Profile

• E-mail

  nreeves@msjc.edu
• Organization

  Mt. San Jacinto College

  
  
• Organization / Position Type

  University / College Faculty

  
  
• Website

  https://catalog.msjc.edu/instructional-programs/biology/

  
  
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• Biography

  I discovered my excitement for biology as an undergraduate student at Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham, Washington. During my freshman year I was very undecided about what to major in but my counselor encouraged me to take science classes in case I wanted to be a science major. I took chemistry and calculus my first year but I was not inspired enough by those classes to major in either subject. In my sophomore year I was able to take the biology series at WWU that is much like the BIOL-150/151 General Biology series at MSJC. The first class in my series was taught by Professor David Leaf (perfect biology professor name!). He showed us how cells work and how to decipher the genetic code that guides their function. It blew me away to discover the rules of genetics and realize that our genetics arise from the basic rules of cell division and gene expression, which in turn arise from the basic rules of organic chemistry. I was so impressed by the class that I became a biology major that year and asked Professor Leaf if I could work in his research lab. While I was completing my biology degree I realized that being a college professor was a pretty awesome job and with the help of Professor Leaf I went on to get my PhD in Biology at UCSD. As a graduate student at UCSD I studied peripheral nervous system stem cells in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. After completing my PhD I became a professor at MSJC and I have been teaching there since 2007. I love my job and the best part of what I do is helping students get excited about biology, become STEM majors, and engage in extracurricular opportunities that help them achieve their career goals.