Associate Professor This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Campbell Hall 490B
(205) 934-9680
Research and Teaching Interests: Transfer student retention, peer to peer mentoring, Service-Learning, Sustainability, International STEM outreach
Office Hours: By appointment
Education:
- B.S., Nagpur University, Biology
- M.S., Nagpur University, Biology
- Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham, Environmental Toxicology
Sami Raut, by training, is an environmental toxicologist who came to the United States many years ago as a first-generation international graduate student in STEM. After finishing her PhD at UAB, she embarked on her professional career at a Hispanic institution in north-west Georgia before returning to UAB in 2012 as one of the primary course masters for the gateway courses in the department of biology. As a proud Blazer Alumnus, she now finds her calling in teaching various undergraduate classes by embracing the realms of scientific teaching. Furthermore, this immersion has led to the exploration of a new passion - pursuing biology education research. This research to date has engaged many undergraduate students in various capacities who are now successfully enrolled in professional schools. Some of these research endeavors pursued by undergraduate students have been translated into publications and various national level recognitions. Finally, she envisions that an interested college student can build a career in STEM that can pave way towards an empowering future that helps to push the frontiers of science towards novel discoveries and inventions. Let her know if she can help you forge on this life-changing transformative journey in STEM and/or you are interested in working her supervision!
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Research Interests
Sami’s interest in biology education is focused on analyzing the factors that promote teaching and learning in the context of peer to peer mentoring groups for gateway courses. Her efforts have led to the establishment of the Biology Learning Assistant’s initiative. Furthermore, she is interested in exploring the factors that contribute towards the retention of first-generation, minority, and transfer students in STEM. She has an active area of interest in utilizing service-learning as a community engagement tool to educate non-STEM majors.
Sami is the co-founder and Co-PI on the NSF-RCN funded network ROSE (Research on STEM Education) network at UAB. She is also the co-founder of the PEERS Network (Persons Excluded because of their ethnicity and race) affiliated with the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER).
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Recent Courses
- BY 123: Introductory Biology I
- BY 124: Introductory Biology II
- *BY 101: Topics in Contemporary Biology
- *BY 101 QL: Topics in Contemporary Biology (Online)
- BY 261: Introduction to Microbiology
- *BY 488–02: Instructional Teaching Practicum (Academic Service-Learning)
- *BY 495-02A : Instructional Teaching Practicum : Honors
*Designed as “Service-Learning” courses.
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Academic Distinctions and Professional Societies
Academic Distinctions:
- IAspire Leadership Academy Fellow, 2021
- Blazer Core Curriculum Fellow, 2021
- Blazer Way Award, 2021
- Mental Health Champion Award, 2021
- Provost Award for Faculty Excellence in Service-Learning, 2019
- Deans Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2018
- Student Organization Advisor of the Year Award, 2018
- Disability Support Services Outstanding Faculty Award, 2017
Professional societies:
- ROSE Network, co-founder
- American Association for Advancement of Science
- American Society of Microbiology
- Council on Undergraduate Research
- Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education
- Society for the Advancement of Biological Research
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Student Groups
- Faculty Advisor, Phi Sigma Biological Honor Society
- Faculty Advisor, Disabilities Advocates Organization
- Faculty Advisor, International Rescue Committee
- Member, Golden Key International Honor Society
- Member, Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society
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Students
Undergraduate Students
- Michael Howell
- Karishma Parbhoo
- Kynadi Brasfield
- Nykierra Taylor
- Derek Dang
- Sahar Moughnyeh
- Sarah Glass
Graduate Students
- Ryleigh Fleming (ABM)
- Bianca Convers (Plan II - non-thesis)
- Vashti Convers (Plan II - non-thesis)
Post-Docs
- Christina Morra (MERIT-IRACDA) – Research
- Keri Kemp (MERIT-IRACDA) – Teaching
Alumni
- Sebastian Schormann (UAB Heersink School of Medicine)
- Anna Jones (UAB Heersink School of Medicine)
- Rachel Rock (Graduate student, UK)
- Gabrielle Richards (UAB - PA School)
- Tamara Montes (UAB – School of Education – MS)
- Daniel Mendoza (School of Education – George Washington, MS)
- James Boyett (UIC MD-PhD)
- Tam Tran (PA school)
- Joshua Bishop (Law School, GA State)
- Cinnamin Cross (University of South Alabama College of Medicine)
- Diana Bucio (University of South Alabama College of Medicine)
Learn more about this research.
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Select Publications
- Segura-Totten M, Dewsbury B, Lo S, Bailey EG, Beater-Jones L, Bills RG, Brownell SE et al… & Raut SA (2021) Chronicling the journey of the Society for the Advancement in Biology Education Research (SABER) in its effort to become antiracist: from acknowledgement to action, Frontiers in Education.
- Schormann SA, Boyett JE, Raut SA (2021) “Troubled waters : Not your typical case of sea sickness,” National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, NY
- Baldwin H, Chu Jeremiah, Fleming R, Parbhoo K, Bucio D, Cross C, Adkins-Jablonsky, Raut SA (2021) “New School, New You”: The UAB Transfer Student Podcast, e Source for College Transitions.
- Adkins SA, Shaffer JF, England BJ, Morris JJ, Raut SA (2021) A tale of two institutions: Analyzing the impact of gamified student response systems on student anxiety in two different introductory biology courses, CBE Life Sciences Education
- Morra CN, Adkins SJ, Raut SA (2021) "Leveraging Virtual Experiences for International Professional Development Opportunities During the Pandemic and Beyond ", Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education – themed issue “Teaching in a time of crisis”
- Adkins SJ, Fleming RA, Esteban M, Morris JJ, Raut SA (2021) "E-service-learning for COVID-19 and Beyond: Impacts of a COVID-19 Module in a Non-Majors Biology Course ", Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education – themed issue “Teaching in a time of crisis”
- Moore ME, Naganathan A, Levi Blumer S, Goller CC, Misra A, Raut SA, Swamy U, Wick S, Wolyniak MJ (2020) “Facilitating Long-Term Mentoring to Effectively Implement Active Learning Instruction: The Formation of the Promoting Active Learning and Mentoring (PALM) Network”: Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
- **Mendoza DA, *Adkins SJ, Bhatt JM, Morris JJ, Raut SA. (2020) “Service-Learning curriculum increases climate change awareness”, Science Education and Civic Engagement: An International Journal –winter 2020 issue
- Raut SA, Angus RA. (2010) Triclosan has endocrine-disrupting effects in male western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 29(6):1287-1291
- Raut SA, Howell WM, Angus RA. (2011) Endocrine disrupting effects of spironolactone in female western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 30(6): 1376-1382.
