INTRODUCING
Five of the CELL Staff

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The greatest asset of PMABS' Collaborative Electronic Learning Laboratory is its people. While they bring diverse backgrounds, education, and experiences to CELL, all share PMABS' common goal: to assure top-notch science education for North Carolina's students via the integration of information technology into the science classroom.

Amber Vogel (PMABS Instructional Associate)
Amber, a founding member of CELL, began working with PMABS in 1994, before CELL's inception, and has played a key role in recognizing the necessity for IT-integration into the science education programs at PMABS' partner universities. Amber pioneered the efforts of PMABS and CELL to develop Internet websites as a means of disseminating information and enhancing learning, and continues to be instrumental in determining the path that CELL will take in its future efforts. In addition to her work for PMABS, she continues to pursue her interests in writing and in literary scholarship as editor-in-chief of The Journal of African Travel-Writing, a print publication sponsored by the Institute of African American Research at UNC-CH.

Jory Weintraub (NSF Postdoctoral Fellow)
Jory joined CELL in March 1999, immediately after completion of a Ph.D. program in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at UNC-CH. Jory's graduate work focused on the study of a process known as apoptosis (programmed cell death) and its role in the prevention of autoimmune disease. Prior to doing his graduate work, Jory received a BS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California at San Diego and then spent several years as a research technician and quality control analyst at a biotechnology company in San Diego. Jory is the recipient of a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology Education from the National Science Foundation, which funds his research in science education with CELL.

Susanne Bockholt (Research Associate)
Susanne joined CELL in May 1999, after completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biology at the University of Utah. Prior to that, she received her Ph.D. from UNC-CH's Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Her research focused on different aspects of how cells communicate with their extracellular environment, known as the extracellular matrix. She has refocused her interests to teaching and sharing the importance that science plays in everyone's daily lives. Susanne's role in CELL is to help students overcome their fear of science at both the undergraduate and secondary school levels.

Paige West (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Paige joined CELL in September 1999. Her pre-doctoral research, for which she received a National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, focused on the neuroimmunological effects of chronic opiate administration. During her graduate career at UNC-CH, Paige also developed skills in multimedia development, user interface design, and information design via courses in the Visual Communication division of the Journalism School and the School of Information and Library Science at UNC-CH. After attaining a Ph.D. in neurobiology, Paige did a brief stint as a research scientist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where she furthered her interest in information technology and its promise for reforming science education. She continues to participate in a project devoted to creating an adventure game that is set in the brain and meant to introduce neurobiology to middle school students.

Linwood Webster
(Technical Coordinator of Distance Learning)
Linwood, who has been in the information technology field for eight years, joined CELL in September 1999 after three years as a Network Manager for Duke University Medical Center Library. Linwood graduated from North Carolina Central University in 1991 with a B.A. in English/Journalism. His career goals include finishing his M.S.I.S. degree from UNC-CH's School of Information and Library Science. He also looks forward to working with PMABS' new Mobile Science and Technology Laboratory.

As the demand for technology continues to grow, the CELL staff are being careful not lose sight of the fact that technology's greatest function is to serve the human element. According to Linwood Webster: "I really feel like I can make a difference in this position. Not only will I reach the faculty and students at the university level, I will also reach the middle school students across the state with [PMABS' Mobile Science and Technology Lab]. I feel like the exposure that these individuals will get from CELL, PMABS, and myself will truly make a difference in their lives."

[Archived: Spring 2000]