Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote presented “Biological and molecular consequences of oxidative damage on non-B DNA-induced genetic instability” at the 2024 American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology National Meeting.
Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote delivered a presentation on effective strategies for improving diversity, inclusion, and belonging within undergraduate research laboratories at the 2024 American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology National Meeting. Her abstract was selected for the coveted spotlight talk for a special session on challenges and best practices in running a research program primarily with undergraduate students.
Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote co-organized and led a well-attended 90-min workshop titled “Unlocking Your Career Success Through Networking and Mentorship” at the 2024 American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology National Meeting. Workshops were selected based on proposal submissions.
Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote and Associate Professor of Biology Martín Gonzalez published an article in the Journal of Chemical Education where they describe the development and implementation of a unique undergraduate research-based laboratory course that cultivates an inclusive and supportive learning community and helps students develop a sense of belonging through mentorship and peer-to-peer learning. The course is centered on a new framework they developed called crisscrossing laboratory experiences (CCLE), where first-year students were placed into two interdisciplinary research cohorts. Halfway through the course, the cohorts swapped research projects to establish reciprocal peer learning partnerships allowing students to be both learners and teachers.
—April 2023Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote gave an oral presentation at the 2023 American Chemical Society national meeting in the Division of Biological Chemistry’s session on Emerging Areas and New Methods in Biological Chemistry. Her talk was titled “Impact of oxidative damage on H-DNA-induced genetic instability.”
—April 2023Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote gave an oral presentation at the 2023 American Chemical Society national meeting, Division of Chemical Education. Her talk was on developing and implementing an undergraduate research-based laboratory course that promotes inclusion and belonging through mentorship and peer-to-peer learning. Her abstract was chosen for the SCI-MIX poster presentation – a poster event representing each division’s best.
—April 2023Professor of Biochemistry and Garey Chair of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote, Cargill Endowed Associate Professor of Education Alicia Moore, and Professor of Political Science Alisa Gaunder co-presented a virtual session for the Association for American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) 2023 Conference on Diversity, Equity and Student Success. The mission of the AAC&U conference was to explore the complexities of truth within higher education while examining institutional structures and beliefs that impede diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. The presentation, titled “Cross-Institutional CONNECTions: Mentorship, Truth, Belonging, and Retention,” provided an overview of Southwestern’s ACS-funded FOC CONNECT project, which seeks to dismantle barriers to success experienced by early-career faculty of color (FOC) in the academy. The project supports a cross-institutional faculty mentoring program that connects these scholars with senior faculty of color from other ACS institutions.
—March 2023Associate Professor of Education Alicia Moore and Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Maha Zewail-Foote were awarded a grant from the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS) to create a unique virtual cross-institutional faculty mentoring program for early-career faculty of color (FOC) called FOC CONNECT. The program will connect early-career faculty of color with senior faculty from other ACS institutions. Through this program, early-career faculty of color will receive mentorship and support. The program will also provide training for selected senior faculty mentors.
—August 2022Garey Chair and Professor of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote published an article “Using Student-Centered Approaches to Teach the Biochemistry of SARS-CoV-2” in the journal Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education.The article discusses pedagogical approaches to enhance science literacy and model authentic science inquiry in biochemistry. This same learning framework was used when the class quickly shifted to learning about the biochemistry of SARS-CoV-2 last spring.
—December 2020Garey Chair and Professor of Chemistry Maha Zewail-Foote published an article in the Journal of Chemical Education on transitioning her biochemistry lab class to a remote format. She described the assignments she created that maintained the research learning objectives of the course and enhanced research skills as well as the community outreach project, Making a Difference, that she developed for the class.
—August 2020