Dr. Robin Lewis Cooper
ProfessorUniversity of Kentucky, USA
Highest Degree
Ph.D. in Physiology from Texas Tech University, Texas, USA
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Highest Degree
Ph.D. in Physiology from Texas Tech University, Texas, USA
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In brief, I consider myself as an educator and researcher in the area of comparative physiology with an emphasis in neurobiology. Additionally, I enjoy outreaching activities with middle and high school science teachers as well as their students and the public. The accomplishments in regards to research have mainly focused more recently on modulation of synaptic transmission and behaviors using invertebrate models (crayfish and Drosophila). My lab group took a slight deviation the last few years off into the world of pharmacological identification of receptor subtypes of modulators on the larval Drosophila heart. In both research areas we have been productive with publications in the realm of comparative physiology.
As for teaching and instruction, my major accomplishments have been developing and publishing a number of articles for laboratory exercises in physiology and neurophysiology techniques which are used around the globe as indicated by the downloaded log and communications with fellow instructors. Developing wet labs for the physiology course in 2011 at Univ. of Kentucky, which had been devoid of a wet lab for years, as well as developing a neurophysiology lab based course has been rewarding and productive. Student feedback and productivity in developing published exercises as well as developing authentic scientific inquiry based research exercises for the students have resulted in student authored manuscripts submitted for peer review.
In the outreaching with middle and high school students as well as teachers is another proud accomplishment. I developed an ISEF Science fair which incorporated a 1/3 of the State of Kentucky and was the director for 5 years. I have worked with students and teachers to develop state wide Science based activities. I served as president of the Kentucky Academy of Sciences and president of the board for the State Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF- affiliated). High school students I have personally mentored have won international awards at ISEF (2nd and 4th places as well as special awards). Through grant funded activities I have worked with teachers throughout the state of Kentucky and have built relationships in which those students (NSF-REUs) and teachers (NSF-RETs) have later come to work in my research group when attending the university.
In serving our undergraduate and graduate students at the university in research based activities, my group has been very productive in publishing with undergraduates as 1st or co-authors (>60 papers) and functioning as a team for research productivity (>200 papers total). Graduate students (PhD & MS) have been successfully in obtaining good postdoctoral positions or forms of employment. I strongly encourage students to attend local, national and international meetings to present their research and interact with faculty and students at other institutions (>650 abstracts for posters or oral presentations since at the Univ. of Kentucky).