"The land is the real teacher.
All we need as students is mindfulness"
- Robin Wall Kimmerer
By presenting scientific principles in the context of tangible, relatable issues or challenges from their daily lives, students can immediately see the relevance and practical application of what they are learning. This approach fosters deeper engagement and curiosity, motivating students to explore and understand the underlying science behind these problems. It bridges the gap between theory and practice, making science not just a subject to study, but a tool for understanding and addressing the complexities of the world around us.
Instructor of Record
AGR 490: Gateways to Graduate School.
Co-Instructor with Taymee Brandon (Graduate Student, Environmental and Ecological Engineering)
Curriculum Development, Instruction
Future Faculty Programs
Fall 2024 - Spring 2024
Certificate of Foundations in College Teaching - Link
Center for Instructional Excellence, Purdue University
The program provides an overview of evidence-based teaching practices and strategies that are then used to complete the Certificate of Practice in College Teaching (planned Fall 2024)
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Fall 2023 - Present
Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate - Link
Office of Graduate Diversity Initiatives, Purdue University
AGEP supports graduate students who are interested in the professoriate and who are committed to advancing diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the academy by offering professional development workshops, mentoring, and outreach activities
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Spring 2024
PREP – Professors Reviewing Excellent Practices
Office of Academic Programs, Purdue University
Professional development series of 8 weeks designed to help instructors more quickly and effectively prepare themselves and their materials. PREP is focused on evidence-based strategies to become a better teacher.
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Fall 2022, Fall 2024 (planned)
Institute on Teaching and Mentoring - Link
Southern Regional Education Board, Atlanta, GA
The Institute is an invitation-only, intensive gathering of underrepresented minority PhD scholars that focuses on mentor training, community building, and research/teaching strategies intended to help scholars in the professoriate
Teaching Publications
Leuschen-Kohl, R. and Taylor, A. Accepted with minor revisions. “Can we use RNAi to control the spread of the Southern Pine Beetle? A case study on RNAi, Research in Indigenous Communities, and Scientific Communication.” Teaching Case Study, National Science Teaching Association.
Guest Lectures and Teaching
Fall 2023
BIOC Senior Seminar
Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN
Developed 3-week RNAi unit under the direction of Dr. Ann Taylor, including creation of Case Study, Lab, and Lecture
Mentorship
Summer 2024 - Present
Brooke Pilkey, Undergraduate Research Student
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University
Undergraduate Honors Thesis work for the completion of Ralstonia exopolysaccharide project started during SURF program.
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program - 10 weeks - Mentored student through research project on Ralstonia exopolysaccharides, including microbiology, biochemistry, and quantitative chemistry analyses.
Graduating May 2026 (Major: Biological Sciences - Genetics), planning to attend graduate school.
Summer 2024
Shreya Joshy, Undergraduate Research Student
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program - 10 weeks - Mentored student through research project on Ralstonia exopolysaccharides, including microbiology, biochemistry, and quantitative chemistry analyses.
Graduating May 2025 (Major: Biological Sciences), planning to attend graduate school.
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Fall 2023 - Spring 2024
Silas Buchanan, Undergraduate Research Student
Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Purdue University
Taught microbiology and molecular plant pathology techniques in tomato for the execution of their senior capstone.
Graduated May 2024, currently pursuing a MS in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University.
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August 2019 - February 2020
Erica Schufeldt, Undergraduate Research Student
Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Trained student in greenhouse, microscopy, and plant transformation techniques for the execution of their Undergraduate Honors Thesis, titled “Developing Turnip Mosaic Virus Mutants to Activate Antiviral Defense in Plants”
Graduated May 2021, current student at University of Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine
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October 2018 - February 2020
Rachel Stein, Undergraduate Research Student
Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Trained student in microbiology techniques that led to successful plant transformation using CRISPR/Cas9 constructs.
Mentored Presentations *presenting author
Joshy, S.*, Pilkey, B., Leuschen-Kohl, R., Buchanan, S., Baruah, R., Lindemann, S., and Iyer-Pascuzzi, A. "Title" Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, July 2024.
Pilkey, B.*, Joshy, S., Leuschen-Kohl, R., Buchanan, S., Baruah, R., Lindemann, S., and Iyer-Pascuzzi, A. "Title" Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, July 2024.
Workshops
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Inclusive Leadership Workshop Series
Inclusion and Belonging - We All Want It, How Do We Get It? (Feb. 2023)
What is Emotional Intelligence? (Feb. 2023)
Southern Regional Education Board Institute on Teaching and Mentoring
First and Lasting Impressions: Organizing for the Interview (October 2022)
Prepping for the Chalk Talk (October 2022)
Computational Biology for Beginners - Workshop Series
Data management and creating computational protocols (January 2022)
Intermediate R (April 2022)