In March 2022, Dr. Nikea Pittman presented her first “Teaching As Research” project in front of a national audience!
Title of meeting: 2022 Capital PKAL Regional Network
Conference: “STEM Instructional Innovations Necessitated by COVID-19: Evolution of Processes Post Pandemic.”
Host: Project Kaleidoscope and Coppin State University Virtual Conference
Presentation Title: Legos and Cotton Balls: Engaging Students with Protein Modeling.
Nikea Pittman, PhD, is a postdoc in the Neher lab. Through the SPIRE fellowship program (Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research and Education), Nikea leads undergraduate courses at North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT). Nikea collaborated with NCAT faculty to develop new approaches in teaching and provide additional support to students during the pandemic. Along with co-authors (Kimberly Pigford, PhD, and Kelsie Bernot, PhD), Nikea designed a take-home exam that guided students through identifying a mutation, building a three-dimensional model, and demonstrating how the mutation impacts protein structure to cause human disease. More than 250 students participated in the “Teaching As Research” project, which was shown to increase students’ confidence and improve their knowledge of protein structure/function. The project was selected for a lightning talk and presented in front of a national audience during the 2022 PKAL Regional Network Meeting.