"Hi, my name is Melisa and I am a PhD trained scientist with over fifteen years of college level teaching experience in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Science History and Ethics.

I am excited about the opportunity to mentor students on this platform as a way toward helping them achieve their academic and life goals. I was valedictorian of my high school class with a 4.0 GPA and a curriculum of AP Bio, AP Calculus, and Honors English. I graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. I completed my PhD in Biochemistry at Brandeis University. I have had many teaching experiences at the undergrad level as an instructor for Medical Microbiology Lab (Harvard Med School), an instructor for Intro Biology Lab (Simmons College), and an instructor in Microbiology (Boston University). I am currently a research assistant professor who works on the microbiology of the marine microbiome, and teaches Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for Bioinformatics.

I have been a one-on-one tutor and mentor from a young age - first tutoring peers in math and science in high school, then as a peer mentor for organic chemistry, biochemistry, and science writing during my college career. My strengths from a subject perspective are biology and biochemistry (AP Calc and GRE subject test trained), math (Linear Algebra, Multivariate Calculus, and Differential Equations at university, experience with AP Calc), and science writing. My strengths from a personal perspective are patience and creativity as an instructor. I believe that the method that works with one student may not work for another, and I am open to working with the student (and their parents) to find the best course for organizing materials and time spent." less...