Editor’s Note: Every year, we ask the winners of Juniata’s teaching awards to list some of the things that have
inspired them in their professional lives, be it a book, a song, a movie, or a combination of those things. Here, the winners pick five inspirations, lessons learned from pop culture, and lessons learned from Bugs Bunny.
Gibbel Award for Distinguished Teaching Regina (Gina) Lamendella, Assistant Professor of Biology
Many people inspired me to pursue my dreams of teaching and research. I remember interviewing for the position at Juniata and I became enthralled by the fact that the biology department embraces the vision of research and teaching being intertwined throughout the curriculum. As I embarked on designing my “Molecular Methods” course, I dreamed big. That course focused on bacterial communities in a local stream during Superstorm Sandy. We used DNA sequencing to generate a “bacterial census” of the water during and after the storm event. The data we generated in this class have recently been published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology with 10 Juniata students as authors. Seeing a research project develop within a course and having our data published is something I never dreamed could happen. So, here’s the top five (presented in reverse, like Letterman) people who have inspired me to pursue this type of cutting-edge work. Number 5: Jonathan Eisen, a molecular ecologist at the University of California Davis. Jonathan dedicated his life to educating the public about their microbiome, this microbial cloud that follows us everywhere! It turns out that these microscopic organisms outnumber the human cells in our body. Research in our laboratory and many others is beginning to unravel the importance of the microbiome in health and disease.
Number 3: My research students. Starting a research laboratory is no small undertaking. Over the past four years, our laboratory has been built by no other but Juniata students. My research students are committed to excellence of their individual and collaborative research projects. They inspire me on a daily basis by their willingness to go the extra mile to make sure their work is impeccable. In fact, as I write this top five list at 10 p.m. at night, my students are working on troubleshooting a PCR reaction. Number 2: My son, Joseph Christopher Luedeker. At age 2-and-a-half, I’m confident he possesses more knowledge than any of us can begin to understand or interpret. He sometimes rolls his eyes at me, as I speak slowly in a high-pitched baby talk. My son has enabled me to embrace the “non-scientific” side of myself that I may never have discovered. Even a quick look into his giant brown eyes is enough to inspire a tired, stressed, and newly gray-haired soul. Number 1: My mother, Marie Rita (Teriaca) Lamendella. She believes in me when no one else, including myself, does. She has passed onto me an unspoken strength, perseverance, and strong work ethic. I hope to pass on these qualities to my family. She can also cook circles around any Iron Chef, or any of those other popularized cooking shows that I get sucked into watching on Friday nights.
2016 Spring-Summer |
Number 4: Janet Jansson, president of the International Society for Microbial Ecology and director of biological sciences at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Janet is a stellar microbial ecologist who pioneered the application of “meta-omics” methods
toward deconstructing the functional capacities of microbial communities in their natural environment. As my postdoctoral supervisor, she is a most valuable role model, who balances her commitment to scientific research while prioritizing her family and commitment to health and wellness.
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