Emma Chaput

Assistant Professor of Biology

The biology courses that Emma Chaput teaches involve human function and its contrast, disease so the possibilities for applying the concepts she covers in her courses to students understanding of how the body functions are nearly endless, she says.

"I am captivated by the practice of critical scientific thinking," says Emma. "I try to bring this foundation of inquiry into the classroom, challenging students to question what they think they know about how the human body works."

Emma says that her favorite classes are those in which students creatively explore what they have learned in class and apply ideas to the outside world, from how vaccines prevent disease or the challenges of controlling newly emerging epidemics, such as Ebola and Zika, to the nearly unimaginable intricacies of how a neuron communicates or a muscle contracts.

"I am regularly humbled and inspired by the students I have the privilege to work with," she says. "The questions they ask push me to expand my knowledge and to think deeply about how to communicate complex ideas effectively."