Megan Bowman

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT MEGAN BOWMAN

graduated with my B.S. in Chemistry in 2002 from the Univ. of Georgia and my Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Human Genomics in 2008 from Wake Forest Univ, where my doctoral research focused on population genetics and the biochemical and molecular pathways leading to subclinical atherosclerosis and insulin resistance.I am interested in comparing the effectiveness of discovery-based teaching methods, such as Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) and Flipped Classroom models, with more traditional teaching methods in general chemistry courses. Research indicates that teaching-by-telling does not work for many students. In many cases, students enjoy learning more and develop a greater ownership of material when they are given the opportunity to construct their own understanding. One area of focus is to explore teaching methodology and technology that can narrow the knowledge gap in our first year General Biology courses by addressing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.Additionally, in collaboration with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, the Rudock lab aims to develop assays for high throughput monitoring of endangered species. Many aquatic species are monitored by netting, careful identification and counting, which is a labor-intensive practice. Second, the organisms must be plentiful enough to collect and identify. We hypothesize that this surveillance method may be missing organisms that exist in low population areas. We believe that monitoring using environmental DNA may be more successful in identifying the presence of endangered species in areas of low population density. Our SuRPS research project this summer will involve the continued development and validation of PCR assays for 3 species: the endangered Cape Fear Shiner (Notropis mekistocholas), the Atlantic Pigtoe Mussel (Fusconaia masoni and the Carolina Redhorse (Moxostoma Carolina). We will collect water samples from rivers and streams where these species have been previous found and areas of unknown presence. In addition, we will be collecting and testing samples to contribute to a larger project monitoring the Eastern Hellbender. Students have the opportunity to do field work, DNA isolation, PCR, qPCR, and use bioinformatics for assay design and sequence analysis.