We are excited to welcome new lecturer Dr. Sreeparna Vappala to our teaching faculty. Dr. Vappala completed her undergraduate studies in biological sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education & Research in Kolkata, India. She then moved to Vancouver to pursue her PhD in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC. In Professor Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu’s lab, she researched new strategies to prevent blood clots without the risk of excessive bleeding. After serving as a sessional lecturer for a biochemistry course at UBC during her graduate studies, Dr. Vappala went on to work as an instructor at the University of Manitoba. There, she taught a range of life science courses including cell biology, developmental biology, anatomy and genetics.  

Back at UBC, Dr. Vappala is excited to work among familiar faces and places. She will teach an undergraduate laboratory course as well as the First-Year Seminar in Science, in which students learn to analyze scientific literature, craft and critique scientific arguments, and communicate scientific information to various audiences. She is interested in exploring new innovations in her courses, such as how she might incorporate Indigenous perspectives into the First-Year Seminar in Science.

In structuring her classes, Dr. Vappala seeks out opportunities for active learning in which students can develop critical thinking skills and cement their understanding of a concept through group activities and discussion. “My teaching philosophy is to get students engaged with the material so it’s not just me lecturing as a ‘sage on the stage,’” she said.

As a scientist, educator, Thunderbird, and avid hiker and gardener, Dr. Vappala is eager to nurture all of her interests during this new chapter. “I’m really looking forward to interacting with the students and the people in the department and being in an academic environment,” she said. “And Vancouver is a great place nature-wise, so I’m really happy to be back.”