2006 Distinguished Award For Innovative College Science Teaching Recipient - Susan McDowell

Susan McDowell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Ball State University, Muncie, IN Dr. Susan McDowell joined the Biology Department faculty at Ball State University as an assistant professor in 2003. Prior to her service at Ball State, Susan was a postdoctoral fellow at Eli Lilly, completing her doctoral degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 2001. From 1988 – 2001, Susan had worked as a research assistant at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and attended graduate classes as a part time student starting in 1996. As the instructor for 5 of the 7 Biotechnology courses at Ball State, Susan draws heavily from this work experience to create a learning environment that enables students to transition from the biology classroom to the research lab. Since 2003, Susan has been awarded over $300,000 in extramural grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, LI-COR Biosciences, the Indiana Academy of Science and Cancer Services of Delaware County. She has over 20, peer-reviewed publications and has been a presenter at both national and international scientific meetings. “I remember too clearly my first weeks working at Cincinnati Children’s when I struggled to translate my biology classes into real world applications. I felt stupid and inept. My goal is that my students are confident in their intellectual and technical abilities and never feel the way I felt in those first weeks.”