This month, our "Human of DBER" is Dr. Dina Newman, a Professor in the College of Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and the recipient of the 2026 Mary Pat Wenderoth Lectureship Award.

I never set out to become a biology education researcher—in fact, I didn't know the field existed until I was nearly 40. My training was in molecular genetics, first studying bacterial colony development and later investigating complex diseases in humans. I was really looking for a teaching position in Upstate New York when I found an opportunity to study the genetics of age-related hearing loss at Rochester Institute of Technology as the Department of Biological Sciences' first research faculty hire. There, I led a grant-funded human genetics research program focused on mentoring undergraduate researchers. A few years later, I moved into a tenure-track position that I thought would allow me to spend more time teaching. Ironically, just as I made that transition, RIT began shifting from a primarily teaching-focused institution to a stronger emphasis on research and scholarship. The type of undergraduate-centered genetics research I had been doing was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain and publish, and I worried about how I would succeed in this new environment.

A pivotal conversation with my dean led me to a physics colleague, Scott Franklin, who introduced me to the field of discipline-based education research, taught me its foundations, and welcomed me into the DBER community. Together with Scott, a chemistry colleague named Tom Kim, whose deep knowledge of the literature and thoughtful guidance helped me develop as a researcher, and my biology colleague Kate Wright, who shared both my circumstances and my fascination with teaching and learning, we formed a small DBER journal club. Kate and I soon launched our first studies on why students struggle to understand meiosis, and that work grew into a long-standing and fruitful research partnership that continues to this day. Through DBER, I found a way to bring together my love of biology, teaching, and research while becoming part of a vibrant interdisciplinary community. I began attending SABER in 2011, and it quickly became my professional home. The friendships, collaborations, and mentorship I found there have shaped my career ever since and inspired me to help build community for others through SABER East, a regional meeting that I launched in 2024 and have hosted at RIT for the past three years. That same spirit of community-building helped our small journal club grow into CASTLE, a research center that now includes numerous faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates working across STEM education research. Looking back, the path was anything but linear, but the projects, collaborations, and institutional changes that once seemed daunting led me to work that now feels deeply meaningful. 

This month, DBER-SiT is continuing our "Humans of DBER" series with a feature of Jackie DaSilva, an MSc student at the University of British Columbia!Hi, I’m Jackie, a Master’s student in Zoology at the University of British Columbia conducting Biology Education Research. My path to DBER wasn’t planned. As an undergraduate, I knew I wanted to gain research experience but wasn’t sure in what area. Around the same time, I was reflecting on my own experiences in science courses—periods where my sense of belonging and confidence fluctuated—and noticing through conversations with classmates that we could share a classroom yet experience it very differently. While searching for research opportunities, I came across a DBER research assistant position at York University almost by accident. Working with Dr. Tamara Kelly and biology teaching faculty introduced me to a field that examines how instructional practices shape students’ learning, engagement, and sense of belonging. That experience ultimately led me west to UBC, where I now study instructor discourse in active-learning classrooms and how it shapes students’ learning experiences and affective outcomes under the supervision of Drs. Jackie Stewart and Blaire Steinwand.

Pursuing DBER within a traditional biology department has required persistence, collaboration, and creative navigation of existing institutional frameworks, particularly as the field is still emerging in Canada and lacks many established structures and funding pathways. Navigating these challenges has strengthened my ability to advocate for the value of DBER and to translate its relevance to diverse academic audiences. Along the way, I’ve found unexpected joy not only in my research, but in fostering community: facilitating professional development workshops, supporting teaching assistants through UBC’s Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, and connecting with students as a teaching assistant myself. My advice to aspiring biology education researchers is to seek collaborators beyond your discipline, remain adaptable in emerging spaces, and be willing to help build the pathways you hope to follow.

DBER-SiT is starting a new project called "Humans of DBER"! The goal of our project is to create a way for SABER members to get to know one another, foster collaborations, and increase access to role models in our community. Our first feature as part of this series is Noah A. Courtney, a PhD student at Texas Tech Univeristy.My academic story didn’t start with science– it almost didn’t include science at all. Ten years ago, I failed out of college and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. I joined the Coast Guard to have a direct and daily impact on people’s lives, and when I was medically retired, I deeply craved a civilian career that was grounded in the same sentiment of service. However, I didn’t think I would go back to school. The phrase “I never have to go college again” put a smile on my face; I never imagined that one day, I would look back during the first year of my Ph.D. and say that I love learning. Admittedly, I was skeptical when I enrolled in introductory biology at Harford Community College, but I was shocked at what I discovered. I found myself looking in a mirror: my passion for advocacy and service was reflected in my professors’ teaching and mentorship. I felt alone as the only non-traditional student-veteran in my classes, but my professors never let any of my questions about science careers go unanswered. While student-veterans may be rare in college STEM spaces, I was inspired by those instructors who assured me that I could be a scientist, and that my previous failure didn’t define the new career that I wanted to build.

Today, I am a biology education researcher because of great instructors– I want every student to experience how my community college instructors made me feel. During my first semester after transferring to a large university, I noticed a culture shift: I witnessed some of my classmates hesitate while asking questions in class and feel pressure to fuel their GPA rather than their curiosity about science. This tension led me to find the biology education research lab on campus, where mentors like Dr. Michelle Smith and Dr. David Esparza provided me with the tools to follow my passion for supporting and investigating the community college STEM contexts that built the foundation of my passion for science. Through my undergraduate career, I published my first paper and found a home in the SABER community, where I became connected with my current Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Lisa Limeri. Since 2023, I have attended three "big" SABER meetings and one SABER East meeting, where this community has only continued to provide me with role models and colleagues who share and reflect my passion for students and science. My favorite part of being a Ph.D. student is mentoring undergraduate students and giving them tools to explore and articulate their curiosity. Few things have felt as rewarding as supporting my undergraduate colleagues as they cultivate their own scientific ideas, sharpen their writing, and build quantitative analysis and science communication skills. If I could offer advice to aspiring biology education researchers, it would be this: Surround yourself with role models who make you better, let your curiosity drive your reading of the literature, and allow your passion to guide you through the frustrating moments of the research process.

If you have a colleague in DBER that you'd like to nominate to be the next Human of DBER, please submit your nomination here! Nominations are welcome for members of the SABER and biology education research community, including undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, staff, educators, and community partners who contribute to biology education, research, or inclusive STEM initiatives.