Lauren W.

My devotion to science began in high school with a love for chemistry and biology. This in turn led to me pursuing further education in the science field. I graduated BSc Pharmacology with Honors (1st Class) in 2013, and with Masters of Research in Translational Medicine (with Distinction) in 2014. Based on academic excellent I was awarded a prestiguous PhD studentship with the British Heart Foundation. I completed my PhD training in Scotland at the University of Glasgow where I used a novel molecular technique to study protein-protein interactions in various fields of disease including cardiovascular and cancer. This training provided me with a robust background in molecular techniques which I have gone on to apply to the field of neuroscience. After graduating in 2017 I was recruited to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital to undertake my post docotral training. I to began to focus on studying the cells of the brain in the setting of addiction - ranging from addiction to drugs, to addiction to food! I can now proudly say I have transitioned from a graduating college student in 2013, to an Assistant Professor within a 10 year time frame.
Throughout my PhD and time working at Mount Sinai I have developed a strong passion for teaching. I have taught across a wide variety of science courses at college level since 2014 including anatomy, human biology, neuroscience, pharmacology, physiology, sport science, immunology, microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular/cellular biology. I have also taught in both the University of Glasgow Medical School and also the Icahn School of Medicine specializing in genetics based clinical scenarios. With the modern age of cellphones and tablets taking over I joined a team to help design a Molecular Methods teaching App (available on Google Playstore) which is rated 4.8/5 and has >10,000 downloads. This is used at college level in many Biology courses.
Summarized Teaching Philosophy
When the student first enters my teaching environment, they are equal and unique regardless of their existing grades. I aim to equip students with multiple learning strategies so that they feel confident in their independent study using strategies that work for them – this will allow them to improve their grade. I will always actively reinforce that there is no wrong way to learn, you do what works for you! I believe you fully understand a topic when you can then pass the knowledge onto others, and this will be an active goal that we strive for together.