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Anthony E. Felder is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Anthony's current focus is on undergraduate engineering education and its restructuring to better meet the diverse needs of students and industries. Accordingly, Anthony teaches a wide array of Bioengineering courses, from Introduction to BioE to Senior Design, Bioinstrumentation, and Cell and Tissue Engineering. Anthony is also active in ophthalmology research - having co-formed and currently serving as a Technical Director for the ophthalmology-based medical device design lab (ORBITLab) at the UIC Innovation Center. Anthony holds a B.S. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering.

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Miiri Kotche is a Clinical Associate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and currently serves as Director of the Medical Accelerator for Devices Laboratory (MAD Lab) at the UIC Innovation Center. Prior to joining the faculty at UIC, she worked in new product development for medical devices, telecommunications and consumer products. She co-teaches both bioengineering capstone design courses, including the longstanding core senior design sequence and the recently launched interdisciplinary medical product development course. She also serves as co-Director of the Freshman Engineering Success Program, and is actively involved in engineering outreach for global health. Miiri received her Ph.D. in Bioengineering and M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a B.S. in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

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Jennifer Olson is a clinical assistant professor in the College of Education at University of Illinois at Chicago. She coordinates the Secondary Education program and teaches curriculum, instruction, & assessment courses to undergraduate and graduate secondary education students. Jennifer’s research focus on urban high school reform is informed by nine years of teaching in Chicago Public Schools, giving her an informed perspective of how policy moves from theory to practice. Dr. Olson’s current research interests include urban teacher preparation, teacher professional development and student voice. Her most recent publication in Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching and Research Becoming A Culturally Responsive Teacher: The Impact Of Clinical Experiences In Urban Schools focuses on elementary and secondary teacher candidates’ perspectives of how their clinical experiences influence their preparedness in becoming effective culturally responsive educators.

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Janet Omitoyin is a PHD student in the Department of Curriculum and Instructions, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). An astute scholar, Janet’s quest for a solution to the problems of mathematics learning based on her experience as a student and later as a teacher is at the root of her enrollment for a PHD program at UIC with a view to be part of the solution to the systemic problems emanating from inadequacies in the training of mathematics teachers that is at the core of this problem.
Since enrollment at UIC, Janet had dedicated her studies and research efforts on Mathematics Socialization and identity amongst pre-service elementary teachers, an effort at understanding the reasons for lack of interest in the subject with a view to proffer solution and engender/motivate interest amongst this group that will eventually reflect in their classroom practices.
She is currently a Graduate Assistant with UIC Engage, a community focused project that provides help for less-privileged students from K-8 in mathematics, reading and writing. She continues to work as a substitute teacher occasionally to keep abreast with current practices within the school system.
Her work as a Research Assistant for the BEST program has turned out to be one of her best experiences as a graduate student with the educational and professional benefits that come with it. The program serves a dual benefit – her contributions to it success and the privilege to work with experienced researchers and science teachers.

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