People

Stephanie Gardner

Principal Investigator

Postdoctoral Fellow, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Ph.D., Physiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S., Physiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.A., Biology, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA

Email: sgardne@purdue.edu

Link to the faculty page

Lauren Stoczynski

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Email: lstoczyn@purdue.edu

B.Sc. Biology, Westminster College, New Wilmington PA

M.Sc. Environmental Toxicology, Clemson University, Clemson SC

PhD. Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson SC

"I am originally from Erie, PA where I cultivated a love for nature and biology from a young age. While spending eight years in South Carolina pursuing my graduate studies on toxicant effects on fish behavior and human influences on stream fish communities, my passion for teaching continued to grow. I had the opportunity to complete a teaching certificate which introduced me to the world of education research. During my time here at Purdue I will be assisting with graphing project to understand the nuances behind the way students think when they are constructing and interpreting graphs. My ultimate career goal is to teach at a primarily undergraduate institution where I can continue doing education and freshwater science research. In my spare time I enjoy drawing, crafting, disc golfing, and playing a variety of card games."

Nouran Amin

Ph.D. Graduate Student
Email: neamin@purdue.edu

M.S., Biology, Purdue University-Indianapolis
B.S., Biology, Purdue University-Indianapolis

"From the Indianapolis campus to West Lafayette, I am a boilermaker at heart! In our research group, I examine biology students' reasoning around their graphing practices. Before coming here, I taught anatomy and physiology at Ivy Tech Community College where I developed my interest in discipline-based education research (DBER). In my free time, I enjoy watching period dramas and reading historical fiction."

Soumi Mukherjee

Ph.D. Graduate Student
Email: mukher42@purdue.edu

M.Sc., Biochemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India
B.Sc., Life Sciences, Presidency University, Kolkata, India

"I come from Kolkata, which is also known as the 'City of Joy' in India. Much like my city, I am a very energetic person, who loves to meet new people and spend hours in conversations over a cup of chai. I am a full-time graduate student trying to learn about the intricacies of interdisciplinary interactions and understand the buzzword 'interdisciplinarity' in the context of research and education. Also, I am a part-time doodler, singer, dancer, and an expert in cooking and eating good food."

Emily Hutton

Ph.D. Graduate Student
Email: hutton12@purdue.edu

B.S., Biology, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

“I am originally from eastern Pennsylvania, and my family is now living in northern Mississippi where my sister is completing her undergraduate degree in architecture. I love learning about and teaching biology, especially helping undergraduate students get excited about biology as well! I am excited to start research in Stephanie’s lab studying students’ understanding of how to best represent biological data clearly in graphs and charts. In my free time, I love watching horror movies, doing jigsaw puzzles, and spending lots of time with my best buddy Franklin!”

Jill Cornell

Master’s Graduate Student
Email: cornellj@purdue.edu

B.S in Microbiology and Genetics, Purdue University, West Lafayette IN, United States

“I am a bonafide townie, having grown up in West Lafayette and attended Purdue for my undergraduate studies. I have a deep love for microbial genetics, and I hope to combine that with my passion for teaching in my future dream career as a lab instructor! For my master's research in Biology Education, I am interested in exploring if and how the peer review process impacts a student's perception of their own capabilities as a scientist and a capable learner. Outside of research, I enjoy making music (singing, guitar, and ukulele), longboarding, climbing, and acrobatic yoga (acroyoga).”

Emily Georgopoulos

Ph.D. Graduate Student

Email: egeorgop@purdue.edu

B.S., Biology, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH

I am originally from Cincinnati, OH, which is about three hours away from Purdue and home to local favorites Skyline chili and Graeter's ice cream. I graduated with a B.S. from the University of Dayton, where I strengthened my passion for microbiology and conducted research on Listeria monocytogenes as well as antibiotic resistance. As a grad student in the Gardner lab, I will work to understand how interdisciplinary science education affects student learning. My hobbies include stress baking, singing in and out of the shower, indulging increasingly rare bouts of creative energy, admiring the moon, and attacking my cat with my love.

Kal Holder

Undergraduate Researcher
Email: holder9@purdue.edu

"I am currently a biology major with a minor in psychology and creative writing with intentions of attending graduate school to pursue a career in higher education as a professor of biology! I joined the Gardner lab due to my passion for education and I am currently aiding in research investigating mechanistic thinking in biology students. In my free time, I like to craft, write, tutor, cuddle with my dogs (and my partner's cats), and go on adventures with my friends."