Originally from Vacaville, California, Dr. Emma Goodwin earned her B.S. in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics at UCLA, where she first became involved in both independent faculty‑mentored undergraduate research and course‑based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs).

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Emma completed her Ph.D. in Biology Education Research at Portland State University under the mentorship of Dr. Erin Shortlidge. Supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, her doctoral work examined how graduate students teach CUREs. She then joined the Research for Inclusive STEM Education Center at Arizona State University as a postdoctoral scholar with Dr. Sara Brownell. Funded by the NSF Individual Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in STEM Education, her postdoctoral research focused on how students with disabilities and students from low‑income backgrounds access and participate in undergraduate research experiences.

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In 2024, Emma joined the University of Georgia as a biology education research faculty member in the Department of Microbiology. Her research group uses qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate how universities can better support student success in undergraduate research experiences.

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Outside of work, Emma enjoys baking, swimming, exploring the outdoors, volunteering in wildlife rescue, and pampering her cats.

Coming to the University of Georgia from Dallas, TX, Grace Herburger is a fourth-year student currently finishing her B.S. in Biomedical Physiology along with minors in Biology, General Business, and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She first became involved in research in the fall of 2024, shortly after learning about Biology Education Research and meeting Dr. Emma Goodwin when she started at UGA. 

 

Grace spent much of her third year investigating faculty motivation to provide accommodations for students with disabilities. This year, she has been working with Dr. Goodwin to develop an interview study looking at how students’ personal identities impact their experiences in faculty-mentored undergraduate research. Grace presented a poster at the CURO symposium in 2025 and plans to do the same this April.

 

Grace hopes to attend medical school following graduation, emboldened to continue in research wherever she lands. Outside of school and research, Grace enjoys needlepoint, cooking and baking, and group fitness classes.

Danielle Philo earned her B.S. in Microbiology at the University of Arizona. Driven by a desire to improve undergraduate research experiences, she pivoted from immunology to biology education. Her previous work focused on instructor reasoning in model-based inquiry courses and CUREs. 

 

Now a Microbiology PhD student, Danielle’s work uses a mixed-methods approach to explore how dissemination opportunities (such as a publishing) impact CURE students and their instructors.

 

In her free time, Danielle enjoys crafting, cooking, and enjoying the outdoors with her pets.