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Karen K. Resendes

Karen K. Resendes

Assoc. Dean of Assessment & First-Year Experience

Academic Affairs


resendkk@westminster.edu

(724) 946-7211


Campus Location:
   Patterson Hall
   Office - 315
Mailbox: 128

 

About Me


Education

  • Ph. D., Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry - Brown University
  • B. S., Biology - College of William and Mary

Areas of Expertise

  • Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Biology

Courses Taught

  • Cell and Molecular Biology
  • Biology of Cancer
  • Nuclear Structure and Function
  • Foundations of Biology

Research

  • Nuclear Transport
  • Chemotherapy Drugs
  • Human Cell Lines

Personal

I joined the Westminster Department of Biology in the fall of 2009. I teach Cell and Molecular Biology, Cancer Biology, and Nuclear Structure and Function, as well as a number of introductory courses for the major and the Westminster liberal arts curriculum. I have Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry from Brown University and performed post-doctoral research at the University of California, San Diego while also teaching at San Diego State University.

My biological research interests focus on the process of nuclear export, using human tissue culture cells to study how proteins exit the nucleus via the nuclear pore. In addition, my students and I research the effect of chemotherapy on nuclear transport during cell death. If you are interested in performing research in my laboratory email me and I can provide a list of more detailed readings and we can arrange a one on one appointment.

I also have a strong interest in educational research, and my studies have involve determining the effectiveness of personal response systems (clickers) in small, advanced topic courses, developing methods for incorporating scientific literature and data analysis into the classroom and the use of memes to learn content and build classroom community.

In addition to my role in the Biology Department I also serve as the Director of Westminster's Drinko Center for Undergraduate Research.

For more information about the Drinko Center check out:

http://www.westminster.edu/academics/research/index.cfm

I am also a member of the CUR (Council on Undergraduate Research) executive board.  The mission of CUR is to support and promote high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship.

https://www.cur.org/