Richard Lie

Research Interests: Assessing how students develop experimentation competencies in biology, and developing instructional tools to improve student understanding, analysis, and evaluation of biological research methodologies.

Email: rlie@purdue.edu

About me: I developed an interest in a biology research career as an undergraduate student at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). There, I received my B.S. and M.S. in Biological Sciences while conducting research in the axonal growth signaling mechanisms of neural stem cells in the context of spinal cord injury in the Tuszynski Lab. While working in basic science research, I also conducted education research in UCSD’s Division of Biology, investigating how a course structured to teach students how to read primary literature affected experimentation competencies. These experiences led me to pursue a Ph.D. as a discipline based education researcher in order to identify methods to better teach these disciplinary practices.

Professional Affiliations: Visualization in Biochemistry Education (VIBE) research group, Discipline Based Education Research Graduate Students (DBERGS)

About my research: As a first year graduate student, I will be rotating in different laboratories prior to choosing my permanent research association. Thus far, I have worked with Dr. Nancy Pelaez to identify the difficulties and barriers students encounter when analyzing data obtained from Western blots, a technique ubiquitously used by molecular biologists to visualize protein abundance. Currently, I am working with Dr. Stephanie Gardner to assess how a Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) affects students’ argumentation skills.

Hometown: San Diego, California

Degree Objective: PhD in Biology Education, Department of Biological Sciences