What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is that a professor has to excel in three main domains, specifically that of an instructor, a mentor/advisor, and a professional. To enhance the educational experience of students, a professor in the basic biological sciences has to possess an exceptional skill in creating the appropriate curriculum to teach complex concepts to students from diverse scientific areas. Furthermore, a professor should be capable of incorporating into the lecture material a depth of knowledge acquired from personal research activities, clinical collaborations, high impact literature findings, and attendance in scientific and clinical conferences. As a scientist, I consider this to be an obligation and continued commitment towards my growth as a professional who exemplifies a scholarly approach to teaching and mentorship activities. Moreover, it is my belief that a professor should exemplify good mentorship abilities to those who are under his/her tutelage. In this regard, one of the most noteworthy accomplishments a mentor can have is the high achievements that his/her students acquire through the research activities that were performed under his/her tutelage. Throughout my doctoral and postdoctoral studies, I committed myself in cultivating junior scientists to develop the research abilities that would propel them to become independent investigators in their scientific realms. My teaching commitments have enabled substantially the ability of these departments to make major scientific advancements in the fields of Biology, Physiology, Metabolism and Biomedical Research. I believe that such activities should be part of a mentor’s commitment and teaching philosophy towards the continued growth and viability of the student body at the respective institution.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I like to establish trust and comfort with the students by having them explain what are their expectations of the tutoring session, what are their academic goals and future career plans. Consequently, tutoring materials will cover areas of interest and those of future benefit. Additionally, in order to help the student academically as much as possible, I like to know in what subject areas the student has strengths vs. weaknesses. Those areas are addressed with short lessons and mini quizzes to establish a baseline.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

By enabling the student to realize that all study efforts do pay off in obtaining good grades. This is achieved by having interactive questions from online materials and tutoring items that help the student build their knowledge sequentially with increasing difficulty over time. Good progress and academic success along the way is always a healthy motivating factor.