This year, the School of Biology welcomed three new faculty members, Cara Gormally, Chong Shin, and Chrissy Spencer. Bios of Drs. Gormally, Shin and Spencer are below:

Cara Gormally
Dr. Cara Gormally joined the School of Biology as an Academic Professional in May 2010. She earned her B.A. from St. John’s College (Annapolis) in 2002, where she studied an all-required program in the liberal arts, based on the reading, study, and discussion of significant books in the Western tradition. After a few years working in different research labs, she found her niche in ecology and evolutionary biology. She earned her PhD in Plant Biology from the University of Georgia (UGA) in 2010, working on Sapelo Island to study the ecological and evolutionary responses of plant populations to the coastal dune environment as a National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Research Fellow.

During graduate school, Gormally recognized the disconnect that often exists between how scientists do science and teach science. She wanted students to learn science by doing science, and so collaboratively redesigned the laboratory curriculum for non-science majors at UGA. Working at the University of Georgia’s Center for Teaching and Learning, she enjoyed sharing effective practices for teaching and learning. Her research focuses on biology education, specifically on the design, implementation, and evaluation of courses using collaborative learning strategies; and the development of assessment tools to better understand how to help students learn to do science. She is especially interested in advancing pedagogical development for future biology educators.

In her free time, she enjoys running, cycling, and exploring good food in Atlanta’s neighborhoods. She also enjoys reading good fiction and road trips to the ocean.

Chong Shin
Dr. Chong Hyun Shin joined the School of Biology as an Assistant Professor in September. She earned her B.S. and M.S. in Biochemistry from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, in 1996. She earned her PhD in Development and Genetics with Dr. Eric N. Olson from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in 2003. She did her postdoctoral training at the University of California San Francisco with Dr. Didier Y. R. Stainier in 2003-2008, and became an Assistant Research Biochemist in 2009. She was a recipient of Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, and currently has a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award.

Shin’s research focuses on how molecular and genetic pathways program or reprogram cells into a specific lineage, with a primary focus on hepatopancreatic lineages. She is especially interested in figuring out how Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) 2b signaling pathway regulates liver and endocrine/exocrine pancreas (re)generation. She answers these questions using zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism. In zebrafish, molecular and genetic approaches as well as a single cell-level manipulation can be accomplished.

In her free time, she enjoys reading (to her children), watching movies, and hiking. She is also a big fan of soccer and basketball.

Chrissy Spencer
Dr. Chrissy Spencer joined the School of Biology as an Academic Professional in July 2010. She earned her B.A. in Biology from Earlham College in 1995. After a summer conducting a herpetological survey of the Chattooga River watershed at the convergence of NC, SC, and GA, and a winter leading college students to Vienna, Austria, she completed her M.S. in Biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Laissez les bon temps rouler!). In 1998 she moved to Athens, GA to earn her PhD in Genetics from the University of Georgia. While conducting research in evolutionary biology as a post-doctoral fellow in Canada, she realized that her true calling is in the classroom.

Spencer’s teaching experience dates back to post-graduate time at Earlham College, where she instructed the laboratories in Human Biology. More recently, she has spent two years in the intense teaching laboratory of a small liberal arts college in NC. She brings her research experience, using a series of model organisms (Gambusia fish, Drosophila, and E. coli), to her classroom teaching and enjoys conducting research with undergraduates.

In her free time, she thrives on outdoor activities and early musicâ€"singing and playing the viola da gamba. She cycles to work in Midtown Atlanta’s bike lanes and enjoys swimming, hiking, and non-whitewater kayaking.