Assistant Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
3124 East Science Hall, Science & Engineering Complex
(205) 975-0196

Teaching Interests: Introductory biology, environmental science, plant genetics, and environmental toxicology

Office Hours: By appointment

Education:

• B.S., Alcorn State University, Biology
• M.S., Alcorn State University, Biology
• Ph.D., Jackson State University, Phytoremediation

Greetings! I was raised in the small community of Reform, Mississippi where between the ages of six and ten my favorite after-school pastime consisted of watching science education shows and playing teacher.  Little did I know at the time, that I would grow up and matriculate through various academic programs to eventually become a teacher of biological and environmental sciences.  For instance, when I was a teenager I participated in the Upward Bound Tri-Program where I was enlightened about degree programs in biology and educational opportunities on the collegial level.  This was it…my opportunity to go and learn more about what I saw on those science shows! 

Once in college at Alcorn State University (Lorman, Mississippi), I majored in biology-pre-medicine as an undergraduate and participated in various summer research internships including ones at Baylor College of Medicine/Rice University, North Carolina State University, and The University of Mississippi’s Ronald E. McNair Scholar Program.  These programs divinely enriched my knowledge of graduate school and helped open doors to enter graduate school and earn a Master’s of Biology and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Alcorn State University and Jackson State University (Jackson, Mississippi) respectively.  I was even blessed to be a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship.   The mass amount of information that I had learned over the years and my growing passion to teach others was segue waying me to an awesome career.

After graduate school, I accepted a tenure-track faculty position at The University of West Alabama (Livingston, Alabama) where I taught undergraduate and graduate students for 16 years in biology, environmental science, toxicology, and plant science.  My research interest in the areas of phytoremediation along with collaborative studies and funding in hardwood tree genomics and dendroclimatology with colleagues from Pennsylvania State University and Virginia Tech was opening opportunities to teach and publish scientific articles with undergraduate interns.  In 2020, I moved to the Greater Birmingham area, became a foster parent, and worked as an adjunct biology instructor at Samford University for a few years before accepting a full-time teaching faculty position here at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.  Now, I am looking forward to what’s ahead as I help lay a good educational foundation for students today for a better tomorrow.   Note, when I am not enjoying the classroom with the students one can find me enjoying God’s creation horseback riding, shopping, or watching a good movie.  

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