A Pretty Sweet Deal

 

    It is 9:30 am on a Tuesday morning at Bloomsburg University. Anatomy and Physiology I students funnel into Hartline Science Building room 163. They are greeted by the bright smile of Dr. Kate Beishline, welcoming them to their lab for the week. She is preparing everything so that the next three hours will go off smoothly. "Setting up for labs might be the most stressful part of my day," she admits. "I want everything to be ready to go. Even though it is a hectic time, labs are one of my favorite parts of the job! During this time, I really get to interact with my students and get to know their personalities."

Dr. Kate Beishline 

"Do you guys need help with anything?" asks Dr. Beishline as she approaches a group of four lab students. 

Four disgusted lab students look down at their dissected rat and ask, "Where do we find the pancreas?" Careful not to make too much contact with the cadaver. 

Making her way to the rat, Dr. B explains where to find the organ by reaching into the body cavity and moving the other organs around. "There are other organs in front. So, you have to move the intestines before you can locate the pancreas." she explains. When she looks back at her students, she erupts with laughter from seeing the disgusted looks on their faces. 

Dr. Beishline is a member of the biology faculty here at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. She teaches Anatomy and Physiology labs, Cell Biology, Animal Cell Physiology, and a one-time freshman seminar class. She laughs, "I taught a freshman seminar class for pre-med majors. I will never do that again. It was such a mess!" She went on to say, "My favorite class to teach is probably Animal Cell Physiology. That is a class that its usually taken by seniors and graduate students. They really want to be there, and their enthusiasm is exciting to teach." 

    Before becoming a professor at Bloomsburg, Dr. B had always liked the idea of teaching. As a child, she had always pictured herself becoming an educator. Once she entered high school, she discovered her love for science and decided that she wanted to become a doctor. While receiving her Bachelor of Science at University of the Sciences, Dr. B discovered her passion for research. She explained, "Clinicians often hear a list of symptoms and make a standard diagnosis. But with research, you get to investigate why something is the way it is and figure out a way to fix it. I thought that was pretty exciting." While studying for her graduate degree at Drexel College of Medicine, she would teach her fellow classmates the information. This helped her to reinforce the ideas she was learning in class and helped her peers at the same time. While doing this, she realized she could combine her passions of research and teaching. She exclaimed, "When I figured out that I could do both, it seemed like a pretty sweet deal." 

   View of cell division through a microscope
(something Dr. B frequently studies)

    After graduating, Dr. Beishline worked at the Wistar Research Institute in Philadelphia, PA. Wistar is known as a historical institute that does biomedical research. As a cell and molecular biologist, Dr. B's area of study is aging and cancer in cells. Dr. B has continued her research, even after she left the Wistar Institute. She is currently working on two research projects with two masters' students. One student is studying parts of DNA that are generally understudied and how they affect different cancers. The other student is working with Dr. Hare-Harris, another professor at Bloomsburg, on genetic mutations that lead to disease. In that project, she focuses more on the disease caused rather than the mutation. Dr. B admits, "I do not do as much research as I would like. My job is more to just meet with the students and go over their game plan. Unless they are doing microscopy, then I join! Microscopy is my favorite!" This again combines her passion of teaching and research. She gets to observe and be a part of discovery while teaching students the process of discovery. "I love teaching these students," she exclaims, "It is like once they get started, I can't stop them! They are just so excited about what they are doing. And that makes me excited!" 

    Typically, Dr. B comes in early to get her busy day started. She prepares for class and grades material. She then goes on to share her knowledge with her students in her lectures and labs. "She is very interactive with us students and is very informative when she teaches." Sarah Gardner, an Anatomy and Physiology I Lab student explains, "Dr. B is very adaptive to the different learning styles of her students and very helpful with learning the information." After teaching, Dr. Beishline typically meets with her research students to go over their plan for the day. On top of her busy schedule, she finds the time read different research journals in an effort to learn something new. "I love learning new things. I could be a student forever!" She jokes, "I might become an art major here just so I can take classes again!" 

    In an effort to spread her passion of science to others, Dr. Beishline is the faculty coordinator of Bloomsburg University's Science in Motion program. This is a grant funded program that delivers science equipment to high schools and middle schools in the surrounding areas. "This gives students whose schools cannot afford the equipment a chance to experience using it, without the school breaking the bank," she explains. Dr. Beishline values the importance of these students being introduced to science early so that they can possibly discover the same passion she did when she was their age. 

    When observing Dr. Kate Beishline, it is clear that she truly has a passion for what she does. She loves to research and to share her knowledge with others. She is always eager to discover or learn something new. Her profession combines her passions of teaching and science. In her words, it is "a pretty sweet deal."