory biology lab course and a graduate level molecular biology course. I have renovated the undergraduate laboratory curriculum into a project-based series of experiments encompassing such topics as Huntington’s treatment, cataract stability, and fly models of colon cancer.  I have also developed a teaching internship, Ed92a, which provides a forum for interested students to read about, discuss and critique new pedagogical develops in biology education.