Eastern Michigan University biology professor receives national honors

YPSILANTI -- In the nearly six years professor Anne Casper has been teaching biology at Eastern Michigan University, she has mentored 17 undergraduate students and five masters students, encouraging them as they learned to conduct scientific research.

Caspers commitment to her students was recognized recently when she won an honorable mention for superior mentorship of undergraduate students in research.

The Council on Undergraduate Research presented the award in the outstanding biology mentor division for young researchers. The council, founded in 1978, supports and promotes high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. Membership includes nearly 10,000 individuals and more than 650 colleges and universities.

Only one award and two honorable mentions were awarded nationally this year in Caspers category of six or less years of experience. Caspers award was a book on mentoring undergraduate researchers.

This was quite a surprise, said Casper, of Ann Arbor. Its a national award so when I applied, I put together the most competitive application I could and hoped for the best.

Nomination requirements included submitting a CV (resume), a letter of support from a colleague and two letters of support from undergraduate students. Leading biologists from around the country judged the competition.

Professor Casper is not only an amazing scientist who does federally funded, cutting-edge research, she is an exceptional teacher, said her nominator, Harriet Lindsay, professor of chemistry at EMU. She uses her research as a vehicle to teach her lab students about the process of research, from designing experiments to presenting research results at national conferences. Her students benefit immeasurably from her mentorship.

Caspers students or labbies, as she calls them, flourish under her guidance because of the hands-on experience and her ability to make students feel relaxed with scientific research. She pushes them to obtain their own funding through scholarships and awards and to present at national conferences. In many cases, the students will co-author papers and presentations.

My time in the lab has been really valuable to me because I know Dr. Casper genuinely cares about her students and their education, said senior, Valerie Sponyoe, a biology major from South Rockwood. The research experience and knowledge Im gaining from her will help me succeed in graduate school and my career.

Sponyoes goal is to earn a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology in order to do biomedical research. Continued...

Link:
Eastern Michigan University biology professor receives national honors