Dr. Susan Carson is a Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) where she has served on the faculty since 2001. She directs the Master of Microbial Biotechnology Program and also leads a uni?versity-wide faculty development program focused on enhancing students’ critical and creative thinking skills across disci?plines. Prior to her current role, Dr. Carson spent over a decade leading curriculum development for the North Carolina State Biotechnology Program and two years as a Program Officer at the National Science Foundation Division of Undergraduate Education. Her current work focuses on college-level biology education, enhancing students’ higher order thinking across disciplines, and integration of Design Thinking in a Professional Science Masters (PSM) program. She graduated from Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) with a BS in Biotechnology, and from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC) with a PhD in Microbiology. Dr. Heather B. Miller is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at High Point University (High Point, NC). Her area of scientific expertise is RNA biology. Her research focuses on MRSA and other pathogens’ gene expression when challenged with antibiotics and novel antibiotic adjuvants. She has mentored over 30 undergraduate students and is the Principal Investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA). She was named a Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar for her outstanding accomplishments in research and education in the chemical sciences. She has developed and taught multiple biochemistry and biotechnology courses and has published and pre?sented a number of peer-reviewed papers in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Dr. Miller graduated from Clarion University of Pennsylvania (Clarion, PA) with a BS in Molecular Biology/Biotechnology, and from Duke University (Durham, NC) with a PhD in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. She completed a teaching postdoctoral position in the Biotechnology Program at North Carolina State University Dr. D. Scott Witherow is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at The University of Tampa (Tampa, FL). His research focuses primarily on the regulation of G-protein-mediated signal transduction processes and biochemical education and pedagogy. In addition to mentoring over 20 undergraduate research students, Dr. Witherow has designed and published biochemistry lab courses and has been recognized by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as an education fellow for his efforts in the areas of instruction and assessment. He graduated from Rollins College (Winter Park, FL) with an AB in Chemistry and from the University of Miami (Miami, FL) with a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology. Following traditional postdoctoral research positions at Duke University, he transitioned into pedagogy through a teaching postdoctoral position at North Carolina State University Dr. Melissa C. Srougi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences and the Biotechnology Program at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) with over 16 years of research experience in higher education. Her scientific areas of expertise are in experimental cancer chemotherapeutics as well as the scholar?ship of teaching and learning. She is passionate about expanding opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research and actively trains undergraduate students in her laboratory. She is co-Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Research Experience for Undergraduates Program and the Director of the Graduate Certificate in Molecular Biotechnology. Dr. Srougi has received funding from various federal and private agencies, including the NSF, BioMade, Department of Defense, Department of Education and the American Cancer Society. She teaches a wide variety of undergraduate/graduate interdisciplinary STEM lecture and lab courses focusing on biochemis?try, cancer drug discovery, and biotechnology. Dr. Srougi serves as an Associate Editor for Frontiers in STEM Education. She has published numerous peer-reviewed papers on the scholarship of teaching and learning with a focus on collabora?tive learning, CUREs and metacognition. Dr. Srougi graduated from the University of Toledo (Toledo, OH) with a BS in Biology and from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH) with a PhD in Pharmacology.
