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Kathy Takayama is the Director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching & Learning and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry. She holds a B.S. in Biology from MIT, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UMDNJ–Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (Rutgers Medical School). She was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an Australian Research Council Senior Research Associate at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia. From 2001-2007 Dr. Takayama was a faculty member of the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences at UNSW, where her research focused on the molecular regulation of RNA processing mechanisms during stress responses in bacteria. She has also led an active research program in science education and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and has delivered numerous keynotes on her work in visualizations in learning; the pedagogical integration of art + science; ePortfolio-based inquiry; and SoTL. In 2002, she led the first international (pre-MOOC) online inquiry course in genomics for students across several continents to celebrate the sequencing of the human genome, titled "Visualizing the Science of Genomics".

Dr. Takayama is a Carnegie Scholar and a founding member of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. She served as the first Regional Vice President (Australasia) of the society from 2005-2007. She has received numerous national and international teaching awards, including the David White Award for Excellence in Teaching (Australian Society for Microbiology), the Australian College of Educators Teaching Award, and the University of New South Wales Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence. Dr. Takayama serves on the National Steering Committee of the National Science Foundation Biology Scholars Program, and Co-Chairs the NSF Biology Scholars SoTL Transitions Residency. In 2008 she was named National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences by the National Research Council. Dr. Takayama was one of four higher education faculty selected to serve on the College Board AP (Advanced Placement) Biology Curriculum, Development and Assessment Committee to develop and implement the new AP Biology curriculum that focuses on depth of understanding, and application of concepts and scientific processes. She serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and is Research Editor of the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education.

She has recently co-authored a book chapter with historian David Reichard entitled "Exploring Student Learning in Unfamiliar Territory: A Humanist and a Scientist Compare Notes". Currently, she is Co-Principal Investigator on a 2-year study funded by the Teagle Foundation on Engaging Evidence to Improve Student Learning

Download Kathy Takayama's Curriculum Vitae in PDF Format