THE PROFESSOR AS EDUCATOR
Overview Professor Serrano enjoys working with students to expand their understanding and interest in science, math, engineering, and technology. She draws on a broad background in the sciences, arts, and the humanities to offer educational experiences that are relevant and interdisciplinary. To this end she has developed courses for both majors and non-majors and her courses span the entire educational curriculum, from the introductory 100 level to doctoral specialty 700 level seminars. Syllabi and content for her courses were openly online for over 15 years until NMSU migrated instruction behind the CANVAS portal.. Serrano has achieved recognition for her efforts as an educator though numerous awards including the NMSU Donald C. Roush University Teaching Excellence Award, the NMSU Hispanic Student Organization Outstanding Professor Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Distinguished Mentor Award, a SACNAS Distinguished Research Mentor and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) conferred by the Office of the White House. She has served as co-Chair of the NIH ACD Working Group on Diversity. What's behind the content of these courses? Serrano’s original appointment as the first neuroscience hire in the Biology Department was established as a new faculty line by the central administration. This position was competitively available to any department in the university that participated in the search process. The new faculty line was justified as part of NMSU’s efforts to increase institutional expertise in biomedical research, and with the expectation that the new hire would enhance underrepresented minority student training programs funded by the NIGMS MORE division (now TWD). Consequently Serrano has worked toward developing a curriculum that draws on her doctoral and postdoctoral training and expertise at Stanford and UCLA medical schools and prepares NMSU students to understand, and participate in, modern biomedical research. Highlights of Serrano's curriculum innovation As an Assistant Professor in the mid 1990s Professor Serrano developed NMSU’s first courses in Neurobiology (1993) and Science and Ethics (1996) and she continues to offer instruction in these areas through Biology (Bio 490/590/540) and the Honors College (Hon 115/306V). In 2005 she and her colleague, Philosophy Professor Dr. Tim Cleveland, collaborated and used her syllabus to develop a graduate Science and Ethics course in the Philosophy Department (Phil 540) during Serrano's sabbatical year; faculty in both departments currently alternate as instructors. As an Assistant Professor Serrano led efforts to establish the Human Biology minor (1997) and she promoted the establishment of a non-majors Human Biology course, modeled on Stanford’s distinguished undergraduate Human Biology major. She regularly teaches Human Biology to classes of over 100 non-majors. Human Biology is now widely taught throughout the entire NMSU system in the state of New Mexico, an unexpected impact of course development! In 2002, she led efforts to develop the Cell and Organismal disciplinary graduate emphasis in the Biology Department. In recent years Serrano also has developed courses that provide skills needed by students to prepare for careers after graduation. Moreover, in her capacity as MPI of the NMSU RISE program and leader of the RISE STARTUP activity, she promoted free workshop offerings open to the NMSU student community that build quantitative and computational research skills. "Plus ultra" In spring 2022 Serrano piloted a new model for graduate instruction that integrated career development explorations into inquiry-based activities in the graduate course Neuroscience (Bio 590). |
Professor Serrano's Fall 2023 Courses:
Bio 590 Neuroscience Seminar structured around student interests, topics covered include sensory neuroscience, plant neuroactive compounds and the brain, Alzheimer’s, neural data mining, and traumatic brain injury. Honors 306V: Science, Ethics, and Society : Investigation of the ethical issues related to scientific investigation and the ethical implications of scientific discoveries for society. Emphasis on discussion of case studies about specific ethical issues in science, and readings by both scientists and non-scientists. TWO+ DECADES OF COURSE OFFERINGS: *Serrano, course originator For Graduate students: Molecular Biology of the Cell *Neurobiology *Neuroscience *Advanced Neurobiology (Brain Disorders; Ion Channels; Systems Neuroscience; Auditory Neuroscience; Developmental Neuroscience; Synapses) *Science and Ethics (*Responsible Conduct of Research;*NeuroEthics) *Professional Development *Bioimaging: Confocal Microscopy *Skills for Grant Trainees (Grantsmanship; Research Dissemination; Career Development) For Undergraduate STEM Majors: Introductory Biology Cell and Organismal Biology *Nanobioscience *Brain Innovation Seminar *Launch your Science Career For Undergraduate STEM and non-STEM majors: Human Biology; *Science, Ethics, and Society *Plants, the Brain and Behavior, A Chemical Love Story *The Art of Scientific Discovery *Launch your Science Career |
The content on this site is provided by the originator and does not reflect
the views of New Mexico State University or the funding agencies.