About Us

Our graduate and undergraduate research team members at Michigan State University work with local educators and a panel of expert collaborators to develop and implement online curriculum in 5th, 6th, and 7th grade biology science, particularly around the topic of heredity and related concepts, such as reproduction and cells.

Heredity Research Team

Principal Investigator
	Michelle Williams, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Science Education, Michigan State University Website mwilliam@msu.edu
Postdoctoral Scholar
	Joi Merritt Ph.D. in Educational Studies (Science Education) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 2010 jmerritt@msu.edu
Graduate Researchers, MSU
	Dante Cisterna Curriculum Instruction and Teacher Education Program, specializing in Science Education cisterna@msu.edu
	Tamara Heck Curriculum Instruction and Teacher Education Program, specializing in Science Education heckt@msu.edu
	Alicia Trotman Educator/Doctoral Candidate Website trotmana@msu.edu
	Wenxia Wang Curriculum and Instruction and Teacher Education Program wangwenx@msu.edu
	Xuechun Zhou Measurement and Quantitative Methods Program zhouxuec@msu.edu
Undergraduate Researchers, MSU
	Lizz Bartos Pursuing B.S. in Computer Science at Northwestern University lizz.bartos@u.northwestern.edu
	Gemini Bhalsod Pursuing B.S. in Plant Biology/Environmental Biology bhalsodg@msu.edu
	Amanda Opperman MSU College of Education Graduate, High School Math Teacher griff345@msu.edu
Consultants for Curriculum Design and Assessments
	Heather Mueller High School Biology Teacher Consultant mueller_ha@elps.k12.mi.us
	Angela Haydel DeBarger Senior Research Scientist, Center for Technology in Learning SRI International angela.haydel@sri.com
	Erika D. Tate, Ph.D. Designer/Researcher of Instructional Materials bluknowledge.com erikadtate@gmail.com
	Yiyu Xie Psychometrician MY Analytics Group yxie05@gmail.com