When you are going to an entomology conference, you need to dress the part! 🪲

When I travel for work, I try to see one thing unique to the city I’m visiting. I’ve been invited to Harrisonburg, Virginia to share my research at the James Madison University Biology seminar and I fit in a tour of a nearby cave while I’m here!

A boy cat enjoying his evening stroll

🐛 One of my favorite things about being a scientist is that you never quite know where your research will take you — I'm headed to my first entomology conference next week! I'm excited to be part of this great line up of talks and I'm super curious to learn more about bugs while I'm there! 🪲

My undergraduate research advisor, David Bowne, brought me to a Mid-Atlantic Ecological Society of America meeting for my very first research presentation. A decade later, I've reignited a collaboration with David and I'm back at Mid-Atlantic ESA sharing my research as an assistant professor!

Ecologists love arrows. Ecology textbooks contain thousands of them. ➡️↔️🔄 If you're attending the Mid-Atlantic Ecological Society of America meeting in Towson this weekend, stop by my poster to chat about why we should be thinking carefully about the ways we use arrows to teach ecology.

I'm doing some tactile teaching today! 🧬 I'm using 3D-printed DNA, along with some more traditional textbook diagrams, to help my students compare and contrast between different representations of DNA and understand the strengths and limitations of each type of model.

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Are we assessing biology knowledge or the ability to search the internet for biology facts? We found that nearly half of students who took an assessment outside of class reported using a resource (like the internet) and those who used a resource often had higher scores. doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00198-25

Is music taste inherited? My Dad gave me a box of records he found in the attic and I couldn’t believe how many I already had in my own collection!

Turnips

🧬 New publication! 🧬 The apparent simplicity of common visual models in biology can mask deep conceptual challenges for learners. We summarize empirical evidence for this ‘illusion of clarity’ and describe resources that may help instructors dispel this illusion. www.cell.com/trends/genet...

Let’s Dance

A home is a little happier with Jeff Goldblum in the room

How do we know what biology students know? I'll be sharing a bit about how biology education research gives us insights into what students learn and remember from introductory biology courses during this Friday's Biological Sciences Seminar at Towson University.

Cat on a Cat on a Hot Tin Horn

25 Cats Name Sam and One Gray Turnip

A colleague told me I’m the “Elton John of DBER” and I can’t think of a higher compliment

Celebrating Halloween at a biology teacher conference with some spooky scary skeletons 💀

I’m in a new city for NABT, so that means new opportunities to color coordinate! My conference outfit matched the hotel hallway!

A little fella looking for snacks

Check out some cool science (and great science communication) happening at @towsonu.bsky.social! www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ9C... Josh's video is part of a sci-comm competition sponsored by @galacticpolymath.com. If you learned something new by watching, please "Like" the video on YouTube!

Meow in Light

A little fella enjoying the Fall

DEADLINE EXTENDED to Oct. 12!✨ I don't need to tell you that public support is crucial to sustaining science. #SciComm has never been more important, so don’t miss this chance to give the public a window into how science really works—and why it works so well. Join the #MySciJourney Challenge!

I’m delighted to be back on the Elizabethtown campus to receive the Honors Outstanding Young Alumni Award!

Turnip is getting a lesson about neuroplasticity from David Byrne 🧠

To appreciate the power & promise of science, people need a deeper understanding of the _processes_ of science. Join the #MySciJourney Challenge to show the world what “doing science” looks like for you! Scientists at all stages are invited to submit their short videos by September 30.

I'm teaching about the structure of DNA, genes, and chromosomes. If you're in the same boat, consider bringing the DNA Landscape into your class! It can be tricky to "see" how representations of DNA are related, so we created animations to make it more visible! sites.google.com/view/dnaland...

A new office on campus means new places to hang up David Byrne art

Turnip has some opinions about the new David Byrne album

Delilah is a little adventurer 🌿

Speaking in Meows

Dreams walking in broad daylight! These Talking Heads lyrics best capture what I’m feeling as I’m starting as a tenure-track professor at Towson University! @towsonu.bsky.social

I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Poodle Club 🐩

Turnip: Beastie Boys edition.

Tonight’s painting: Turnip in the David Byrne Big Suit 🎨

I perused published figures and found misshaped chromosomes, mismatched chromatids, and missized genes! Yikes! Representing chromosomes and genes can be a tricky task, so I published ideas for easy edits to figures that can mitigate misconceptions. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

An evening painting root vegetables and a cat named after them 🎨

I try to explore each city I travel to for conferences. This year, I attended SABER in Minneapolis to present research on how visual models are used on biology exams and I adventured to Prince's Paisley Park!

I’m attending a science communication education research meeting and found the perfect book in a local bookstore for the occasion! I study models of chromosomes and this 1960s educational book is filled with fascinating illustrations of chromosomes in mitosis and meiosis models!

DBER-SiT, part of the @sabercommunity.bsky.social, is thrilled to finally join Bluesky! ⭐ We're a community of early career scholars in #BER and #DBER. Let's connect for chats about research, social and professional events, and a growing community of early career scholars!

Visual models are a key part of learning molecular biology, yet our new research found that only 16% of exam questions contain a model and those questions tend to use models to assess memorizable facts. If you teach models, make sure to test models too! doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Recreating scenes from the Aristocats 🎹

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Good evening, Baltimore!

David Byrne was the first piece of art to go up on my walls in my new home because David Byrne said it best — home is where I want to be.

One last night in Rochester means there’s time for one last garbage plate!

My amazing mentor, Dina Newman, made a cake of my research logo to celebrate my last few days as an RIT postdoc!

That's a wrap on SABER East 2025! I had such a great experience helping to plan the conference and I was so happy to see so many people who care about biology education here in Rochester!