Exploring Teaching and Research at the Undergraduate Level

Join the Postdocs for Diversity in Science and the Office of Academic Training and Outreach Programs for their Rising Star Speaker Series:

Exploring Teaching and Research at the Undergraduate Level

Are you interested in teaching at the collegiate level and leading a research team? Do you want to learn more about the interview process, negotiating job offers, and getting started? Join us for an insightful session with four former CHOP and Penn Postdocs with faculty appointments at undergraduate-serving institutions where they balance teaching and research. This panel will share aspects of their jobs and skills that they use as educators.

Panelists:

Heather L. Bennett, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biology, Trinity College

Dr. Bennet completed her PhD in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry at Brown University. Her research focuses on investigating the molecular mechanisms and neural circuits that allow the microscopic non-parasitic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to adapt to and survive stressful insults like oxygen deprivation. At Trinity, Dr. Bennett’s teaching philosophy centers around promoting self-discovery of scientific course material through interactive learning and practical application so that students can gain proficiency and develop critical thinking and research skills.

James Munoz, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Nova Southeastern University's College of Psychology

Dr. Munoz earned his PhD in Neuroscience at Tulane University with an emphasis in Gene Therapy. His thesis work examined neuroprotective effects of mesenchymal stem cells and their interactions with endogenous neural stem cells. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied how changes in intracellular calcium signaling affected the maturation of neural stem cells. He also studied the role of EphB proteins in the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural stem cells. His current research examines factors that regulate the proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neural stem cells.

Chimereodo Okoroji, PhD, NCSP
Pediatric Psychologist, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati

Dr. Okoroji earned her PhD in School Psychology from Michigan State University. Dr. Okoroji completed her clinical internship training and the Postdoctoral Fellowship for Academic Diversity at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Clinically, she specializes in the prevention and treatment of developmental, behavioral, and mental health concerns within integrated primary care using evidence-based and culturally responsive practices. Dr. Okoroji’s research efforts have been focused on barriers and facilitators to engagement with integrated behavioral health services and have broadly aimed to increase access to mental health care by engaging underrepresented communities in research to improve outcomes and service delivery.

Mallory Perry-Eaddy, PhD, RN, CCRN
Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut School of Nursing

In addition to being an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, Dr. Perry-Eaddy has a joint appointment in the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine. She is also a pediatric critical care nurse at CT Children’s and NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) K99/R00 MOSAIC Fellow, and NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) PRIDE Scholar in Functional and Translational Genomics. She graduated with her PhD from the University of Connecticut School of Nursing and holds graduate certificates in Pain Management from UConn Nursing, and Clinical Research Methods from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship for Academic Diversity at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her program of research aims to understand the potential role of inflammation in physical outcomes, including function, in children who survive critical illness in the pediatric intensive care unit.