2026 President-Elect
Congratulations to Beth Schussler, Ph.D. (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), who has been elected as SABER's next President-Elect. We look forward to her leadership and service to the society. Dr. Schussler's term begins on September 1st.
Outgoing Past President
We'd like to extend an immense thank-you to Miriam Segura, Ph.D., outgoing Past President. Miriam has served on the Executive Committee since 2021, beginning her service as SABER Secretary. Throughout her service, she has overseen many initiatives across the organization, including launching the PEER (Persons Excluded due to Ethnicity and Race) Network, helping to establish SABER's first paid staff position, and developing the Professional Development in Evidence-Based Teaching Seminar Series, just to name a few!
Miriam's term officially ends on August 31. Please join us in thanking her for her many years of service to SABER!
2026 Award Recipients
Mary Pat Wenderoth Lectureship Award
Dina Newman, Ph.D.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Excellence in Biology Education Research Early Career Faculty Award
Daniel Grunspan, Ph.D.
University of Guelph
Seed funding for this award was provided by Codon Learning and SABER member, Jeremy Hsu.
Bill Wood Graduate Student Talk Awards
Rose Sofia
Auburn University
"How international identity and institutional context shape student responses to discipline-specific terminology in undergraduate biology." Other authors: Bellard, Raleigh; Davidyan, Arik; Rice, Mallory; Ballen, Margaret
Ray Potter
University of Washington
"Anxiety Doesn’t (Just) Add Up: Evidence of Non-Linear Relationship with Performance in Postsecondary Introductory STEM Classes." Other authors: Busch, Carly; Xu, Shangmou; Eddy, Sarah; Theobald, Elli
The 2026 Wood awards were sponsored by Codon Learning.
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Poster Awards
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Undergraduate Poster Award
Travis Ray
Middle Tennessee State University
"Are we Preparing Biology Students to Talk About Vaccines? Exploring Student Perspectives" Other authors: Barnes, Elizabeth
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Graduate Student Poster Award
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Ijeoma Nwokolo
Western Michigan University
"Baseline Scientific Literacy, Quantitative Reasoning, and Perceived Barriers among Non-Majors in an Introductory Biology Laboratory" Other authors: Emily Driessen; Luke Kinsey; Samantha Gosser-Wolfe
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The Graduate Student Poster Award was sponsored by Pearson.
Travel Award Recipients
In 2026, SABER provided 18 Travel Awards totaling $10,800 in support for members attending the Annual Meeting.
Nouran Amin
Summer Blanco
Hannah Blevins
Jean-Louis Bru
Benjamin Chan
Nicole Chlebek
Poorvi Datta
Krista Donis
Christina Gutierrez Ford
Clayton Mazur
Delainey McManus
Julia Mellary
Ijeoma Jacinta Nwokolo
Rachel Potter
Sumedha Ravishankar
Nicole Scheuermann
Corey Stewart
Irene Unazi
Thank You to Our Outgoing
Committee Chairs!
Cissy Ballen, Invited Speaker
Ariel Chasen, Diversity & Inclusion
Robert Erdmann, Data Analysis & Stewardship
Faith Frings, DBER Scholars-in-Training
Angela Kaczowka, Mentoring
Claire Meaders, Abstracts
Mel Melendrez-Vallard, PEER
Anita Schuchardt, Annual Conference
