Current Fellows
Jeff Maloy
Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) Fellow, Department of Life Sciences Core Education
Email: jmaloy@g.ucla.edu
Office Location: 122 Hershey Hall
Bio
Jeffrey Maloy, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow in Discipline-based education research at University of California, Los Angeles. Jeffrey obtained his Ph.D. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics from UCLA. His dissertation research focused on mechanisms of pathogenesis and host innate immune response to the intracellular pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei.
In his current postdoctoral position, Jeffrey conducts education research, develops curricula, and teaches in the Life Sciences Core Education Department. His research is concentrated in two areas. (1) How video content delivery to undergraduate students in a “flipped classroom” format impacts motivational predictors of student achievement and persistence in STEM majors. (2) The development of of mindset interventions to improve self-efficacy, motivation, and metacognition in undergraduate students.
Jane Shevtsov
Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) Fellow, Department of Life Sciences Core Education
Email: jane.eco@gmail.com
Bio
Jane Shevtsov is a Discipline Based Education Research (DBER) Fellow in the Department of Life Sciences Core Education. She graduated from UCLA in 2005 with a major in Ecology, Behavior and Evolution, a minor in Geography and a large amount of random coursework. Along the way, she went from being math-phobic to having a strong interest in mathematical ecology. She pursued this interest as a graduate student at the University of Georgia, where she studied ecological networks. Upon earning her Ph.D. in 2012, she started working at UCLA, developing material for the course that became LS 30 (Mathematics for Life Scientists). As a DBER Fellow, she continued working on curriculum development, co-authoring the textbook Modeling Life: The Mathematics of Biological Systems. Her DBER research interests include the effect of student study strategies and life challenges on achievement, study design and data analysis for education research, and new ways to help students develop mathematical thinking skills and confidence.
Former Fellows
Liz Roth-Johnson
Academic Coordinator, Life Sciences Core Education
(Former) Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) Fellow, Department of Life Sciences Core Education
Email: lizroth@ucla.edu
Office Location: 225 Hershey Hall
Bio
Liz Roth-Johnson is a Discipline Based Education Research (DBER) Fellow in the Department of Life Sciences Core Education. Dr. Roth-Johnson completed her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology at UCLA and her B.A. degrees in Molecular & Cell Biology and Music at UC Berkeley. She has extensive research experience in the field of cell biology: she has applied techniques in biochemistry, microscopy, and genetics to studying protein trafficking in yeast (as an undergraduate) and the cytoskeleton’s role in fruit fly egg development (as a graduate student). Her teaching interests are similarly varied, as she has taught both molecular biology to science majors (LS XL 3) and introductory food science to non-science majors (PHYSCI 7). Dr. Roth-Johnson has also developed a keen interest in science writing and informal science education. As a graduate student, she worked with UCLA’s science outreach program Science & Food, and co-founded the K-8 science and engineering outreach program BEAM at UCLA. Shortly after graduating, she then spent a summer working as a science reporter at KQED through the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship Program. Through her education research, Dr. Roth-Johnson is dedicated to improving undergraduate education through incorporation of active learning strategies and quantitative reasoning into large-enrollment life sciences courses. Long term, she is interested in fostering collaborations with community partners to incorporate service learning and other high-impact practices into introductory level science courses.
Nadia Sellami
Assistant Director, Undergraduate Research Center – Sciences
(Former) Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER) Fellow, Department of Life Sciences Core Education
Email: nsellami@college.ucla.edu
Office Location: 2110 Life Sciences Building
Phone: (310) 206-2660
Bio
Nadia Sellami is a Discipline Based Education Research (DBER) Fellow in the Department of Life Sciences Core Education. Dr. Sellami earned her M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with second major in Human Genetics from the University of Kiel, Germany, and her Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from UCLA. During her M.S. thesis, she studied the role of DNA methylation in Hodgkin Lymphoma. Her Ph.D. research focused on the role of DNA replication and repair pathways in the generation and maintenance of stem cells. Before starting her post-doctoral fellowship, Dr. Sellami worked as a management consultant advising biotech companies on strategy and marketing. As part of her teaching activities, Dr. Sellami creates and tests evidence-based teaching methods such as active learning modules and flipped classrooms. Her research as a DBER fellow focuses on the effectiveness and impact of active learning in molecular biology higher education.