Maggie

P.

Wear

,

PhD

Dr. Maggie Wear is an Instructor in the MMI Department and an Assistant Scientist in the laboratory of Dr. Arturo Casadevall where she has a few focuses; the biochemical and structural attributes of antibodies possessing catalytic activity, the Cryptococcus neoformans pathogenic fungi polysaccharide capsule structure and function, the types of yeast and their role in cocoa fermentation focusing on flavinoid and glycoside hydrolase secretion, and helping to educate the next generation of scientists.

While in graduate school she began teaching at the undergraduate level focusing on laboratory exercises and encouraging students to connect what they learned in lectures, and from textbooks, to hands on wet bench experiments in chemistry and molecular biology. With a passion for scientific education, Dr. Wear began working in the "R3" Science Education Initiative in 2016. Her interests center around the practical applications of critical and philosophical thinking in graduate scientific education and mentoring. With curiosity and depth of understanding as driving forces, her scientific discussions often result in a Socratic-like questioning of the data and reasoning behind a scientific conclusion.

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Wear holds a Master's Biomedical Sciences from the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope in California, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. Her Post-Doctoral work was done at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology department.